Rock legend David Bowie planned to release a “long list” of music after his death with the first album due out before the end of 2017.

Bowie, who died on January 10, cleared out his vaults as part of a plan that could see him topping the charts long after his death.

The future releases are set to include never-before-heard music that could date back to his most creative period in the 1970s.

The prospect of more albums from Bowie gives a new insight into the level of planning that went into what would happen after his death .

(Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Newsweek magazine reported that, according to a source close to the musician, there is a “long list of unscheduled musical releases that Bowie planned before he died”.

The music has supposedly been divided into eras but will not necessarily be released in chronological order.

In addition to Bowie’s own music, an original cast album for his off-Broadway play Lazarus is also in the works.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

A source said: “Bowie was one of those artists who was very engaged and liked to control what was released from the vault.”

The death of Bowie came days after his 69th birthday and a week after the release of his latest album Blackstar which included the lyrics: “Look up here, I’m in heaven”.

Fans believe that he knew he was dying from cancer, which he battled for 18 months, and that he wrote the album as a farewell.

A spokesman for Bowie confirmed that the Lazarus album had been recorded but declined to comment further.