Long-term David Bowie producer Tony Visconti has said that the singer’s final album ‘Blackstar’ was recorded as a “parting gift” to his fans.
The news that Bowie has lost an 18-month battle with cancer was announced this morning with his son, film director Duncan Jones, among the first to shares his message of love for his late father.
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Bowie’s final album ‘Blackstar’ was released on Friday (January 9). It was recorded following his cancer diagnosis and made alongside Visconti, who stated that the record was influenced by Kendrick Lamar among others. Visconti first worked with Bowie on his 1969 album ‘Space Oddity’.
PressIn a message posted on Facebook this morning, Visconti paid tribute to his friend and collaborator, saying that Bowie’s death was as artful as his life.
“He always did what he wanted to do,” the message begins. “And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life – a work of Art. He made ‘Blackstar’ for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.”
David Bowie released his first studio album in 1969, having changed his name from David Jones the year before. His early records included ‘Space Oddity’ and 1971’s ‘Hunky Dory’.
In 1972 Bowie reinvented himself and released ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ which features the singles ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and ‘Suffragette City’.
His hits include ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Space Oddity’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Rebel, Rebel’, ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Changes’.
Bowie has released two albums in the past decade. New album ‘Blackstar’ and 2013’s ‘The Next Day’. His last live performance was at a New York charity concert in 2006.