ICON DIED, BOOK CHARTS HIS ‘LOST DECADES'

Author ALEXANDER LARMAN on star’s resurrection

- AUTHOR Alexander Larman

Tragedy struck when he suffered a near-fatal heart attack on tour in 2004 and retired from music for the best part of a decade, although he was hardly a recluse.

He acted in Nolan's The Prestige, sang on a Scarlett Johansson album and made guest appearances with the likes of Arcade Fire and David Gilmour.

And then he was ready to come back, which he did with 2013's triumphant The Next Day.

He never performed live again, or gave another interview, but he made teasing appearances here and there, such as when he sent Kate Moss to pick up a Brit award on his behalf and got her to deliver a pro-union message just before the Scottish independence referendum.