David Bowie Dies Aged 69

David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his or any other era, has died aged 69 following an 18-month battle with cancer.

A statement was issued on his social media accounts, saying that Bowie “died peacefully, surrounded by his family” yesterday (Monday 11th January). Bowie had released his 25th album ‘Blackstar’ last week and the album is on track to be Number One this Friday.

Bowie’s son Duncan Jones, who directed Bafta-winning film Moon, wrote on Twitter: “Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.”

Kanye West summed up the thoughts of many, tweeting: “David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime”.

The Gen will not reduce Bowie’s innumerable accomplishments to numbers and lists and we simply advise you to go away and listen to ‘Low’. Or ‘Heroes’ (both remarkably released in the same year). Or ‘Scary Monsters’. Or Station to Station,  Or Young Americans. Or Aladdin Sane. Or The ‘Five Years’ documentary. Or any number of the incredible albums and tracks he created throughout his incredible life since being born David Jones in South London on 8th January 1947.

For a more in-depth analysis, go to Alexis Petridis’s piece in The Guardian.

Bowie’s footprint can be felt across the entire spectrum of popular music and a single listen to ‘Blackstar’ (according to producer Tony Visconti, recorded as Bowie’s “parting gift”) proves that he was an innovator and inspiration to the end.

Brian Eno worked with Bowie on albums including his legendary Berlin Trilogy in the mid-1970s. He has issued a statement paying tribute to his friend:

“David’s death came as a complete surprise, as did nearly everything else about him. I feel a huge gap now.
We knew each other for over 40 years, in a friendship that was always tinged by echoes of Pete and Dud. Over the last few years – with him living in New York and me in London – our connection was by email. We signed off with invented names: some of his were mr showbiz, milton keynes, rhoda borrocks and the duke of ear.

About a year ago we started talking about Outside – the last album we worked on together. We both liked that album a lot and felt that it had fallen through the cracks. We talked about revisiting it, taking it somewhere new. I was looking forward to that.

I received an email from him seven days ago. It was as funny as always, and as surreal, looping through word games and allusions and all the usual stuff we did. It ended with this sentence: ‘Thank you for our good times, brian. they will never rot’. And it was signed ‘Dawn’.

I realise now he was saying goodbye.”

RIP Starman.