Tests show no illegal drugs in Winehouse body (AP)

LONDON – Amy Winehouse had no illegal drugs in her system when she died, and it is still unclear what killed the singer, her family said Tuesday. The family said in a statement that toxicology tests showed "alcohol was present" in the singer's body but it hasn't yet been determined if it contributed to her death.

The 27-year-old soul diva, who had battled drug and alcohol addiction for years, was found dead in her London home on July 23, and an initial post-mortem failed to determine the cause of death.

A statement released by spokesman Chris Goodman on the family's behalf said "toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy's system at the time of her death." The statement did not mention whether any legal drugs were found.

It said the family awaited the outcome of an inquest that is due to begin in October.

Winehouse's father, Mitch, has said his daughter had beaten her drug dependency three years before her death, but he admitted she was still struggling to control her drinking after several weeks of abstinence.

Mitch Winehouse told mourners at the singer's July 26 funeral that she had said to him, "'Dad I've had enough of drinking, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces anymore.'"

The Winehouse family announced plans to establish a charitable foundation in the singer's name to help people struggling with addiction — although Mitch Winehouse has said the plans are on hold because someone else had registered the name Amy Winehouse Foundation.

In her short lifetime, Winehouse frequently made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, destructive relationships and abortive performances.

Her health often appeared fragile. In June 2008 and again in April 2010, she was taken to hospital and treated for injuries after fainting and falling at home.

Her father said she had developed the lung disease emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack, although her spokeswoman later said Winehouse only had "early signs of what could lead to emphysema."

She turned her tumultuous life and personal demons into songs such as "Rehab," from her Grammy-winning album "Back to Black."

Her death prompted an outpouring of emotion from fans — many of whom left flowers and offerings outside her house in north London's Camden neighborhood — and from fellow musicians.

Her final recording, a duet with Tony Bennett on "Body and Soul," is due to released next month as a charity single.

In Britain, inquests are held to establish the facts whenever someone dies violently or in unexplained circumstances. Winehouse's inquest is due to begin Oct. 26 in London.

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No illegal drugs in Winehouse toxicology report (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Toxicology tests showed there was alcohol, but no illegal substances in British singer Amy Winehouse's system when she died last month aged 27, her spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy's system at the time of her death," a spokesman for Winehouse said. "Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death."

The soul singer, famed for her beehive hairstyle and erratic behavior on and off stage, was found dead at her London home on July 23. The Grammy-winning star behind acclaimed album "Back to Black" had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and it was widely assumed that they played a part in her death.

Legendary singer Tony Bennett -- who recorded a duet with Winehouse in what was her final session -- will pay tribute to the singer at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards show in Los Angeles, organizers announced.

Bennett, 85, will introduce footage from the recording session in London in March, where the two sang the duet "Body and Soul". The duet will be released as a charity single in September.

Winehouse's father Mitch said the family was honored by the MTV tribute.

Mitch Winehouse said at his daughter's funeral last month that Winehouse was "the happiest she had been for years" and had conquered her drug addiction three years ago but was trying hard to deal with her drinking.

An inquest into the "Rehab" singer's death is due to resume on October 26 in London.

Winehouse's last filmed performance was in Serbia in June, when she was jeered by the crowd as she struggled to perform her songs and stay upright. Her management then canceled all her scheduled performances.

Mitch Winehouse has announced plans to launch a foundation in his daughter's name to help young people battling addiction. He said however his efforts had been frustrated by "cyber squatters" who had snapped up possible internet addresses for the charity.

(Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Steve Addison and Bob Tourtellotte)

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Review: The War on Drugs fights the good fight (AP)

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Entertainment Writer Chris Talbott, Ap Entertainment Writer – Mon Aug 15, 3:42 pm ET

The War on Drugs, "Slave Ambient" (Secretly Canadian)

It's hard to find something that sounds new these days. It feels like everything's been done before, your new favorite band sounding like a throwback to your old favorite band.

Into this tape loop steps The War on Drugs, sporting a sound that may not exactly be new in its execution but sure feels that way in spirit. Daniel Granduciel, the primary player in The War on Drugs, spent much of the last three years laboring over "Slave Ambient." It's the band's second album and first without former collaborator and fellow Philadelphian Kurt Vile, who mines very similar sounds in his solo career and with the critically acclaimed release "Smoke Ring For My Halo."

Granduciel made much of the record by taking samples he made in the studio and blending them together to form a modern sort of wall of sound where several different threads blend together seamlessly into what feels like an impenetrable tapestry.

The fun is in the close, repeated listen, trying to pull out all the different flavors from the overall piece.

There's the demented harmonica in "Baby Missiles," the subtle guitar hiding in the shadows on "I Was There," and the spacey horns of "The Animator" that slop over and blend perfectly into "Come to the City."

