Lou Reed survives life saving liver transplant

Rock legend Lou Reed is recovering after a liver transplant that, according to wife Laurie Anderson, saved his life.

The 71-year Reed agreed to be admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio after rejecting New York hospitals because he claimed were "dysfunctional".

Reed cancelled five dates in April including his Coachella appearance because of his condition. Anderson has now admitted that Reed had been placed on life-support.

Reed was given a new liver and Anderson said, "it started working immediately".

She told The Times, 'It's as serious as it gets. He was dying. You don't get it for fun. (It was) a big surgery which went very well.'

Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson have been together for 20 years and married for the past five.

The legendary Lou Reed was the guitarist, lead vocalist and main songwriter for The Velvet Underground. He kicked off his solo career with the iconic 'Walk On The Wild Side' in 1971. The song (and 'Transformer', the album it came from) was produced by David Bowie.

Performance artist Laurie Anderson achieved international success with her own hit 'O Superman' in 1981.

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