Photo: Press/Jimmy King
David Bowie was working on one more farewell album in the weeks leading up to his death, says his producer Tony Visconti.
The rock icon released his incredible 25th album Blackstar last week - later revealed to be Bowie's 'parting gift' to the world, as he would die from his 18 month battle with cancer just days later, at the age of 69.
Now, his producer, friend and longtime Tony Visconti has spoken of The Thin White Duke's final weeks.
"At that late stage, he was planning the follow-up to 'Blackstar', and I was thrilled,” Visconti told Rolling Stone. “And I thought, and he thought, that he’d have a few months, at least. Obviously, if he’s excited about doing his next album, he must’ve thought he had a few more months. So the end must’ve been very rapid. I’m not privy to it. I don’t know exactly, but he must’ve taken ill very quickly after that phone call.”
Speaking of Bowie's treatment, Visconti said that all looked up for him at the start of 2015 - before taking an unfortunate turn for the worse.
MORE: Why David Bowie will always be with us
“He just came fresh from a chemo session, and he had no eyebrows, and he had no hair on his head, and there was no way he could keep it a secret from the band,” Visconti went on. “But he told me privately, and I really got choked up when we sat face to face talking about it.” Although the chemo initially seemed successful and Bowie went into remission in the middle of 2015, the cancer suddenly returned in November, and he knew that it was terminal."
Meanwhile, it is reported that Bowie was cremated in a quiet ceremony with no friends or family present in New York.
