International rockstar David Bowie passed-away earlier today (January 11) after living with cancer for the past 18 months.

Tributes keep pouring in from celebrities, fans and even from the Vatican for the British rockstar who’s music career spanned six decades.

“His influence has been unique in popular culture,” biographer David Buckley previously said of Bowie. “He has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure.”

The official statement across Bowie’s social media channels read:

‘January 10 2016 – David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.’

Bowie was born David Jones in Brixton, south London, on 8 January in 1947. He changed his name in 1966 after The Monkees’ Davy Jones achieved stardom.

He was in several bands before he signed with Mercury Records, which released his album Space Oddity in 1969, with the title track becoming his first UK number one. His breakthrough came with 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

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