David Bowie’s last release, Lazarus, was ‘parting gift’ for fans in carefully planned finale

The producer of Blackstar confirms David Bowie had planned his poignant final message, and videos and lyrics show how he approached his death

FROM THE UK TELEGRAPH

David Bowie‘s final record was a carefully-orchestrated farewell to his fans, his producer has confirmed.

Lazarus, released on the Bowie’s 69th birthday just two days before his death, opens with the lyrics: “Look up here, I’m in Heaven!”

Its video, which will be viewed in a very different light by millions of fans today, features the musician in a hospital bed, and finishes with him retreating in to a dark closet. Tony Visconti, the producer who worked with Bowie to complete his final album and many others prior to that, has released a statement saying it was deliberately created and timed as a “parting gift” for his fans.

In a statement on his Facebook page, he said: “He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way.

“His death was no different from his life – a work of Art.

“He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift.

“I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it.

“He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us.

“For now, it is appropriate to cry.”

Visconti, whose ex-wife May Pang is a resident of Pomona, has previously spoken of creating the album, which was recorded in just three sessions over the course of three months at the beginning of 2015.

It now appears the singer and those closest to him arranged its release at the end of his life, after 18 months of living with cancer.

David Bowie’s last release, Lazarus, was ‘parting gift’ for fans in carefully planned finale added by dskriloff on January 14, 2016
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