David Bowie was planning a follow up album to Blackstar

'I thought, and he thought, that he'd have a few months, at least'

David Bowie on stage at Roskilde Festival in Denmark in 1996 (Mark Allans)

Blackstar may have been described as David Bowie’s farewell by his producer but it wasn’t meant to be. According to Tony Visconti, the Thin White Duke wanted to do one last album, having already recorded five demo tracks in preparation for the studio.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Visconti revealed that Bowie had known his illness was terminal since November last year but - from their final conversation - there was no indication he had such little time left.

"At that late stage, he was planning the follow-up to Blackstar,” he said. “And I was thrilled. I thought, and he thought, that he'd have a few months, at least.

“Obviously, if he's excited about doing his next album, he must've thought he had a few more months. So the end must've been very rapid. I'm not privy to it. I don't know exactly, but he must've taken ill very quickly after that phone call."

Visconti, who has worked with Bowie on numerous records including Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold The World and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), also spoke about how and when the icon revealed he was ill.

"He just came fresh from a chemo session, and he had no eyebrows, and he had no hair on his head,” he said. "There was no way he could keep it a secret from the band. But he told me privately, and I really got choked up when we sat face to face talking about it."

Bowie’s prognosis apparently improved towards the middle of 2015, with the chemo seeming to work. “At one point in the middle of last year, he was in remission. I was thrilled. And he was a bit apprehensive.

“He said, 'Well, don't celebrate too quickly. For now, I'm in remission, and we'll see how it goes.' And he continued the chemotherapy. So I thought he was going to make it. And in November, it just suddenly came back. It had spread all over his body, so there's no recovering from that."

The pair had finished Blackstar by November, with Visconti having told Bowie "You canny b*st*rd. You're writing a farewell album,” to which he replied with a laugh.

"He was so brave and courageous," Visconti continued. "And his energy was still incredible for a man who had cancer. He never showed any fear. He was just all business

It was previously reported that Bowie had more music on the way, but speculation pointed towards the tracks being part of a Blackstar re-release rather than a new album altogether.

What would have been on the follow-up is anyone’s guess, but the lyrics on Blackstar single Lazarus pointed towards more revelations. You can read Visconti’s touching statement from the day the news of Bowie’s death was made public, here.