David Bowie dead at 69: Star’s official social media accounts confirm lost battle with cancer

David Bowie has died at the age of 69 after losing an 18-month battle with cancer, his official Facebook and Twitter accounts confirmed on Monday.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer,” a statement posted on the star’s official Facebook page said.

“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

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

Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, confirmed the news via a tweet:

Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all. pic.twitter.com/Kh2fq3tf9m

— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) January 11, 2016

Kanye West was one of the first musicians to tweet his condolences shortly after the news broke:

David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) January 11, 2016

Meanwhile, the most liked comment on the Facebook posting read: “I’m confused, shocked, and I don’t know what to believe. My heart nearly stopped reading this post. I hope this is not true, but if it is, I am truly, truly sorry for the loss of such a great man, performer, musician, and inspiration. My heart goes out to you, David Bowie, the blackstar.”

As BuzzFeed points out, Bowie had only just released an album on January 8, his 69th birthday.

RIP #DavidBowie you taught me it was okay to be different. pic.twitter.com/xRwQIvg0hG

— Adam Glass (@AdamGlass44) January 11, 2016

David Bowie's death leaves me with the same thought as Robin Williams' death: Energy can not be created or destroyed, but only change form.

— Jamie Woodham (@jwoodham) January 11, 2016

On behalf of VentureBeat, R.I.P. David Bowie. <3