Courtney Love spoke to reporters following the Manhattan hearing

Ms Love, 39, was arrested on 18 March after allegedly injuring a man by throwing a microphone stand into the crowd during a gig in Manhattan.

A 24-year-old man received hospital treatment for head injuries.

The singer faces two counts of assault and reckless endangerment and faces up to a year in jail if convicted. The court date was set for 28 June.

Rambling interview

The singer followed her appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court by conducting a rambling interview with female reporters in a ladies' toilet.

"I'm exactly the same as I've always been," Love told the reporters.

The police have a conspiracy against rocker chicks Courtney Love

"I'm not a demure housewife. Why should I start acting like one?"

"I was a junkie. I'm not now," she added.

In court documents, Ms Love claimed she was being victimised by police.

"You are arresting me because of what happened in LA. The police have a conspiracy against rocker chicks."

Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, pleaded not guilty to two counts of drug possession at a Beverly Hills court earlier this month.

'Drug charges'

The charges relate to prescription painkillers, oxycodone and hydrocodone, found by police in Ms Love's Los Angeles home last October.

The drugs were discovered by police, following an incident that saw Ms Love arrested for breaking windows at her ex-boyfriend's Los Angeles home in October 2003.

Ms Love, 39, faces separate charges of disorderly conduct and being under the influence of drugs, stemming from that incident.

She recently lost custody of her daughter by Kurt Cobain, 11-year-old Frances Bean.

At the time of her arrest in New York she pleaded with police: "Please don't do this to me.... This incident will affect my custody case with my daughter. I'm not going to be able to get my kid."