Music Legend David Bowie Dies at 69
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hi, there, and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Now this hour we will have the latest on El Chapo's extradition to the U.S. and North Korea's claim that it's holding an American prisoner. But we do start with the death of David Bowie. Tributes are pouring in from around the world for one of modern music's most influential, innovative voices. And his music reminds us of that. (VIDEO CLIP, "SPACE ODDITY")</s>CURNOW (voice-over): Bowie burst on the scene in 1969 with "Space Oddity," which later became his chart-topping hit in the U.K.. He invented himself many times over his career, finding his greatest commercial success at the dawn of the music video era with "Let's Dance." (</s>VIDEO CLIP, "LET'S DANCE") CURNOW: What an artist. Bowie turned 69 last week and had just released a new album. Brian Stelter has more on his life and his death.</s>BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Legendary British singer David Bowie, who indelibly influenced generations with his eclectic persona and groundbreaking sound, dead at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer. Bowie's publicist telling CNN the icon died peacefully, surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. "While many of you will share in his loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief." His son tweeting, "Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all." An illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Bowie was born in South London as David Jones. Bursting onto the scene in 1969 with the smash hit, "Space Oddity." And later as his ethereal space alien alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Bowie's flamboyant theatrics and a fashion-forward style becoming a signature hallmark of the genre-defined pop fixture. His music, a rally cry for misfits everywhere. In 1996, Bowie was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 10 years later. His long-time wife, supermodel Iman, a steady fixture by his side. Bowie, a master of reinvention, continued working, dipping in and out of the public eye releasing his latest album, "Blackstar," just days ago on his 69th birthday, much to critical acclaim. The album topping charts in the U.K. and the U.S. Highlighting Bowie's unparalleled ability to continue to push the envelope even after four decades in the industry.</s>CURNOW: Yes. He managed to appeal to so many generations of fans. Erin McLaughlin is in Central London, where many of them are gathering. Hi, there. I mean, I've just -- we've been sitting in the newsroom, playing a lot of these Bowie records, albums. And it's amazing how many, how prolific he was. But also, I mean, it's just great music, isn't it?</s>ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Robyn. And the sound of David Bowie is the air here. They're actually playing his music over a loudspeaker. This is, after all, Heddon Street. This is where Ziggy Stardust, his alter ego, the legendary iconic character landed in 1972. There's actually a plaque. You can see it just behind me in honor of Ziggy, one of the few fictional characters honored with a plaque here in London. They've also preserved the lamp that was featured in that iconic album cover. So people --</s>MCLAUGHLIN: -- from all over have been gathering here to lay flowers and pay their respects. One of them, Paola (ph), she joins me now. She's an ardent fan. Paola (ph), how are you holding up?</s>PAOLA (PH), BOWIE FAN: It's been a very, very difficult morning. My husband broke the news to me this morning about 6:00 am. And I have just been in floods of tears. And I was sitting at home, listening to all his music and I just couldn't cope with it anymore. And I feel I have to get out and do something. So I thought I'd come here and meet like-minded people and we can kind of share in our mourning of one of the greatest British icons we've ever had.</s>MCLAUGHLIN: Now you remember when Ziggy Stardust landed here in 1972. Take us back to that time. What was it like?</s>PAOLA (PH): It was just an amazing thing. I was a big T-Rex fan at the time and loved Marc Bolan with all the glitter on his face and everything. So I was kind of heading into the glam rock sort of genre myself. I was 12, 13. And but when Bowie burst onto the scene, I'd never seen anything like it, his look, his music, just the style of singing was like nothing else anybody had ever seen before. And I was just hooked.</s>MCLAUGHLIN: Talk to me about the emotional connection you had with his fans.</s>PAOLA (PH): Oh, it's just unbelievable. He wrote -- every album was an adventure and there were different songs on the album that appealed to different people. So many different styles. And there was something for everybody and I think that's why he had such a broad appeal. But certainly for me personally, the whole sort of glam rock scene was just the pinnacle to me at that time. And then there's been other stuff he's done. But he's always connected with his fans really well and he's always surprised us, you know, even the last album, "Blackstar," was like what's it going to be like? And it was very different to all his other albums. So he just kept everyone guessing all the time.