On 10 January 2016, the English singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie died at his Lafayette Street home in New York City, having been diagnosed with liver cancer 18 months earlier. He died two days after the release of his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar, which coincided with his 69th birthday.

Bowie kept his illness private, and friends and fans alike were surprised by his death. Makeshift memorials were created in London, New York City, Berlin and other cities in which Bowie had lived; sales of his albums and singles saw a significant increase. Numerous musicians and public figures also expressed their grief. Many commentators noted Bowie's impact on music, fashion and culture, and wrote of his status as one of the most influential musical artists of all time.

Timeline Bowie released his twenty-fifth studio album The Next Day in early 2013 after having secretly recorded it over the previous two years, surprising fans and critics who had assumed that he had retired. Following its release, he went back into the studio to begin work on his next and what was to be final album, Blackstar. In June and July 2014, Bowie recorded his single "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and around this time, Bowie was diagnosed with liver cancer. He told only his family and people he was working with at the time about his condition; Ivo van Hove, with whom Bowie was collaborating on the off-Broadway musical Lazarus, was told shortly after Bowie himself found out. Tony Visconti, Bowie's friend and producer of many Bowie albums, including Blackstar, was told in January 2015. Visconti recalled that Bowie was completely bald from his chemotherapy when they spoke. Other musicians who worked with Bowie to record Blackstar said that, during recording, they did not know he was sick.

By mid-2015, as the studio sessions for Blackstar were completed, it was hoped that the cancer was in remission, but by November 2015, around the time his single "Blackstar" was released, the cancer had spread throughout his body and Bowie was told by his doctors that his condition was terminal. He was in the middle of filming the video for his song "Lazarus" when the decision was made to end his cancer treatment. Bowie reportedly wrote a five-year plan for what he wanted done with his music after he died, and his last public appearance was at the 7 December 2015 opening night of his musical Lazarus. Bowie released his final studio album Blackstar on 8 January 2016, his 69th birthday.

Bowie died on 10 January 2016, and his Facebook page posted the following message: "Jan. 10, 2016 – 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."

Many musicians who had worked with Bowie over the years, such as Mike Garson, Gerry Leonard, Brian Eno, Nile Rodgers, Reeves Gabrels, Tina Turner, Iggy Pop, Sterling Campbell, Earl Slick and Gail Ann Dorsey, had not been told about his illness and were surprised when Bowie died.

On 12 January 2016, in accordance with his will, Bowie was cremated in New Jersey, and his ashes were scattered in accordance with Buddhist rituals in Bali, Indonesia. Bowie had vacationed in Bali in the 1980s and had written the song "Tumble and Twirl" about his exploits there.

A few days after his death, a letter speculating about his final moments was published by palliative care doctor Mark Taubert (who had not been involved in Bowie's palliative care). The letter was initially published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care and then the Independent Newspaper and was shared by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones. It was published in newsrooms worldwide and addresses issues such as palliative care and planning for the end of life. Bowie's story became a way to communicate important aspects of dying with a palliative care patient. Dylan Jones included the letter in his Bowie biography David Bowie – A Life.

Reaction David Bowie Is

David Bowie Is was a travelling museum show that displayed the history, artifacts and information about Bowie's life and works. The show, which ran from 2013 through 2018, was at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands when Bowie died, and as a result the museum considered cancelling the show, and there were also discussions as to whether to keep the name in the present tense (David Bowie Is). The decision was made instead to extend the show for 4 weeks to allow grieving fans to attend.

Fans

Memorials to Bowie were created around the world in the hours following his death. In Brixton, the London area in which Bowie was born, a mural painted in 2013 by Australian artist Jimmy C became a shrine at which fans left flowers, records and handwritten messages. As well as leaving flowers, fans gathered in the streets of Brixton on the evening of the 11th of January to sing together and celebrate his life and works. Over 5,000 people marked themselves as 'attending' on the Facebook event. The crowds feature in footage at the start and end of David Bowie: The Last Five Years, a BBC documentary about the last five years of Bowie's life. The mural features Bowie as he appeared on his iconic Aladdin Sane album cover, with a red and blue stripe appearing diagonally across his face as if it had been painted upon it.

In Berlin, fans left flowers outside the flat in which Bowie and Iggy Pop had lived while Bowie created his seminal "Berlin trilogy" of albums—Low, "Heroes" and Lodger—in the late 1970s as well as Pop's albums The Idiot and Lust for Life (which Bowie produced). Flowers were also left outside Bowie's New York City apartment and next to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. In Milan, fans held a flash mob memorial service in Colonne di San Lorenzo while fans in Rio de Janeiro paid tribute to Bowie in February's Rio Carnival. In Japan, hours after Bowie's death, a devoted fan was detained for threatening to commit suicide with a box cutter in public.

