David Bowie’s death was a real surprise to fans, as few people knew David was struggling with his health. He had a cancer diagnosis which quickly worsened, and eventually David lost his battle with cancer on January 10, 2016. But when was David last seen before he died?
What was David Bowie’s last appearance?
David Bowie’s last appearance was at the opening of his theatre show, Lazarus, on December 7, 2015.
Lazarus had music and lyrics written by David, with the book written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh.
The story is based on the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth, which David famously brought to life in a film adaptation in 1976.
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The 1976 film, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starred David as Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien who crash lands on Earth as he attempts to bring water back to his planet, which is suffering from drought.
The film version of this story divided critics but gained a cult following quickly and became one of the best-loved of David’s films.
With regards to the musical, it also gained a mixed reception from critics.
Actor Michael C Hall was praised for his turn as Thomas and was nominated for awards such as the Drama Desk Award and WhatsOnStage Award for Lead Actor, as were other members of the production, though David’s musical work was not included in the nominations.
David died not long after this appearance, on January 10, 2016, only days after his cancer diagnosis was made known.
The singer was first diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014, while he was working on the off-Broadway musical.
According to Reuters, he only told his family and those he was working with at the time.
David had cancer treatment, with his long-time collaborator Tony Visconti saying the singer was bald from chemotherapy when they met to begin work on Blackstar.
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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, which took place just before the opening of Lazarus.
His death took place two days after the release of Blackstar, with many calling it his “swansong”.
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.
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 and he was given the BRIT Icon Award in 2016.
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.
