David Bowie remained out of the spotlight for the last stage of his life. Keeping his illness largely to himself, only disclosing his state to a few close friends, Bowie passed away on Jan. 10. Bowie’s death was announced in a statement on his website:
“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.“
In his 18-month battle with cancer, Bowie still continued to work on a musical stage production "Lazarus," the sequel to the 1976 film that featured his screen role, “The Man Who Fell To Earth.” and his final album "Blackstar." The album was released on his birthday, shortly before the artist's passing. He will be honored March 31 with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring The Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats.
"I don't know where I’m going from here but I promise it won't be boring," Bowie said, and the rock star’s life was certainly anything but boring. He was a rock chameleon frequently changing his style. Always unapologetically himself, Bowie made a mark on his fans and the music industry. The internet mourned his death after people found out about the loss Thousand of fans gathered at his birthplace in Brixton, South London, laying flowers by a mural of the musician. Artist Helen Green created a beautiful GIF showing Bowie throughout the many inventive stages of his life.
Bowie’s ever-changing persona set a precedent for many artists today. His style traversed the times. The mercurial musician topped charts with many hits like "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Fame," "Heroes," "Let's Dance" and "Where Are We Now?". Bowie's life was a performance and he was living it until the end.
Just two days before his death, a video for "Lazarus," a track from "Blackstar," was released. The video shows a man (Bowie) floating above his deathbed. The imagery is ironic and many assume it was intended because the video was released while Bowie was quite literally on his deathbed.
Bowie's final album had a message:
This “final record was a carefully-orchestrated farewell to his fans, his producer confirmed." The songs (and the accompanying off-Broadway play) are explicitly about death, written for an audience he knew would be tuned in when the news broke. The first line of “Lazarus” is “Look up here, I'm in heaven."
In Bowie's own words, "The truth is of course that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time." He will be deeply missed and remembered for the mark he not only left on the music industry, but the world. He's not gone, just onto his next adventure.
