Tom Petty: Rock icon 'clinging to life' despite reports he had died

Tom Petty, the iconic frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is said to be ‘clinging to life’ after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.

According to US media reports, Petty, who is 66, has been taken to hospital and placed on life support after being found unconscious and not breathing at his home in Malibu on Sunday night.

The news comes after initial confusion when CBS News and TMZ.com originally reported that police had confirmed the singer’s death.

It was only 30 minutes or so later that the Los Angeles Police Department released a statement saying details had “inadvertently” been given out and the force had “no information”.

Later, Officer Tony Im from the LAPD said the force had not responded to any incident involving the rocker. CBS has since amended its story, and the trade Variety also retracted its obituary, which cited an unnamed source confirming Petty’s death.

“It was not our office, definitely not,” Officer Im said on Monday afternoon. “If it’s not a police matter, our public information office does not comment on stuff like that”.

“We apologise for any inconvenience in this reporting,” the department added in a statement.

CBS did not cite a source in its story, but tweeted that LAPD confirmed Petty’s death. CBS and Variety now cite TMZ reporting that says Petty is “clinging to life.”

CBS News issued a statement later Monday maintaining that it “reported information obtained officially from the LAPD about Tom Petty.”

“The LAPD later said it was not in a position to confirm information about the singer,” the statement said.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers finished a major tour with a concert in Los Angeles on September 25. The band were due to play two more dates in New York on 8 and 9 November.

In December last year, Petty told Rolling Stone he thought the tour would be his last.

He said: “I’m thinking it may be the last trip around the country. It’s very likely we’ll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don’t think so. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We’re all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I’d like to see as much as I can. I don’t want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that’s a lot of time.”

Earlier on Monday, Petty’s Twitter account had posted an image of the singer with director Ed Burns at The Village Recorder in LA.

When news of his death initially came through, Bob Dylan, a close friend of Petty and bandmate alongside George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne in the Travelling Wilburys, said in a statement: “It’s shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him.”