https://proudstars.blogspot.com/2016/01/tears-for-ziggy-devastated-david-bowie.html
Tears for Ziggy: Devastated David Bowie fans mourn shock death of music icon as it's claimed he suffered six heart attacks before losing secret battle with cancer
- Tributes paid today to singer David Bowie who has died aged 69 after battling cancer in secret for 18 months
- Bowie recorded his final album while fighting disease and last week released video of himself in a hospital bed
- Producer Tony Visconti said the singer had known for a year that he was dying and the album is a 'parting gift'
- Bowie, who hadn't gone on tour since 2004, suffered six heart attacks in years before his death, biographer says
- Star's son Duncan is 'very sorry and sad' while public figures have expressed grief and shrines have been set up
- Bowie sent Brian Eno a farewell email a week ago saying: 'Thank you for our good times, Brian, they will never rot'
- See more news on David Bowie's death at www.dailymail.co.uk/davidbowie
Last picture: David Bowie attended the premiere of the musical Lazarus, based on his songs, in New York City on December 7
Thousands of David Bowie fans paid emotional tributes to the star today following his death, setting up impromptu shrines all across the world.
The iconic singer, whose new album came out just last week, died from cancer aged 69 in New York City yesterday surrounded by his family.
Following an outpouring of grief from celebrities, public figures and music fans, several significant sites in Europe and the US were transformed into memorials for the rocker, who had secretly battled illness for 18 months and was said to have suffered six heart attacks in the past few years.
His childhood home in South London, his apartment building in New York, a Dutch museum hosting a Bowie exhibition and the spot where the Ziggy Stardust album cover was captured were among the areas to host vigils.
Several fans burst into tears while laying flowers at a mural dedicated to the star in his birthplace of Brixton, with many saying his death - which was announced this morning - felt like losing someone close to them.
Bowie's death came just three days after the release of a music video which featured chilling footage of the singer confined to a hospital bed with his eyes covered by a bandage.
His producer Tony Visconti suggested that Bowie knew for a year that his cancer was incurable, and added that his final album Blackstar -recorded in early 2015, after the singer's diagnosis - was 'a parting gift' to the world.
One week ago Bowie sent Brian Eno, a frequent collaborator, a farewell email, saying: 'Thank you for our good times, Brian, they will never rot.'
Wendy Leigh, who published a biography of the star in 2014, told BBC News today: 'He had six heart attacks in recent years - I got this from somebody very close to him.'
Following Bowie's death a flood of celebrities and other public figures such as politicians and even the Archbishop of Canterbury rushed to pay tribute to the impact he had on the cultural landscape of his era.
A spokesman for the singer said today: 'David Bowie died peacefully 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.'
At the vigil in Brixton, Rosie Lowery, 21, who painted her face with a lightning bolt in tribute, was crying as she laid flowers in Bowie's memory.
'I woke up this morning to my dad ringing me and he told me the news,' she said 'I was so sad. I felt like I'd lost someone I knew - even though I hadn't even seen him live.'
Tears for an iconic singer: Rosie Lowery, 21, cried today as she paid tribute to David Bowie at a mural in Brixton, South London
Sad: Two fans were among those overcome with emotion today at the site in South London near to where Bowie was born
Embrace: Mourners at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, where an exhibition on Bowie's life and work is currently on display
Home: Flowers were also placed at the entrance to Bowie's apartment building in the Nolita area of Manhattan, New York
Light: Fans left dozens of candles around the star which is dedicated to Bowie on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California
'The guy just brings out a new album, which will obviously go to number one now, and you're thinking - great - there's more music in him.
'You just don't imagine a guy with that much energy and creativity and commitment to music is going to die.
'The truth is, he's had this cancer for eighteen months, so he recorded this album while he knew he was dying.
'People will start listening to that album and looking at it in a completely different way.'
