The Blackstar Man

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

This persona emerged during a period when Bowie was secretly battling liver cancer, diagnosed in summer 2014. He recorded *Blackstar* while undergoing chemotherapy, keeping his illness private. The backing band—McCaslin, Lindner, Lefebvre and Guiliana—was hired after Bowie and Visconti saw them play at the 55 Bar club in Greenwich Village in June 2014. Visconti told *Mojo*: 'If we'd used [Bowie's] former musicians they would be rock people playing jazz ... Having jazz guys play rock music turns it upside down.' The album's cover art, designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, features a large black star with five star segments at the bottom that spell out the word 'Bowie'. The album contains 'Lazarus', from the 2015 musical of the same name, and re-recorded versions of the 2014 songs 'Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)' and ''Tis a Pity She Was a Whore'.

In Their Own Story

The lights dimmed until only a single spotlight remained on the stage. A figure stood motionless, clad in white against the darkness of the void. There was no applause, only the hum of electricity and the distant sound of breathing. He looked up at the stars, knowing they were waiting to take him home.

Reader's Guide

This persona originates from the recording sessions for *Blackstar*, which took place in secret at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City. Recording began in the first week of January 2015, with further sessions in February and March. Bowie demoed all tracks before sessions but encouraged experimentation; Lindner told *Rolling Stone*, 'He gave us the freedom to really just play, sort of be ourselves, and if we were hearing anything in particular, to try it out.' The album was preceded by the singles 'Blackstar' and 'Lazarus', both supported by music videos. Upon release, it topped charts in many countries, including the UK, and became Bowie's only album to top the Billboard 200 in the US. It received three Grammy Awards and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year in 2017.

Did You Know?

• The album was recorded in secret; each musician signed confidentiality clauses.
• Bowie took inspiration from Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips, listening to them during the album's production.
• The song 'Dollar Days' was created without a preliminary demo, devised on the spot based on a guitar idea from Bowie.
• James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem contributed percussion on 'Sue' and 'Girl Loves Me' but backed out of co-producing because he felt 'overwhelmed'.
• The final master mix was done by engineer Tom Elmhirst at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.