David Bowie Announces Second Single ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’

David Bowie has unveiled artwork and a date for his second single, “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” ahead of the release of his new album, The Next Day.

“The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” follows last month’s surprise unveiling of the lush, slow-tempo “Where Are We Now” on January 8, his 66th birthday.

News of “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” appeared on Bowie’s official Facebook page along with a February 26 drop date and startling artwork.

The cover features the song’s title and Bowie’s name written under a black-and-white photo of a mutilated, metallic sculpture, notes The Hollywood Reporter.

Signs of a deeply reflective approach to what is Bowie’s first music project in a decade are evident in “Where Are We Now’s” conceptual video directed by Tony Oursler.

Likewise, the new album’s cover, which was designed by Brit graphic designer and filmmaker Jonathan Barnbrook, homages Bowie’s iconic album Heroes. On the front, the word Heroes is crossed out and replaced with a white box concealing Bowie’s face.

After years of relative silence, a veritable embarrassment of riches from Bowie is on its way.

NME reports that a new feature length film on the Thin White Duke’s life and career will be broadcast on UK television in May, with every likelihood that it will make its way over here in due time.

Titled David Bowie – Five Years, the film will look at five key years of Bowie’s artistic output — 1971, 1975, 1977, 1980, and 1983 — as well as covering his recent comeback. The film will also reveal previously unseen archive footage as well as interviews with past and present musical collaborators.

BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said of the film:

“I’m thrilled to be bringing this film to BBC Two; David Bowie – Five Years promises to be a revealing look at the life and career of one of the modern era’s most influential and innovative performers.”

While its director Francis Whately added:

“This is a project that has been in development for more than a decade, in fact since Bowie and I worked together in 2001 on a film for the BBC Omnibus strand. This year, 2013, is shaping up to be the year of David Bowie, and now is the perfect moment for this feature-length film devoted to this extraordinary artist.”

And there’s more. Bowie and Iggy Pop’s musical collaboration during their West Berlin years in the 1970s is set to be made into a big-screen biopic titled Lust For Life.

Those collaborative years led to Bowie’s trilogy of albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger and Pop’s The Idiot and Lust For Life. The biopic will be produced by British duo Altered Image. Gabriel Range is reportedly directing the film from a screenplay penned by Robin French.

Bowie’s album The Next Day is set for release on March 12.