MULTIPLE SOURCES ARE REPORTING THE DEATH OF DAVID BOWIE AT AGE 69, after an 18 month fight with cancer, including this BBC report:

His son confirmed the news and a statement was released on his official social media accounts.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” it said.

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

The singer only released his latest album Blackstar on his birthday on Friday.

There had been rumours about Bowie’s health for years.

His last live performance was at a New York charity concert in 2006.

The Huffington Post adds:

In 2004, the musician suffered chest pains while performing at a festival in Germany and collapsed backstage. While Bowie initially thought he pinched a nerve in his shoulder, the pain was later diagnosed as a clogged coronary artery and required emergency heart surgery. Rumors of his failing health persisted after the incident and his appearance was apparently cause for concern in 2012, when he was spotted in New York City looking like a “pale shadow of his former self,” according to The Telegraph.

Rumors he was not well continued as Bowie went on to release his first single in 10 years, “We Are We Now” in January 2013, prompting his close friend, producer Tony Visconti, to deny that the singer had Alzheimer’s disease.

I followed Bowie’s music from Ziggy to Heroes to Let’s Dance, to the Glass Spider tour of 1987. It didn’t always work for me, but I admired his commitment to constant experimentation and pushing rock’s sonic boundaries. U2 owe their sound to Tony Visconti, Brian Eno and Robert Fripp’s work with Bowie in the ’70s; Madonna’s whole career in trying on different personas is built on Bowie’s efforts as well. RIP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g

(Bumped.)