Rock legend David Bowie called himself '˜Milton Keynes'

In a tribute today, Brian told of the last conversation he had with the legendary musician who lost his 18-month secret battle with cancer yesterday.

He described how his friend of 40 years would invent a new name for himself in emails - which included calling himself ‘Milton Keynes’.

It was 26 years ago that David Bowie last visited Milton Keynes to perform in front of more than 60,000 fans at the Bowl.

Brian said: “Over the last few years - with him living in New York and me in London - our connection was by email.

“We signed off with invented names: some of his were Mr Showbiz, Milton Keynes, Rhoda Borrocks and the Duke of Ear.”

Despite living 4,000 miles apart, the pair kept in touch regularly having worked together for Bowie’s Berlin trilogy of albums in the 1970s.

Brian added: “David’s death came as a complete surprise, as did nearly everything else about him.

“I feel a huge gap now.

“I received an email from him seven days ago. It was as funny as always, and as surreal, looping through word games and allusions and all the usual stuff we did. It ended with this sentence: ‘Thank you for our good times, Brian. they will never rot’. And it was signed ‘Dawn’. I realise now he was saying goodbye.”