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Ten Years Later, 'Blackstar' Defines David Bowie's Farewell

Anniversary retrospectives, including an official Instagram remembrance, underline a deliberate farewell crafted in secrecy.

Overview

  • Bowie released Blackstar on January 8, 2016, his 69th birthday, and died two days later in New York from liver cancer.
  • Critics reaffirm the album as a carefully calibrated final statement that openly contemplates mortality and restraint.
  • The record’s sound draws on electronic textures and free‑jazz, prominently featuring collaborators Donny McCaslin and Mark Guiliana.
  • ‘Lazarus’ resurfaces as the emblematic work, with its video’s imagery reinterpreted through the lens of his imminent death.
  • Bowie’s official account reposted director Johan Renck’s tribute, as new commentary revisits his private diagnosis and intense final months of work.