ONLY a few months ago, award-winning Welsh songstress Amy Wadge was banged up in prison and carrying her first child, but local fans will be relieved to hear that Amy's time 'in the nick' is over, her delightful baby girl is nearly three- months-old and she'll be back with that much- famed 'valley quaking voice' for her performance at the Torch Theatre next week (May 30).

It's only fair to say at this point that Amy's time in prison was not on sentence, but to set up song- writing workshops. "I worked in HMP Long Lartin, which is a Category A maximum security men's prison," said Amy. "I got people to donate equipment and then put a band together. We wrote all of the material and then they performed the songs in front of their families." Amy's experiences inspired the song Clean which features on her album released this month, her fourth in fact, and aptly titled Bump. Amy started writing songs at the age of nine on the family piano. When she was 11, her parents bought her a junk shop guitar. She discovered a passion for the instrument and at 14, she signed her first record deal with her band, Two Of A Mind, releasing her first single at the age of 16. After performing alongside The Stereophonics, Embrace, Pete Yorn and Lenny Kravitz, rumours soon started flying, with speculation in the Welsh press that Amy was about to succeed Cerys Matthews, fronting Catatonia. None of this speculation was true, but Aled Richards, Catatonia's drummer, was soon to join Amy's band. In 2003, Amy then took the Best Female Solo title at the Welsh Music Awards, for the second year running, this time ahead of Cerys Matthews. The rest is history as they say. Amy Wadge, supported by the lilting folk- influenced melodies and harmonies of Ember, can be seen at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, on Friday, May 30, at 7.30 pm. To book seats, or for more information about the theatre's season, call the Theatre Box Office on 01646 695267, or visit their brand new website http://www.torchtheatre.co.uk">www.torchtheatre.co.uk.