David Bowie (1947-2016) was the biggest-selling singer in the UK in 2016, thanks to his latest album, "Blackstar," released just two days before his death on 8 January last year.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Bowie sold more than 1.6 million copies of "Blackstar" in both physical and digital format in 2016, surpassing its main competitors, singer Adele and rapper Drake.
The British sold 40% less copies of their album "25" and placed in second place in the sales ranking of their country of origin, with 1.1 million copies sold, and the Canadian Drake, with " Summer Sixteen ", reached the third position, with 1.09 million records sold.
Heat's entertainment editor Boyd Hilton told British newspaper "The Guardian" that Bowie's sales success was largely due to his death on January 10, 2016, at age 69 and after a 18-month fight against cancer.
"Interest always increases when a legendary artist dies, so the sales rebound could be blamed on that circumstance," Hilton said.
Something that also happened with the works of the musician Prince, who died suddenly last year at age 57.
In addition to "Blackstar", the twenty-fifth and last studio album of the British musician, the compilation "Best of Bowie" (2002) and the album "The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the spiders of Mars" (1972) Experienced a significant rise in sales.
Also, according to the International Federation of Record Industry (IFPI) annual report, Bowie was the second artist to have triumphed in sales worldwide last year, just behind Drake.
The originality and intensity of Bowie's work and his characteristic voice made him one of the masters of glam rock, who lived in the 1970s and the unexpected news of his death shocked the music world.
