Before David Bowie had passed away from cancer at the beginning of the year, the musician was working on another album to follow up the then-just-released Blackstar, according to longtime producer Tony Visconti. It’s not known if these numbers will ever see the light of dayâalthough somebody close to Bowie said that there’s “a long list of unscheduled musical releases that Bowie planned before he died”âbut what we do know is that a few other late-in-life Bowie numbers will be released next month.
A new cast album of Bowie’s Lazarus musical is set for release on October 21, and while the first disc will include a cast recording of the musical’s songs, the second disc includes Bowie’s version of the title track (which was previously released on Blackstar), as well as Bowie’s renditions of “No Plan,” “Killing a Little Time,” and “When I Met You,” which were recorded with the band behind Blackstar.
That album, by the way, is up for this year’s Mercury Prizeâan esteemed award given to the year’s best album from a UK or Irish performer. Bowie has been nominated for the honor twice (for 2002âs Heathen and 2013âs The Next Day), but has yet to win, and he’s going up against the likes of Radiohead and The 1975 this time around. Perhaps the fact that Michael C. Hall, the star of the Lazarus play, will be performing the title track at the ceremony gives Bowie a slight edge.
Tune into BBC 4 and BBC Radio 6 Music this Thursday to check out the ceremony, and mark October 21 on your calendar, as it’s currently the last ever confirmed date for new Bowie music.
Featured Image: David Bowie/Facebook