David Bowie Followed 'God' on Twitter Before Death; Talks 'Searching for God' in Unaired Interview
Legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie followed a Twitter account called "God" in his last days before his death, observers have noted, while previously unreleased excerpts from an interview last decade feature him talking about the search for God and music.
BBC Newsbeat noted that that the last account Bowie followed was @TheTweetofGod, which is a satirical account linked to a Broadway play, but said that it is not known whether it was the singer himself who hit "follow," or a member of his team.
The rock star died on Sunday at the age of 69, following a private battle with cancer, prompting fans from around the world to mourn his loss and send condolences.
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Bowie has said he experimented with a number of different religious belief systems during his life and career, including Christianity, though in a 2003 interview with Beliefnet the singer suggested he was closer to being an atheist.
"I honestly believe that my initial questions haven't changed at all. There are far fewer of them these days, but they're really important. Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always. It's because I'm not quite an atheist and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on: Well, I'm almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months," he said at the time.
CBS News also released on Monday unaired excerpts from a series of interviews he did in 2003 with "60 Minutes," where Bowie reflected on what the search for God means to him.
"There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into being a composer, into writing music, into searching for notes and pieces of musical information that don't exist," the singer reflected, comparing 'his approach to music to searching for God.'
Bowie has received tributes from leading Christian voices, including The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who told BBC Readio 4 that he was a fan of the rock star.
"I'm very, very saddened to hear of his death. I remember sitting listening to his songs endlessly in the '70s particularly and always really relishing what he was, what he did, the impact he had," Welby said.
"Extraordinary person," he added.
Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano also wrote about the singer, saying that he was "never banal."
"One might even say that, beyond the apparent excesses, the legacy of David Bowie, who died Jan. 10 at age 69, is enclosed in its own sort of personal sobriety, expressed even in the lean physique, almost threadlike," the newspaper wrote.
Bowie died only days after the release of his final album, Blackstar, which longtime producer Tony Visconti described as a "parting gift" for fans.
Not unlike other work throughout his career, Bowie's last album makes use of religious imagery, including a song titled "Lazarus," where the singer imagines himself in Heaven in the lyrics.
