David Bowie has issued a cryptic 42-word statement about his new release, The Next Day.


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The Ziggy Stardust singer broke his silence on the LP after writer Rick Moody asked him to offer a “work flow diagram” of the album and Bowie replied by writing a load of seemingly random words, though most are from the dark side.

In full, the 42 very important words are:

“Effigies, Indulgences, Anarchist, Violence, Chthonic, Intimidation, Vampyric, Pantheon, Succubus, Hostage, Transference, Identity, Mauer, Interface, Flitting, Isolation, Revenge, Osmosis, Crusade, Tyrant, Domination, Indifference, Miasma, Pressgang, Displaced, Flight, Resettlement, Funereal, Glide, Trace, Balkan, Burial, Reverse, Manipulate, Origin, Text, Traitor, Urban, Comeuppance, Tragic, Nerve, Mystification.”

Possibly, Bowie is employing the cut-up technique – borrowed from writer William Burroughs – he has used for many of his song lyrics, in which words and phrases are lumped together more or less randomly to produce interesting effects.

The 66-year-old’s latest cryptic revelation fuels speculation he could be ready to make a comeback into the public eye.

Bowie’s wife Iman hinted earlier this year he could be gearing up for a tour, saying she and their daughter, Alexandria, wouldn’t be able to join him on the road.

Iman lamented: “We have a 12 year old in school, so we are stuck, we can’t travel. Our schedule is around her, so I don’t know.

“We’ll have to go visit him, but we won’t be on tour with him because she’s in school.”

The supermodel also expressed her delight that David was able to keep the album secret until single ‘Where Are We Now?’ was surprise released in January.

She explained: “Everyone asks, ‘How did he keep it so quiet?’ But they were loyal to his vision and he asked, could they just keep it under wraps til it was released?

“They were just happy he was working on something and it’s just great to hear him.”