David Bowie from a decade-long recording hiatus with "The Next Day." He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, "Blackstar" (2016). Bowie was born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London. His mother, Margaret Mary "Peggy" (née Burns; 1913–2001), was born at Shorncliffe Army Camp near Cheriton, Kent. Her paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants who had settled in Manchester. She worked as a waitress at a cinema in Royal Tunbridge Wells. His father, Haywood Stenton "John" Jones (1912–1969), was from Doncaster, and worked as a promotions officer for
Death of David Bowie Bowie, I’d been listening to Bowie on a loop" and as a result wrote the song "Shiny" partially as a tribute to him. On "American Idol"'s 15th-season finale, the winners sang some of Bowie's most famous songs on stage. Glenn Branca, whom Bowie had met and had referred to as an influence on his Tin Machine music, released "The Light (for David)" in 2016. Branca called Bowie "a kind of muse" and wrote the piece as a tribute to him. Death of David Bowie On 10 January 2016, English singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie died at his Lafayette Street