David Bowie's Blackstar album 10 years on: Why the late icon's final album was so special

8 January 2026, 11:17 | Updated: 8 January 2026, 16:25

Blackstar was released 10 years ago on Bowie's 69th birthday on 8th January 2016. Sadly it was to be his last. Read our facts about the icon's swan song here...

Thursday 8th January marks what would have been David Bowie's 79th birthday, but also 10 years since the release of his Blackstar album.

On 10th January 2016, two days after the record was released, the legend tragically lost his private battle to cancer, shocking fans and artists from across the world and turning the record into his poignant swan song.

Much like Bowie's career, Blackstar was shrouded in mystery and because of this, the album still manages to surprise fans today.

Remind yourself of the greatness of Bowie's final album with our facts about the record below:

Read more about David Bowie:

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• David Bowie in his own words

Facts about David Bowie's Blackstar album:

1. Blackstar was released on David Bowie's 69th birthday

   ★ Album artwork reveal #Blackstar #imablackstar

   Posted by David Bowie on Wednesday, 18 November 2015

   One of the most obvious and well-known facts about the album is that it was released to coincide with David Bowie's birthday.

2. It was accompanied by no promotion or interviews

   

   Like with his 2013 effort The Next Day, Blackstar and its singles came as a surprise to most of the world. Bowie conducted no interviews and made no public appearances to promote the record, thus adding to its mysterious nature.

3. The album's artwork was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook

   

   Barnbrook also worked on the artwork for Bowie's Heathen, Reality and The Next Day albums.

   He said of this particular record: "Blackstar is a dark album about dark times. I hope in what I’ve done there’s something that resonated with the darkness of the music in some way."

4. Blackstar was recorded in secret

   Just like with bowie's The Next Day album, Blackstar was recorded secretly in New York studios the Magic Shop with all artists and producers asked to sign NDAs.

   Many will not have known of Bowie's illness at the time, although some may have witnessed his health deteriorating as he battled cancer privately for 18 months before his passing.

   There were some theories that the album's title was code for Bowie's cancer diagnosis. Though he died of liver cancer, a 'black star' is often used to describe a proliferative breast lesion which gives the appearance of a black star.

5. Tony Visconti produced the record

   

   Bowie's longtime friend and collaborator returned to take on producing duties on Blackstar and was also sworn to secrecy about Bowie's illness.

   Speaking a month after his passing, Visconti described the album as a "parting gift to his fans".

6. The first cut to taken from the album was also its title track

   

   David Bowie - Blackstar (Video)

   Blackstar was released as the album's lead singer on 19th November 2015,. It's accompanying official 10-minute video was filled with shivering dancers, bejewelled space skeletons and a button-eyed, scarecrow-like Bowie. It certainly was a stark and surreal opening statement from the icon, which was directed by Johan Renck, who also used the for the opening music for his television series The Last Panthers.

7. His Blackstar single was supposed to be EVEN longer than 9:47

   The single was originally over 11 minutes in length, but it was shortened to 9:57 after Bowie and Visconti learned that iTunes wouldn't post digital singles that exceeded 10 minutes in length.

   Visconti wanted the track to stay at its original length on the album version, but Bowie decided it would be be confusing.

8. There are many clues of Bowie's illness in his Lazarus single & music video

   

   David Bowie - Lazarus (Video)

   Lazarus was officially released on 17 December 2015, but its accompanying video wasn't unveiled until 7 January 2016 - three days before Bowie's death.

   If the title and lyrics weren't enough to get fans talking, its video - which sees the icon in bed - seemed to have been made with Bowie's illness very much at the forefront of his mind.

   Another clue to Bowie's condition and his thoughts on mortality can be gleaned from the song's title. In The Bible, Lazarus is brought back to life by Jesus after being dead for four days.

   Bowie's acclaimed musical, which was written by Edna Walsh, was also given the same name. The production was live streamed for the first time ever in 2021 to mark what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday and five years since his passing.

9. The Blackstar vinyl had hidden secrets

   Shortly after David Bowie's death, fans began noticing things about the inner sleeve for the vinyl edition of the album.

   Some claimed that the album shined luminous blue when hidden under a blacklight, while others found that when light was shone at the back of gatefold of the vinyl sleeve, it produced a cluster of yellow stars, Blackstar indeed kept being the gift that kept on giving and almost felt like Bowie was smiling down at his fans after his death.

   #Blackstar アナログ盤のジャケを日光にかざすと光る、ていう例の仕掛けを映像解説。よほど強い光じゃないとこうならない、とのこと。https://t.co/5ylEhcwRec pic.twitter.com/lRW7pXEC9I

   — Tats (@Buzz_The_Fuzz) January 7, 2026

   READ MORE: See the secrets and alleged discoveries of the Blackstar album

   READ MORE: Revealed! Secret hidden messages on famous album covers

10. The incomplete stars on the bottom of the artwork spell Bowie's name

    

    Yes, there was a whole font created for Bowie's Blackstar album and the stars at the very bottom are supposed to read BOWIE.

    Seems obvious once you know, right?

11. Even Bowie didn't know all the secrets about his Blackstar album

    

    In 2017, designer Jonathan Barnbrook revealed the album had secrets even Bowie didn't know about.

    "From the beginning, we discussed not revealing everything. There are certain things about the cover which haven’t been discovered, he said at a talk at the V&A to celebrate Bowie's Birthday.

    When asked if Bowie asked him to fill the artwork with secrets and messages, the designer replied: “No, he didn’t – he didn’t know about some of them.”

12. Blackstar was Bowie's 26th album

    In his lifetime, David Bowie had amassed an impressive body of work, but his final studio album stands out as one of the most meaningful swan songs of all time- not just because of its experimentation, but due to Bowie's cancer battle and knowledge of fate.

    With its themes of mortality, cryptic clues and surprises the record - which entered the top of the charts across the globe - was widely praised as a "death art" masterpiece and is considered one of the most poignant and well-crafted endings of a career in music, with Bowie being having control over his own musicianship and artistry up until his last breath.

    The fact Bowie died only two days after its release only serves to make the album more touching with every anniversary that passes.

Listen to Blackstar in full here:

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