“In an interview with Bowie, I asked him if he would try singing in Chinese language and dedicate the song to Hong Kong,” a tearful Wong recalled.

He said he never expected the question led to a collaboration opportunity. “His secretary called me from New York afterwards and asked me to co-ordinate the project,” he said.

Then Lin was brought in to write the lyrics. Wong said the song’s chorus “You have my blessing, the world is merely a glimpse of time” gave room for imagination amid Hong Kong people’s fear of the handover back then. “It was a gift for Hong Kong,” he said.

Outspoken musician Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, who has been heavily influenced by Bowie’s music and performances, called the artist’s recent release Lazarus “the most beautiful exit”.

The song was said to have revealed that the music legend was prepared for death.

Lazarus is a biblical figure who was resurrected by Jesus four days after his death. The song is from his 25th studio album Blackstar, released on his 69th birthday.

Watch: Fans pay tributes to David Bowie 

“Only Bowie will face death and art this way. Lazarus resurrected from death. [Bowie] will forever live in our music and our hearts,” Wong said in his social media page.

Musician Denise Ho Wan-see said: “And the stars shall look very different today, as you return to your outer space. Major Tom, we shall miss you. Thank you so much for your amazing work on Planet Earth.”

Film director Fruit Chan, who featured Bowie’s Space Oddity in his 2014 political sci-fi thriller The Midnight After, told the media that he had hoped to invite Bowie to play a cameo in the film’s sequel.

Bowie performed in Hong Kong in 1983 and 2004. He died yesterday after losing an 18-month battle against cancer.

Watch: David Bowie, 40 years in photographs