"Slave Ambient" deserves the same kind of critical attention "Smoke Ring" got earlier this year. Taken together these albums hopefully represent the first unified volley in a new Philly sound — shambolic, shamanistic and completely cool.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Baby Missiles," a holdover from an EP Granduciel issued to keep fans at bay while waiting on new material, marches along on an infectious beat with inscrutable lyrics and an addictive melody. Go ahead and play it just once. We dare you.

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Outkast rapper Big Boi arrested for drugs (Reuters)

MIAMI (Reuters) – Miami police arrested Outkast rapper Big Boi on Sunday for possessing ecstasy and other drugs that the performer's lawyer later characterized as "contraband."

Media reports cited the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department's website as listing the rapper, whose real name is Antwan Patton, as having been arrested for having ecstasy, MDMA powder and Viagra, for which he had no prescription.

The Miami Herald reported that Big Boi faces a fourth count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Celebrity website TMZ.com said he was arrested by customs officials exiting a cruise ship, and that he'd been booked into jail in the afternoon but was released after posting a bond.

On the singer's official Twitter account, Big Boi initially tweeted "Fresh Out Baby!" and later, "...they said it was the Love Boat..." But details of the arrest could not be confirmed on Sunday evening.

An attorney for the rapper issued a statement saying he expects Big Boi will beat the charges.

"While Big Boi was traveling with his group and friends, a small amount of contraband was found in the collective luggage," attorney Daniel Kane said in a statement.

"I am confident when the entire facts are aired Big Boi will be completely exonerated."

Outkast was formed by Andre' Benjamin (who later became known as Andre 3000) and Patton (Big Boi) in the 1990s with a distinct brand of southern-influenced hip hop music. The pair scored several hits over the years including pop song "Hey Ya" from 2003 album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Deletes reference to "'Hey Ya' singer" in paragraph 1.

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Police: K-9 sniffed drugs on rapper Big Boi (AP)

MIAMI – Police say a K-9 dog smelled drugs on Grammy-winning OutKast rapper Big Boi as he was getting off a cruise ship in Miami.

A warrant from Sunday's arrest released Monday says customs agents patted down the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Antwan Patton, and found Ecstasy and Viagra pills and a cigarette roller with marijuana residue. Patton was also accused of carrying MDMA, which is the main ingredient in Ecstasy.

Big Boi was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The rapper was released on $16,000 bond.

Phone and email messages left with his publicists were not immediately returned.

The Atlanta-based group OutKast won six Grammys and churned out six platinum-plus albums, including "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."

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Galliano to tell trial he lost it on booze & drugs (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) – Fashion designer John Galliano will tell a Paris court that multiple addictions to drugs and alcohol led him to lose all self-control when he defends himself against charges of anti-Semitic behavior on Wednesday.

Galliano's trial is the latest chapter in a saga that began in February when Galliano was questioned by French police after a couple accused him of hurling drunken racist and anti-Semitic abuse at them on the terrace of a cafe.

The February 24 incident -- combined with a video in which an apparently inebriated Galliano was filmed telling a woman he loves Hitler and that her parents might have been gassed in a Nazi death camp -- led to the designer's dismissal from his post as creative director for Parisian fashion house Dior.

Magistrates were expected to arrive at a decision quickly in the trial, which pits Galliano, 50, against two accusers -- one a woman who claimed to have never heard of the British designer before their February encounter, and another whose accusations refer back to events last October.

If found guilty, Galliano faces a six-month jail sentence and a fine of up to 22,000 euros ($31,517). Precedent in similar cases suggests that a more likely outcome is a smaller fine, a few thousand euros at most.

The lawyer for one of Galliano's accusers, museum curator Geraldine Bloch, said she would seek symbolic damages of 1 euro and publication of the court's decision in two fashion magazines, Elle and Vogue, and French daily Le Figaro.

Her lawyer, Yves Beddouk, told Reuters on Monday that his client was interested not in Galliano's money, but in getting him to acknowledge the alleged anti-Semitic tirade publicly and make a show of contrition which befits his reputation.

Galliano's lawyer told Reuters this week that the designer will say he has no recollection of the rants for which he has been charged, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and had lost control over his words and behavior.

The designer has repeatedly apologized for his remarks on the video which emerged online after the February 24 incident.

Galliano's lawyer Aurelien Hamelle said that he will call up a toxicology expert to testify that the designer -- triply addicted to alcohol, the sedative Valium and powerful sleeping pills -- would have been in a state of utter abandon, completely free of any inhibitions.

Galliano, who left France shortly after the incident to receive treatment for substance abuse in the United States, is also expected to say that he is not a racist nor an anti-Semite.

As part of his character defense, lawyers will present letters to the court depicting the designer as a model of tolerance and openness who opened his studio to people from all over the world with no regard for their origin.

Plaintiffs will present Galliano as a mean drunk who exposed his anti-Semitic and racist views when under the influence of alcohol, and had no respect for common people whom he believed were trespassing on his territory.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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