Emotional scenes as family, friends and fans bid final farewell to Ozzy Osbourne
The funeral of music icon Ozzy Osbourne has taken place in his home town of Birmingham.
His wife, Sharon Osbourne, was visibly emotional as fans shouted ‘Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy’ during the procession through the streets in honour of the heavy metal star.
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy, who played a farewell gig in the city earlier this month, died at the age of 76 last Tuesday.
Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne emotionally arrive to view tributes to Ozzy. Pic: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Sharon could be seen hugging the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, after she arrived at the Black Sabbath bench where floral tributes have been laid.
Joining her at the event were their three children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly.
The hearse carrying Ozzy’s coffin passed the star’s childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, at about 12.45pm on Wednesday on its route into Birmingham city centre.
The funeral cortege of Ozzy Osbourne. Pic: Ioannis Alexopoulos/Anadolu via Getty Images
Flowers have been placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park, while the owners of the house have put up a picture of Osbourne in the front bay window.
The Jaguar hearse and six Mercedes funeral cars, accompanied by police motorcycle riders and a police car, drove slowly along the street on Lodge Road, watched by a handful of fans and the current owner of the house.
The hearse, adorned with purple flowers spelling out ‘Ozzy’, then made its way down Broad Street before stopping at the Black Sabbath bench, where thousands of tributes, balloons and flowers have been left.
The procession drove through Birmingham. Pic: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Musicians from Bostin Brass played Black Sabbath songs to accompany the cortege.
One Ozzy fan, called Goose, told the PA news agency that Ozzy ‘was a family member’ and said they discovered heavy metal as a teenager.
They said: ‘That’s when I found, like millions of people around the world, that there was music that was for us, something that understood us.
Eliza Finn-O’Shea, from Birmingham, in front of tributes to Ozzy Osbourne ahead of his funeral. Pic: Leon Neal/Getty Images
‘We knew that there was somebody out there that felt the way that we did and it was a constant presence.
‘Ozzy helped give that to the world. He was a family member. He felt like a family member to so many people and he touched so many people’s lives.’
Evie Mayo, from Wolverhampton, said the heavy metal star had inspired her and everyone in Birmingham.
The Osbournes were visibly emotional as fans paid tribute. Pic: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images
She told PA: ‘I think he was so influential, he was such an inspirational person. I think he really impacted everyone here, especially in Birmingham as well.
‘Now that he’s not here any more, you can feel the impact of it. He inspired a lot of people and he was a great person.’
She added: ‘He inspired me … I love his music, absolutely love his music. I’m learning guitar so that I can learn some of his songs.’
Fans gathered in droves to see Ozzy Osbourne’s funeral cortege. Pic: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Ozzy and his Black Sabbath bandmates – Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward – were recently given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, which recognises people’s exceptional service to the city.
The group, which formed in 1968, is widely credited with defining and popularising the sound of heavy metal.
Ozzy, who also had a successful solo career, found a new legion of fans when he appeared in the 2000s reality TV series The Osbournes, starring alongside Sharon and their two youngest children, Kelly and Jack.
The music star, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, performed his last gig on July 5 in a concert that also saw performances from the likes of Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
