David Bowie lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. He was 69 years old.
The influential performer's career spanned more than 40 years and all types of music including glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop, punk and electronica. The official announcement of Bowie death came on his Facebook page.
"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," read the Facebook statement, posted from London.
Duncan Jones, Bowie's son, also confirmed his father's passing on Twitter. He posted a photo of him as a baby on his Bowie's shoulders.
Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all. pic.twitter.com/Kh2fq3tf9m
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) January 11, 2016
Bowie celebrated his birthday less than a week ago on Jan. 8 with the release of his 25th studio album, "Blackstar." Rumors of his declining health date back to 2013 when his producer, Tony Visconti, downplayed the speculation.
"People thought he was dying. He's not dying any time soon, let me tell you... He couldn't have done two years' work if he was a sick man. He's very healthy, he's very fit. He had the heart operation (in 2004) and that's it. He's long since recovered from that," Visconti told The Sunday Telegraph at that time.
Bowie collapsed on stage at music festival in Germany in 2004 that led to him having emergency heart surgery to treat an acutely blocked artery.
His best-known singles include 1983's "Let's Dance," "Space Oddity," "Under Pressure," China Girl," Modern Love," "Rebel, Rebel," and his 1977 Christmas medley duet with Bing Crosby.
