First thing I noticed was his eyebrows.That's chemo, I thought..I cried my eyes out

Pals remember legend Bowie

- MARC BAKER

TWO days after releasing his poignant final album Blackstar on January 16, 2016, the world was stunned when news broke that David Bowie had died, aged 69.

As fans prepare to mark the 10th anniversary of the rock legend's death next month, close friends reveal how he kept his 18-month liver cancer battle a secret as he continued working.

Producer Tony Visconti, who began working with Bowie almost 50 years earlier, says: "I remember going to his offices and a girl who worked there opened the door and she had been crying. She led me into this small room with a small table and says, 'David will be with you in a minute'.

"David then sits in front of me and he has got a woolly cap on. The first thing I notice is that he has got no eyebrows. I went, 'I know what that is. It is chemotherapy'. I cried my eyes out."

Tony, who produced 14 albums for Bowie, including Blackstar, says: "He is my lifetime friend since the 60s. I started mumbling things like, 'Don't worry, we will get through this'.

"I started blabbering sh*t like that and he comes to my side of the table and hugs me. Given what he knew about his own health, I think he wanted to make the best album of his life."

Tony, who helped create hits such as Heroes, Young Americans, Diamond Dogs, Ashes to Ashes and Fashion, says musicians were sworn to secrecy as they worked on Blackstar in New York.