David Bowie

| Bowie undergoes heart surgery:

David Bowie has undergone an emergency heart operation for an acutely blocked artery, it emerged last night.

The 57-year-old rock star fell ill after playing the Hurricane Festival in Sheesen, Germany, on June 25, his spokesman said, and and had had an angioplasty procedure at a German hospital.

The spokesman said that Bowie had sought treatment for a pinched nerve in his shoulder but discovered the blocked artery.

"Bowie, who was able to leave the clinic early this week, is now at home in New York convalescing with his wife and daughter and hopes to start work next month," he added.