Turns out this actually wasn't the case. 2016 really WAS a terrible year for major celebrity deaths, especially in music. Losing Prince, Bowie and George Michael (amongst others) in one year was an exceptional occurrence.
There's no question that the man was a musical genius and more. I loved him.
https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y
So glad I finally got to see him in Leeds on his last UK tour. He was amazing. Really gutted about this one.