David Bowie most popular recording artist of 2016

London [UK], May 20 (ANI): Though he is "past one hundred thousand miles," singer David Bowie is still alive in everyone's heart. According to The British Phonographic Industry, the 'space Oddity' hit-maker has been revealed as the most popular artist of 2016, beating the likes of Drake and Adele to claim the top spot, as reported by The Independent. Following his death in 2016, sales of Bowie's work rocketed, and albums including his 25th and final studio album 'Blackstar,' were more popular across all formats that records by Drake or Adele. 1.6 million album equivalent units of David's were counted - 1.5m physical and digital albums sales, 510,000 tracks downloaded and 127 million streamed - putting him ahead of Adele, whose three studio albums sold 1.2 million, and Drake, who released his No.1 album 'Views' last year. Bowie, died two days after his 69th birthday in January 2016 due to liver cancer. It has also been revealed that UK has maintained its position as the biggest recorded music market, behind the US and Japan. Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, Geoff Taylor, told Official Charts Company, "This is an exciting time for British music as more fans enjoy today's new artists and also explore the infinite jukebox available on streaming services. The UK punches above its weight as the world's third largest market, responsible for one in eight albums sold globally, including four of 2016's Top 10, and is the second-largest digital and streaming market after the US." (ANI)