David Bowie has passed away.

[GoGo Yubari]

 

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle... https://t.co/ENRSiT43Zy

— David Bowie Official (@DavidBowieReal)

January 11, 2016

Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter are confirming it. Fuck.

EDIT: His son just confirmed on Twitter too. I'm at a loss.

[Bobfoc]

I wasn't expecting that at all. That's one of the biggest characters in music gone, so soon after another icon of a musical genre in Lemmy.

[Lint]

Wow...I was never a huge Bowie fan, but the impact he had in the music industry can't be denied.  I'm really shocked by this

[LL!]

Ugh. Holy shit.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Unreal and horrible news. 

[DMN in the House]

I don't even know how to react to this. My roommates and I just took a moment to listen to Heroes when we found out. I'm incredibly sad right now.

[Your Mom]

He just put out an album didn't he? I didn't know he was sick. I feel bad that I didn't know that. I guess I fuck I don't know I just feel bad

[GoGo Yubari]

2 minutes ago, Ziggy Srardust said:

 I didn't know he was sick. I feel bad that I didn't know that

 

It wasn't publicly disclosed at any point, I think.

[Colly]

My wife and I have been saying that we'd actually break the bank if a tour was announced since before The Next Day came out, absolutely gutted this morning. Unquestionably our biggest musical connection and I don't think there's anyone I like more, I think he's probably got more of an influence on the music I listen to than anyone else. Also Labyrinth...

[stokeriño]

Like some others I've never been a Bowie fan so much as conscious of his significance and influence. I have the first few lines of FotC's Bowie song rather stuck in my head this morning...

Bowie's in space...
Bowie's in spa-a-ace,
Whatcha doin' out there, man?

[db07]

'But he thinks he'd blow our minds....' I'll tell you what David Bowie, that's what you did.

[Lineker]

Fuck. What awful news to wake up to. Horrendous. 

[JasonM]

One of the finest artists from the 60s and 70s... Time to start listening to Life on Mars on repeat all day

RIP, Bowie

[Colly]

1 hour ago, stokeriño said:

Like some others I've never been a Bowie fan so much as conscious of his significance and influence. I have the first few lines of FotC's Bowie song rather stuck in my head this morning...

Bowie's in space...
Bowie's in spa-a-ace,
Whatcha doin' out there, man?

I think I struggle to put into words his significance to me, he is my Beatles, without him there's no Suede in the 90s and there's none of the more electro tinged bands in my early twenties, but that doesn't take away at all from brilliant things like that song, film appearances like The Prestige, Chubby Little Loser from Extras, or indeed this picture of him reading Viz on a train...

6 Music has been brilliant so far this morning, I'd recommend listening to that rather than anything on repeat, his body of work is far too wide and far too good to strip it down to greatest hits.

[Matt]

This still isn't computing in my head, a true legend of music. RIP.

[Skummy]

I wish I could have 6Music on today. I'm at work and stuck with Radio 1, listening to well-meaning but clueless DJs and guests trying to talk about how important he was while struggling to name a single song.

I'm still struggling to get my head around it. It feels like I spent half of last year calling someone or other my "hero", but only because 2015 took so many of them...it would not be the slightest bit of an exaggeration to say that Bowie was one of my absolute heroes. Directly, and indirectly through the influence he had on pop culture, and on people I know, he has been as big an inspiration and a formative influence on me as they come. Station To Station is one of my favourite albums, and the way I've dressed for the better part of the last ten years has chiefly been influenced by Bowie's Berlin period. My approach to music, to life, to culture, is shaped by Bowie. I have a framed photo of Bowie on my wall.

To be pretentious about it, his music speaks to people who just want to hear that, actually, they might not be alone, or that the world might be a little more wonderful, a little more fantastic, than it appears on the surface. He taught the world that you can reinvent yourself, that your identity is something malleable - you don't have to be what you're told to be.

 

Just...how amazing is it that this man existed, did all he did, and we were lucky enough to share in even a bit of it?

[FestiveJack]

3 hours ago, Ziggy Srardust said:

He just put out an album didn't he? I didn't know he was sick. I feel bad that I didn't know that. I guess I fuck I don't know I just feel bad

Like two days ago, on his 69th birthday.

[Hobo]

While I never listened to an entire album. I've never heard a David Bowie song I didn't like and this has bummed me out.

[Just Joe]

Beyond gutted, one of the greatest recording artists of all time. My Mam and Sister were huge fans and when I got older so was I.

Edited January 11, 2016 by FrostyPickle_3:16

[Skummy]

It's being said by a few people, including Tony Visconti, now that he more or less knew how long he had left, and that a lot of the lyrics on the new album were intended to be something of a "farewell to loyal fans".

 

Apparently he's currently at numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11,17,18, 22, 23, 25, and 30 on the iTunes Top 30.