Having stared death in the eye and lived to tell the tale, rock'n'roll legend Johnny Devlin is already penning the next chapter of his life.

But the 77-year-old New Zealander who has long called Corrimal home, knows he owes a huge debt of gratitude to medical staff aboard the cruise ship Sun Princess.

If it were not for their swift actions on June 19, Devlin is in no doubt he would have died from his "massive heart attack".

The well-known musician was enjoying the final night of a cruise along the east coast of Australia when he suffered a heart attack.

Now resting at home, Devlin praised medics aboard the ship for keeping him alive overnight until the ship could be met by an ambulance in port in Sydney on June 20.

In a critical condition, he was swiftly transferred to St Vincent's Public Hospital.

"They [medical staff] saved my life. I thought I was a goner," Devlin said.

"Four or five of them worked on me all night while the captain made sure we got back to Sydney as soon as possible. I will be forever grateful to them for saving my life."

Devlin, who hit the big time back in 1964 when he was chosen to be a support act on the Beatles' history-making Australasian tour, and was a regular on Australian music shows Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock, had to have a quadruple bypass.

"It was scary when the doc said I had to have a quadruple bypass but I didn't really have any other option," he said.

"Four years ago I was diagnosed with what they called a past heart attack. But this time around it came right out of the blue. I'd never ever felt this bad before. It started in the cabin when I was packing my bags. I couldn't breathe properly and felt really funny."

Devlin, who was on the cruise with his longtime friend Marcia Neilson, is also looking to get in contact with an ambulance paramedic who transferred him from Sydney Harbour to St Vincent's Public Hospital.

"I can't remember the guy's name but he told me that once I got better to catch up with him at his local watering hole at the Charles Hotel in Fairy Meadow. I have every intention on doing that but it would be good if I can find out his name beforehand," he said.

While recuperating Devlin is keeping busy by writing a musical to be staged in New Zealand and penning a book about his life.