In some truly sad news, David Bowie has passed away at the age of 69. He had been battling cancer for the past 18 months.

Bowie’s son, Moon director Duncan Jones, confirmed the news before an official statement was released simply stating “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer.”

The legendary singer is seen as one of the most influential artists in music history, with a back catalogue that includes the likes of Life on Mars, Space Oddity, Starman, Moonage Daydream, Heroes, Under Pressure, Suffragette City, Let’s Dance, and Rebel, Rebel. He was also, of course, fondly remembered for his iconic Ziggy Stardust alter-ego. It was only this past Friday that Bowie, real name David Robert Jones, released his latest album, the seven-song Blackstar, to coincide with his 69th birthday.

As well as one of the greatest careers in music history, Bowie had his fingers in plenty of others pies, and he is fondly remembered by many a genre fan for his turns in the likes of The Man Who Fell to Earth, Tony Scott’s brilliant modern vampire flick The Hunger, The Last Temptation of Christ, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Zoolander, The Prestige and as Jareth the Goblin King in the beloved Labyrinth.

The thoughts of all at STARBURST go out to the family, friends and fans of the one and only David Bowie. Thank you for the memories, sir.