Ceremony took place soon after singer’s death, avoiding a funeral service in line with wishes of deeply private star

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

David Bowie’s body has reportedly been privately cremated in New York following his death at the age of 69.

In line with his wishes, no family or friends were present at the ceremony in the city where he had lived for much of his life, the Daily Mirror reported.

The cremation took place soon after his death, avoiding a funeral service for a star who had valued his deeply private lifestyle.

Carnegie hall in New York will host a memorial concert to Bowie on 31 March. The show, planned before Bowie’s death, was originally scheduled as a tribute with performances of the singer’s hit songs by Visconti, Cyndi Lauper, and The Roots among others.

It was announced on Tuesday that a tribute would be paid to Bowie at the Brit awards in London in February, celebrating what the chairman, Max Lousada, described as the “extraordinary life and work of one of our greatest icons”.

Sales and downloads of his final album, Blackstar, released on the singer’s 69th birthday two days before he died, reached 43,000 in the UK in the 24 hours after the news of Bowie’s death.

Global streams of Bowie on Spotify increased by 2,822% following news of his death.

The critically acclaimed album, described by his long-term producer and friend Tony Visconti as Bowie’s parting gift, has topped the iTunes charts and more than half of the UK’s top 40 chart has been taken up by albums from Bowie’s back catalogue.

Visconti said that Bowie was planning a follow-up to Blackstar. Visconti said that about a week before his death Bowie called him to say he wanted to make a final album. He had apparently written and demoed five new songs. “At that late stage, he was planning the follow-up to Blackstar,” Visconti told Rolling Stone.

Visconti said: “I was thrilled, and 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.”

