LONDON (AFP) - British musician David Bowie will release a new album titled Blackstar on his 69th birthday, and the single of the same name is due out next month, the artist said on Monday.

Blackstar will be launched on Jan 8 and the single is expected on Nov 20, a message posted on his website said.

The new album follows 2013's The Next Day, one of more than 20 albums Bowie has released over a career spanning more than four decades.

A pioneer of glam rock, Bowie has long pursued interests in art and theatre and, at age 68, has recently announced a series of new projects.

Last month, he revealed he had written a song for an upcoming French-British crime series, in the rock icon's first foray into television music in two decades.

He also penned the music for Lazarus, a play that premieres in New York next month that is inspired by the science fiction novel The Man Who Fell To Earth.