Reed recovering after liver transplant

Lou Reed’s wife says the rock icon is recovering after a life-saving liver transplant, according to an interview published in a British newspaper.

Laurie Anderson told the Times that Reed “was dying” before the operation in April at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic.

She says the 71-year-old is not back to full strength but “he’s already working and doing t’ai chi. … It’s a new life for him”.

Ms Anderson, a musician and performance artist, praised the Cleveland facility, and said hospitals in the couple’s hometown of New York were “dysfunctional”.

Reed, who has spoken of his past alcohol and drug use, co-founded influential 1960s group The Velvet Underground, whose songs included Heroin and I’m Waiting for the Man.

Solo works include “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Perfect Day.”