David Bowie and his family did an incredible job at keeping the iconic singer’s cancer a secret, even though some of his collaborators knew. Producer Tony Visconti, who frequently worked with Bowie, knew about Bowie’s cancer battle and recently spoke about how Bowie revealed the news.
Visconti revealed to Mojo that Bowie told him about his cancer diagnosis in January 2015, a year before his death.
“David said, 'I have something to show you,' and he pulled his woolly hat off and he was completely bald,” Visconti said, reports People. “And he said, 'I have cancer ...' – and my life hasn't been the same since that moment.”
Visconti co-produced Bowie’s last two albums, including Blackstar, which was released just three days before he died on Jan. 10 at age 69. Visconti first worked with Bowie on his 1969 second album.
“We were already keeping the album secret, but this added an extra burden,” Visconti said about Blackstar. “It's been hard to live with.”
Visconti said the last time he spoke with Bowie was over FaceTime and he was still upbeat. “I think he thought - we all did - that he had more time,” the producer said.