Even in his absence, David Bowie was the star of the Brits , as his former band played a stunning tribute to the late icon.

And, making it even more ­meaningful, Bowie’s haunting Life on Mars was sung by Lorde, a singer he had met and admired.

Speaking exclusively to #Trending, Bowie’s musical director and pal Gerry Leonard disclosed Bowie’s love of Lorde – and joked that the great man would have loved the ­performance but heckled them mercilessly throughout.

Gerry, who performed on Bowie’s final The Reality Tour, played a medley Bowie’s greatest hits at the awards event but admitted of the ­performance: “This is it. It was a one-time event. It’s been intense. There is a sense of camaraderie but nobody is saying, ‘Let’s do another’.”

(Image: Kim Karr)

The moving set got a gushing nod of approval from the night’s big winner Adele , and it was only fitting Bowie was recognised with a posthumous Icon award.

Gerry added: “When this was put forward it seemed everybody involved wanted to do the right thing.

“When Nigel Reeve called, Warner Music’s Vice President who planned the tribute, the first thing that came to mind was, if we do this, we should get the last band, who David loved.

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“He talked about doing a lot more stuff with us. We had a really good time with him and felt this was the band that he was really comfortable with, that he kinda sanctioned us in a sense, so we set together trying to put together the jigsaw puzzle.”

Teenage starlet Lorde, 19, was the vocalist they wanted - a decision influenced by Bowie’s closest confidantes.

“David asked to see Lorde after Tilda Swinton’s birthday party where she played," Gerry says.

"He said she was the future of music; a huge compliment. David was already a tastemaker and loved to know what the new music was going.

(Image: Getty)

“He liked to stay current. He also had a razor eye for that too.

"It wasn’t that he liked everything, by no means, but he really liked Lorde so that immediately felt like a good match. Again, it was something that David had commented on.”

David’s friendships with Gary Oldman, 57 , and Annie Lennox, 61, made them perfect to do a speech before the performance.

“Gary is a dear friend of David’s,” says Gerry, who still refers to Bowie in the present tense as he chats to us.

“They would Skype every week. And Annie is such an incredible performer . I think he would have enjoyed it. If he was in the audience he would’ve been heckling.

“He had a really good sense of humour. There was always banter when we toured. He was always in on it, or initiating it. David was a really funny guy, and a good actor.”