11 Jan 2016

David Bowie dies aged 69

The rockstar was battling cancer for 18-months, his publicist said in a statement

David Bowie has died following an 18-month battle with cancer, a posting on his official Facebook page said.

He died after an 18-month battle with cancer.

According to the statement, the singer died yesterday, surrounded by his loved ones.

Bowie released his latest album, Blackstar, just three days ago. A new musical, Lazarus, featuring his songs launched off-Broadway in New York in December last year.

It read: “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer.

“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

His son, film director Duncan Jones tweeted: “Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.”

In 1969 he made his first appearance in the charts with Space Oddity.

A string of albums followed, before 1972’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars made him an international star.

The 1980s saw him combine his pop career with appearances in films including Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and Absolute Beginners.

Born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in Brixton, south London, to mother Margaret “Peggy”, a waitress, and charity worker Haywood “John” Jones.

The family moved to south east London, where he graduated from Bromley Technical High School at 16. He formed a number of bands and led a group calling himself Davy Jones.

He changed his name to David Bowie to avoid confusion with the Monkees’ Davy Jones. The name was said to be inspired by a knife developed by the 19th century American pioneer Jim Bowie.