Amy gets go-ahead

Organisers comfirm Winehouse's comeback gig is on come rain or shine

08 May 2009 - Amy Winehouse's live return in the Caribbean will go ahead despite three days of torrential rain, organisers have said.

The 25-year-old star is widely expected to preview new material at the concert, which is part of the annual jazz festival in St Lucia.

Several shows this week, including a headline appearance by The Wailers, had to be cancelled after continuous downpours made the festival site unsafe.

Ticketholders for those gigs will now be allowed to watch the Winehouse show.

Up to 6,000 fans are expected to descend on the site on Pigeon Island for the Back To Black star's first gig of 2009.

The star has been living in the Caribbean for several months as she works on the follow-up to her multi-award-winning Back To Black album.

St Lucia's minister for tourism, Allan Chastanet, said she had been a huge hit with the locals.

"I think she has been very happy with the reception and hospitality that she has received in St Lucia," he told BBC 6 Music News reporter, Jo Youle.

"Even, given her past, people have not judged Amy here. "I think people have judged Amy for what she has been here and she's been phenomenal. She's been reaching out to the kids, the communities. She's not a snob in any way."

He revealed the residents of the island had had reservations at first because of the singer's troubled past.

"This is a destination of second chances," said Chastanet. "The gift that she was giving us was simply smiling, and when she was gaining weight and people saw that she was physically getting better."

The singer released a statement ahead of the festival, saying it was an "honour" to take part: "Since I first came to the island, I have been greeted with nothing but kindness and friendship, as well as incredible music and the most beautiful of settings."

Georgie Rogers