LAST year he was photographed in New York in a flat cap, jeans and sweatshirt and carrying a packed lunch.

Newspapers said that rare sighting of one of music’s most enigmatic performers proved what many had long suspected.

David Bowie they said, had slipped quietly into retirement, his world centred not on music but on his wife, Iman and their daughter, Alexandria.

And while I for one felt delight that this extraordinary musician was at least enjoying life in the shadows after heart surgery in 2004 led to rumours about his health, I felt slightly wistful about the days when you didn’t quite know what to expect next from Bowie.

Apparently, I needn’t have worried, because the musical magician who spent years constantly reinventing himself has done it again.

And what a fantastic job he has made of it. He certainly had me foxed though why should I be surprised by anything from the master of illusion – even smokescreens?

For almost a decade there have been stories about him turning down offers of work. He’s not produced an album for years, reportedly spurned requests for him to headline the Olympic opening ceremony and denied that he was involved in curating a Bowie exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum.

Then, almost as a 66th birthday present from him to music fans, came, Where Are We Now?

Speaking for myself, I’d say I was pretty much where I’ve always been. A Bowie fan.

And his new single is everything you might expect, beautifully strange, gentle and instantly memorable.

I only had to hear it once and I was smitten. This is all you could ask from what must be the most welcome return to the musical spotlight ever.

I’m tempted to ask, where have you been? But does it matter when Bowie steps out of the shadows with a song as instantly smile inducing as this.

Wherever he has been in his personal and professional life in recent years has clearly suited him. How else could you produce music that sounds so familiar and yet so fresh.

Where Are We Now oozes memory, melancholy and yet a definite sense of place. Berlin perhaps?

Wherever that place is, it has provided Bowie with inspiration and there is more to come. His new album, The Next Day is due out on March 12.

Let’s hope it’s the first of many more next days for this highly individual artist who has been away from the music scene for far too long.