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Manukau City Mayor Len Brown remembers "absolutely nothing" of the moment that nearly claimed his life.
"I can't remember anything from the Friday and Saturday - I think I'd have to ask people I was with to know what I did."
Mr Brown was making a welcoming address to guests that included some of the country's top music artists, at the annual Pacific Music Awards on May 31.
While pausing to adjust his reading glasses, he collapsed on stage as the heart attack struck.
"It's a very dramatic gesture to go out on stage at the Pacific Music Awards. There were no warnings, no nothing - just fall over. But at least I woke up," he said yesterday.
After he collapsed, Mr Brown's wife Shan rushed to be by his side, while nurses hurriedly administered CPR, before an ambulance took Mr Brown to Middlemore Hospital.
Guests were asked to evacuate when ambulance officers arrived, before the ceremony continued with a prayer for the mayor - affectionately known as the Singing Mayor - who many acknowledged would have wanted the awards to continue.
Mr Brown said: "The greatest disappointment was not being able to finish my speech and singing my waiata."
