If you bought the vinyl version of David Bowie’s classic and haunting final album, “Blackstar,” you have a possibly as-yet-undiscovered and beautiful gift from the music master himself.
While the cover of the “Blackstar” album might look dark and bleak, it contains a very special parting gift from Bowie to his many thousands of fans throughout the world.
The album was released for Bowie’s 69th birthday, just two days prior to his death, and was the first ever not to include a photo of the music star on the cover. As a mark or tribute to David Bowie’s musical immortality, the black star on the vinyl album cover contains a beautiful secret. Regrettably, the CD version does not have the same feature.
As reported by the Mirror Online , the hidden beautiful secret was discovered recently by an Imgur member and an image of his own “Blackstar” album cover was included in his post. What it shows is an entire galaxy where the somber black star should have been.
What you must do is remove the vinyl record and put it in a safe place, then place the cover in the full sun. Once you have done that, just wait and a beautiful star field will appear.
David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, shared a note about his famous father’s parting gift on Twitter, saying “Leaving us surprises even now. So clever. So missed.”
Leaving us surprises even now. So clever. So missed. https://t.co/OEsNHz0F3S
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) May 3, 2016
The beautiful surprise on the vinyl version of “Blackstar” was confirmed by producer Tony Visconti, who said the record was deliberately created as a “parting gift” for Bowie’s many fans.
Visconti said in a statement on Facebook, “He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way.”
He went on to say that Bowie’s death was no different from his life — it was a work of art, adding, “He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it.”
Visconti added that Bowie was an extraordinary man and was full of love and life.
“He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.”
Bowie was working on that new album right up almost until his passing on January 10, 2016, and he even had a follow-up to “Blackstar” in the works.
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Visconti told Rolling Stone he was thrilled that Bowie was planning the follow-up and reportedly five demos had already been played around with when the singer died.
WOW… Something beautiful happens when David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ vinyl is left in the sun https://t.co/PIJjWlcuTC
— TheSweetestCondition (@TheSweetestCon) May 3, 2016
Bowie’s single, “Lazarus,” was released on December 17, and that song was included in the “Blackstar” album. Part of the lyrics of that song read: “Look up here, I’m in heaven, I’ve got scars that can’t be seen, I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen, everybody knows me now.”
As it turns out, Bowie included that heaven on the vinyl album’s cover too, just for us.
The “Blackstar” album even beat out Adele’s “25” to become the best-selling vinyl of the past 12 months. It makes you wonder how many people have discovered that beautiful secret left by the master.
[Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Beastboy2004, cropped and resized | CC BY-SA 4.0 ]