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
Bowie (surname) Bowie (surname) Bowie is a Scottish surname. The name can be derived from the Gaelic nickname "buidhe", meaning "yellow", "fair-haired". The surname can also be an Anglicised form of the Irish surname "Ó Buadhaigh"; this surname means "descendant of "Buadhach"" and is also rendered as Bogue and Boyce. The personal name "Buadhach" means "victorious". The surname "Bowie" is rendered in Scottish Gaelic as Buidheach (masculine) and Bhuidheach (feminine), as well as Mac<nowiki>'</nowiki>IlleBhuidhe (masculine) and Nic<nowiki>'</nowiki>IlleBhuidhe (feminine). Early instances of the surname in Scotland, recorded in 1481, are: "Boye", "Bowy", and "Boee". A family of the surname, the Bowie family, was