David Bowie death: What were David Bowie’s last words?

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David Bowie death: What were David Bowie’s last words?

David Bowie left fans a huge gift before he died: Blackstar, his final album. Many have considered this to be his swansong, or even his final words. Express.co.uk takes a look at the final moments of the iconic legend.

What were David Bowie’s last words?

David Bowie died of liver cancer, aged 69 on January 10, 2016 at his home on Lafayette Street in New York City.

His album Blackstar had been released on his 69th birthday, two days before his death.

The singer had reportedly been living with liver cancer for 18 months but kept his death a secret from many, including friends in the music industry and fans.

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By November 2015, after there were hopes he would be in remission, the cancer had spread and he was told it was incurable.

David reportedly chose to stop treatment for cancer during the filming of the Lazarus music video, and his last public appearance before his death was at the opening of his musical Lazarus on December 7, 2015.

His death took place two days after the release of Blackstar, with many calling it his “swansong,” especially the song Lazarus.

Lazarus is a Biblical figure who was raised from the dead by Jesus, which shows David’s mindset at the time of his making the album.

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The singer insisted there would be no funeral for him, and instead asked those close to him to scatter his ashes in Bali as part of an intimate, Buddhist ceremony.

His older music suddenly skyrocketed in the charts, as did Blackstar, which won posthumous Grammy and Brit Awards, while he became the most-watched artist on Vevo in a single day.

He was given the BRIT Icon Award in 2016, which his friend, actor Gary Oldman collected for him.

In his speech, Gary gave an idea of some of the final sentiments of David, and some have taken this to be his last words.

Gary said: “He faced his illness with enormous courage, dignity, grace and customary humour – even in dire circumstances.

“When he wrote to tell me the bad news, he added, ‘The good news is I’ve got my cheekbones back.’

“In recent years, David sparingly spoke about music and his process; but in one of these rare instances, he graciously and elegantly expounded, ‘Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences.

“‘I can’t say that life’s pains or more tragic episodes have been diminished because of it, but it has allowed me so many moments of companionship that when I have been lonely and sublime means communications when I have wanted to touch people.

“‘It has been my doorway of perception and the house that I live in.'”

While it is not clear these were his official last words, this is the last sentiment we heard from David, spoken through his friend after his death.

David had quite the fortune to leave behind, which was reported as being approximately £80million, according to court documents filed at the end of January in New York.

David’s will had certain stipulations, with the majority of his wealth to be divided between his wife, supermodel Iman, and his two children, Duncan and Alexandria.

Published at Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:53:20 +0000

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