Legendary icon David Bowie has died of cancer following an 18-month battle with cancer, his rep confirms today through Hollywood Reporter.

The team also wrote a statement on official social media pages, “January 10 2016 – David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

Best known as his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie was an English singer-songwriter and producer. He rose to prominence with his revolutionary contributions to glam rock, hard rock, soul and pop music. Following his four-decade long of successful career, Bowie released his twenty fifth studio and swan song of an album Blackstar last Friday (Jan 8) which was also his 69th birthday. The album was hailed by critics as “thrilling” and “spellbinding”.