Other musicians Tony Visconti, who produced a number of Bowie's albums including the "Berlin trilogy", Young Americans, and Bowie's final studio album, Blackstar, wrote: "He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life—a work of art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry".

Mick Jagger said, "David was always an inspiration to me and a true original. He was wonderfully shameless in his work. We had so many good times together ... He was my friend. I will never forget him".

Friend and collaborator Iggy Pop described him on social media as "the light of my life". The following month, he performed two Bowie songs at the 2016 Tibet House Benefit Concert.

Singer-songwriter Madonna tweeted: "Talented. Unique. Genius. Game Changer" and sang "Rebel, Rebel" at her Houston concert.

Queen, with whom he collaborated on "Under Pressure", tweeted a link to the video of the song, with the words: "This is our last dance...."

Elton John commented that "we all know how inspiring he is. We all know that his music stands. We don't have to say anything about the music: it speaks for itself. He was innovative, he was boundary-changing, and he danced to his own tune—which in any artist is really rare". John also performed a cover of "Space Oddity" at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles two days after Bowie's death.

Peter Gabriel wrote, in part, "He was a one-off, a brilliant outlier, always exploring, challenging and inspiring anyone who wanted to push the boundaries of music, art, fashion and society".

Kate Bush, noted for rarely giving public statements, told The Guardian in an interview: "David Bowie had everything. He was intelligent, imaginative, brave, charismatic, cool, sexy and truly inspirational both visually and musically. He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it and it was so good. There are great people who make great work but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him".

Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode said, "I had seen the news but it wasn't until my wife told me he had died that I just broke down in tears. My daughter came out and they were both hugging me. It really affected me. I felt a huge gap. One of the things I was most regrettable about was that I had never really gone up to him at any time I'd seen him in passing and said, 'You know, David, I bump into you every once in a while, but I've never told you how much your music has meant to me and continues to mean to me.'"

The Who honoured Bowie during their concert of 3 March 2016 at New York's Madison Square Garden with images of Bowie and noting "We'll miss our friend, a true icon of music and art, and a brilliant innovator."

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins told Vulture, "When a true star blinks out, the sky looks different and never feels the same.”

Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath referred to him as, "one of the greats."

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. wrote, "Right now, it feels as if the solar system is off its axis, as if one of our main planetary anchors has lost its orbit. That said—I am certain that wherever Bowie is now—I want to be there someday."

Debbie Harry said "Who doesn't love Bowie? A visionary artist, musician, actor, a completely renaissance man who has given us a long list of songs like 'Heroes,' 'Rebel Rebel,' 'Young Americans,' 'Diamond Dogs,' 'The Jean Genie,' and some memorable film performances like The Man Who Fell to Earth, Basquiat, Labyrinth, The Hunger. I can't say enough things about David Bowie to show how much I love him."

Paul McCartney, meanwhile, shared a picture of him and Bowie together on Instagram and commented that "David was a great star and I treasure the moments we had together. His music played a very strong part in British musical history and I'm proud to think of the huge influence he has had on people all around the world".

Bruce Springsteen commented "Over here on E Street, we're feeling the great loss of David Bowie. David was a visionary artist and an early supporter of our music. Always changing and ahead of the curve, he was an artist whose excellence you aspired to. He will be sorely missed." Bowie had previously recorded cover versions of Springsteen's songs "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" early on in Springsteen's career. On the opening night of The River Tour 2016 in Pittsburgh on 16 January, Springsteen & the E Street Band opened their encore with a cover of "Rebel Rebel".

Yoko Ono noted Bowie's friendship with herself and John Lennon, and thanked him for being a "father figure" to her son Sean following Lennon's death.

Angie Bowie and "David's dead" Celebrity Big Brother incident At the time of Bowie's death, his ex-wife Angie was competing as a housemate on the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in the United Kingdom. After the show's producers informed her of his death off camera, Angie returned to the house and confided in fellow housemate Tiffany Pollard, exclaiming "David's dead". Pollard however thought she was referring to David Gest, another housemate on the show who had been unwell for several days. Pollard became hysterical, resulting in other housemates going to check on Gest, who was in the bedroom asleep. Angie decided to voluntarily leave the house a week later, following Gest who had left for medical reasons two days earlier. Gest died three months later.

Homages from outside of popular culture

British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to Bowie, calling him "an immense British talent" and stating "musically, creatively, artistically, David Bowie was a genius".