</s>MCLAUGHLIN: Paola (ph), thank you --</s>PAOLA (PH): My pleasure.</s>MCLAUGHLIN: So, Robyn, bold, irreverent, surprising, all words being used to describe David Bowie today as they remember his life and his music.</s>CURNOW: Indeed. I think she's right when she said every album was an adventure, I mean, extraordinarily man. Thanks so much, great music, Erin McLaughlin there in London. Well, David Bowie's career is certainly one to celebrate. He left us with songs that had such meaning to millions of people. You heard him -- you heard Erin there, speaking to one of them. He crossed generations and genres. Well, Anthony DeCurtis is a music critic and contributing editor of "Rolling Stone" magazine. He -- Anthony, he was a renaissance man, a pop chameleon, a rebel, in fact.</s>ANTHONY DECURTIS, "ROLLING STONE": Yes, in every regard. He was somebody as that young woman there were talking to before said. There's a sense of constant musical and stylistic evolution in David Bowie's life. And that was one of the most exciting aspects of it. You never knew what he was going to do next. And he wasn't afraid to try anything and that sense of adventure was something I think that gripped his fans as much as the specific music itself.</s>CURNOW: And then also tell us -- I mean, this last album he released on Friday on his 69th birthday, I mean, in many ways, people seem to be thinking that he wrote, he sang his own obituary.</s>DECURTIS: Well, I think that's exactly right. You know and that is something he would do. I mean, I think there was an element of he's an artist and he's a creative person and he was obviously going through this battle with cancer. And I think that's the subject: mortality is the subject of that record. But that was always the subject with him. He's the guy who sang to all his young fans, "Look out, you rock 'n' rollers. Pretty soon you're going to get older," you know, that sense of time passing and what this life means. I mean, all that space exploration in Bowie's music is a spiritual quest, a desire to find morning somewhere. And that -- you know, that was with him to the very, very end.</s>CURNOW: And I think what struck so many people was that, you know, in this age of Kardashians and selfies and self-congratulatory tweets, I mean, this last album seems to be -- have released with much class, with grace. And he seemed to have left this world quietly without fanfare. And I think that's a matter of respect for many people.</s>DECURTIS: Well, that is very true and it's not something anyone necessarily would have anticipated about David Bowie, certainly in the early '70s when he was seen as this shocking figure, willing to do anything to shock people. There was a sense of incredible grace and sophistication that he represented and certainly later on his life, those became paramount virtues for him.</s>CURNOW: And let's also -- I mean, I was speaking a little bit earlier in the makeup room, which, of course, is the repository of all of CNN's news gathering. You can get a lot of stuff in the makeup room.</s>DECURTIS: Best conversations --</s>DECURTIS: I'm quite sure.</s>CURNOW: Absolutely. But one of the makeup ladies said, you know, "My dad got me into Bowie. He bought me a cassette." And I think that was also telling because he really did cut across generations, didn't he? How?</s>DECURTIS: He was one of those figures who'd never seemed old, you know. And that, I think, was because everything was new to him. Bowie had that kind of mind, you know. Interviewed him a few times and one of the things his mind was so lambent. You know, he was somebody who could -- he could speak like a critic about obscure R&D records from the '50s and '60s and then on the other hand, you know, discuss fashion, discuss painters, like Francis Bacon. And he just had a wide range. And I think if you're somebody who's alert to any of those things and cared about them, whether you were a kid or a person who had grown up with David Bowie, that was exciting because he made it exciting because it always was exciting to him. He was not a jaded person and sophisticated and radical a figure as he was he was never jaded. I mean, everything that he came to, he came to with great enthusiasm and passion.</s>CURNOW: Indeed. Thank you so much. Wonderful talking to you, Anthony DeCurtis --</s>DECURTIS: Oh, it was my pleasure, thank you.</s>CURNOW: -- thank you so much. Well, still to come here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, it has more twists and turns than a Hollywood blockbuster, doesn't it? The recapture of the world's most powerful drug lord and the Oscar-winning actor who could be questioned in the case. Plus an aid convoy scrambles to reach a besieged town in Syria where people say they're boiling water and leaves to survive.