David Bowie performed in Malta during the 1969 International Song festival

In 1969, David Bowie performed two songs at the Malta International Song Festival … and was voted second to Spanish entrant Christina

 David Bowie's hits include Let's Dance, Space Oddity, Heroes, Under Pressure, Rebel, Rebel, and Life on Mars.
David Bowie's hits include Let's Dance, Space Oddity, Heroes, Under Pressure, Rebel, Rebel, and Life on Mars.

Tributes from around the globe poured in for legendary singer David Bowie who lost an 18-month long battle with cancer. The singer-songwriter and producer dabbled in glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop, punk and electronica.

A look at his eclectic 40-plus-year career also reveals Bowie’s participation at the Malta International Song Festival in late July 1969. He had been voted second to Spanish entrant Christina, according to a dedicated website listing Bowie’s concerts.

Whilst in Malta, Bowie also gave an impromptu solo performance aboard the USS Saratoga for the ship’s crew at the Valletta harbour.

The festival would however prove to be a hard one to forget. Whilst performing at the festival, his father, Haywood “John” Jones, was taken ill and died soon after Bowie returned to Britain. Jones had been a source of great stability—financial and emotional—for Bowie in the ’60s, and his death, coming at around the same time Bowie was breaking with his longtime manager Ken Pitt as well as ditching many of his old friends, left Bowie angry and withdrawn. Bowie later told George Tremlett that “Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed” was his attempt to capture the surreal feeling of the weeks after his father’s death.

Still coming to terms with his death, tributes poured in from fans, musicians and politicians. It is not the first time that Bowie was reported as dead but it was harder to digest when his own son, Duncan Jones, confirmed his death.

Bowie's Facebook page received 28,076 comments within the first two hours.

As confirmation of the sad news spread, Hollywood and the music community took to Twitter to grieve the loss of an icon.