Ozzy Osbourne’s funeral wishes resurface following his death

Old comments that Ozzy Osbourne made about his future funeral have re-emerged, after the rockstar’s death.

Ozzy, often considered the godfather of heavy metal music and lovingly referred to as the Prince of Darkness, passed away on Tuesday (July 22) following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s, and just two weeks after his farewell gig in his native Villa Park with the original Black Sabbath lineup.

While nothing has been confirmed for Ozzy’s final farewell, old comments surrounding how he wants his funeral to go have resurfaced; with him previously saying that he wants people to say thanks to him rather than be a sad occasion.

Old comments that Ozzy Osbourne made about his future funeral have re-emerged, after the rockstar’s death. Pic: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

‘There’ll be no harping on the bad times,’ Ozzy told the Times back in 2011. It’s worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives, so by any measure, most of us in this country — especially rock stars like me — are very lucky.

‘That’s why I don’t want my funeral to be sad, I want it to be a time to say thanks.’

And despite his heavy metal roots, Ozzy said that he doesn’t care who or what music gets played at his funeral, saying at the time ‘I honestly don’t care what they play at my funeral; they can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and We Are the Diddymen if it makes ’em happy,’ he joked — but later settling on one song he wants played, namely A Day in the Life by The Beatles.

Ozzy passed away on Tuesday morning, just two weeks after his farewell gig in Birmingham. Pic: Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock

‘I definitely don’t want my f**king greatest hits album – I never ever play that thing, I’m f**king embarrassed about it,’ he told NME in 2016. ‘And I definitely don’t want a f**king happy song. I’m dead.’

Ozzy’s family confirmed his death on Tuesday evening, just two weeks after he and the original Sabbath lineup reunited for one last gig at Villa Park in their native Aston, Birmingham earlier this month.

He was previously diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2019, with his family saying that he passed away ‘surrounded by love.’

Ozzy’s family confirmed that he passed away ‘surrounded by love’ on Tuesday morning, six years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Pic: Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

‘It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,’ Ozzy’s family confirmed. ‘He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.’

As frontman of Black Sabbath, he was at the forefront of the heavy metal scene – a deeper, darker offshoot of hard rock.

His theatrical stage presence, including once biting off the head of a bat, and styling himself as the Prince of Darkness marked him out as a controversial figure.