Updated 6.45pm
DAVID BOWIE’S FAMILY are making arrangements for a private ceremony to celebrate the renowned musician’s memory.
They have also welcomed fans’ own celebrations of his life following his death.
A Facebook statement on his official page said:
THANK YOU
The family of David Bowie is currently making arrangements for a private ceremony celebrating the memory of their beloved husband, father and friend.
They ask once again that their privacy be respected at this most sensitive of times.
We are overwhelmed by and grateful for the love and support shown throughout the world.
However, it is important to note that while the concerts and tributes planned for the coming weeks are all welcome, none are official memorials organized or endorsed by the family.
Just as each and every one of us found something unique in David’s music, we welcome everyone’s celebration of his life as they see fit.
https://www.facebook.com/davidbowie/photos/a.424610777664.193516.30899502664/10153183154472665/?type=3
Reports from the US this morning said that the singer’s body has been privately cremated in New York.
The Daily Mirror reports that the singer told his family he wanted to “go without any fuss”.
“There is no public or private service or a public memorial. There is nothing,” the paper quotes a New York source as saying.
In many respects you don’t need a memorial or service to remember David by… you have his music instead.
News of the legendary singer’s death at the age of 69 was announced in a brief posting early on Monday on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts, with a request for privacy for his grieving family.
“David Bowie died peacefully today (Sunday) surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” it said.
Little information was available on how or where he died – although media reports have said he was suffering from liver cancer.
The star lived a quiet existence in his last decade or so. He was regularly seen around New York – but there were few public appearances.
Recordings were conducted in secret, and no new interviews with the star were given to coincide with the releases of The Next Day (2013) and Blackstar (2016).
Only a small circle of close collaborators were aware that the iconic performer was in poor health.
His wife Iman, who has not commented publicly on his death, posted poignant messages on social media before he passed away.
“Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory,” she wrote on her public Twitter and Facebook accounts on Saturday.
Bowie’s son, film director Duncan Jones, commented only to confirm the news with a short Twitter message:
Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.
There has been no mention of the cremation reports on Bowie’s official social media accounts.
With reporting from AFP and Aoife Barry.
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