David Bowie: Bay City Rollers' Alan Longmuir pays tribute

David Bowie performing with Tin Machine at The Forum, Livingston, in July 1989. Picture: Joe Steele/TSPL

The singer, whose 50-year career established him as one of the most successful recording artists of the 20th century, was 69.

In a Facebook post, Longmuir said he was devastated to hear of Bowie’s death.

“We first met in 1978 when the Rollers were recording our Strangers In The Wind album at The Mountain Studios, in the Montreux Casino, Switzerland,” he wrote.

“David lived in Blonay, a town just outside Montreux, at the time and invited Derek, Woody and I to hang out with him at his home for a couple of days.

We did. We talked and chilled - he thought the world of us, as we did him. For someone so famous and with such a larger-than-life public persona, off-stage he was a normal, nice guy. Very down to earth.

“I always remember he had blue and green eye because my dad had the same.

“He was a supreme talent and his death is a massive loss.”

Duncan Jones confirmed in a tweet his father had passed away after an earlier statement published on the star’s official Facebook page revealed he had been suffering from the disease.

The news comes just three days after Bowie released Blackstar, his 26th studio album.