British music legend David Bowie dies

British music legend David Bowie has died after a long battle with cancer, his official Twitter and Facebook accounts said Jan. 11, prompting an outpouring of tributes.

Bowie died on Jan. 10 surrounded by family, according to his social media accounts.
 
The iconic musician had turned 69 only on Jan. 8, which coincided with the release of "Blackstar", his 25th studio album.
 
"David Bowie died peacefully today (Sunday) surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer," said a brief statement posted to both his Twitter and Facebook accounts.
 
"While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief," it added.
 
Film director Duncan Jones, Bowie's son with his first wife Angela Bowie, confirmed the news on Twitter.
 
"Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all," Jones wrote on his official account.
 
The death brings the curtain down on one of the most acclaimed artists of modern British music, with a career dating back to the hit "Space Oddity" in 1969, about an astronaut called Major Tom, who is abandoned in space.
 
It spanned styles ranging from glam rock, New Romantic, Krautrock and dance music to alternative rock, jungle, soul and hard rock, underpinned by an astonishing array of stage personas from the sexually ambiguous Ziggy Stardust to the so-called Thin White Duke.
 
He was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, inner south London on January 8, 1947, before his family moved out to the leafy suburb of Bromley when he was six.
         
In the first of many re-inventions, he named himself David Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones, lead...