Tom Petty dies after cardiac arrest – manager
Written by News on 03/10/2017
Singer and songwriter Tom Petty has died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home, his manager has confirmed.
Petty’s family said in a statement that they were "devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend".
The 66-year-old had a cardiac arrest early on Monday at his home in Malibu.
He was taken to hospital in Los Angeles but could not be saved.
He died "peacefully surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends", said manager Tony Dimitriades on behalf of Petty’s family.
Earlier, celebrity news website TMZ and TV network CBS had to retract stories quoting an unnamed police source saying he had already died.
Petty’s hits included American Girl, Free Fallin, I Won’t Back Down and Don’t Come Around Here No More.
Last week the Florida-born rocker was on tour marking 40 years of his band The Heartbreakers and they had been due to play in New York next month.
He had hinted that the tour would be his last, telling Rolling Stone that he and the band were "all on the backside of our 60s", adding that, now he had a grand-daughter, he didn’t want to "spend my life on the road".
His worldwide record sales topped 80 million and he and the band were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2002, described as "the quintessential American individualists".
He told the Associated Press in 1989: "I think faith is very important just to get through life.
"I think it’s really important that you believe in yourself, first of all.
"It’s a very hard thing to come by but, when you get it, it’s invaluable."
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(c) Sky News 2017: Tom Petty dies after cardiac arrest – manager
