Fans of Black Sabbath have been expressing their sorrow after seeing a distraught Sharon Osbourne honouring her late husband, Ozzy. On Wednesday, July 30, Sharon’s three children—Jack, Kelly, and the seldom seen Aimee—joined the thousands of fans who lined the streets of Birmingham to pay their respects.
Heartbroken fans had left hundreds of bouquets at the famous Black Sabbath bench, and Sharon and her kids each placed a lilac flower wrapped in black paper on top of the wave of floral tributes.
The Black Sabbath leader and reality TV personality died last week at the age of 76, only weeks after taking part in the legendary final concert for Back To The Beginning.
“He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.” An extremely emotional Sharon was seen holding two peace signs in the air before sobbing, in addition to laying a floral memorial for her late husband.
This has been taken by many band fans as a heartfelt homage to Ozzy, who was famous for the gesture.
A fan shared their reasoning on Facebook: “Just an observation from a guy who has been a Sabbath/Ozzy fan since the 70s. Some will say I am nit picking and not respecting how others view things. But I am seeing a lot of posts and pictures of billboards with images of the devil horns hand sign.”
“Now I know that sign has become the ‘official’ sign of rock and roll, but Ozzy’s gesture has always been the double peace sign.”
“It was [Ronnie James] Dio that did the horns and made them popular with rock and roll long after Ozzy had been doing the double peace signs. Let’s all please remember just another one of the things that Ozzy brought us!”
After Ozzy was fired by Black Sabbath in 1979, Ronnie James Dio, who passed away in 2010, joined the band. Before briefly joining in the early 1990s, he played as the band’s leader until 1982.
Ozzy’s childhood home, a two-bedroom terrace house at 14 Lodge Road in Birmingham, was passed by the hearse during today’s funeral procession. Fans gathered in front of the well-known Black Sabbath bench and along the well-publicized route, but it was not disclosed to them that the cortege would pass the place.
The Bostin Brass band was playing renditions of Ozzy’s songs as the hearse went past, and many admirers threw flowers across the front of the vehicle. Zafar Iqbal, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, was spotted hugging Sharon while discussing the significance of Ozzy to the city’s residents.
He said, “Ozzy was more than a music legend – he was a son of Birmingham. Having recently been awarded the Freedom of the City and following his celebrated appearance at the Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park earlier this month, it was important to the city that we support a fitting, dignified tribute ahead of a private family funeral. We know how much this moment will mean to his fans.”
“We’re proud to host it here with his loving family in the place where it all began, and we are grateful that they have generously offered to pay to enable this to happen and support the city is giving him the farewell he deserves.”
In the past, Kelly had honoured her father by donning his recognisable round purple glasses.
Ozzy previously told The Times about his opinions on his funeral: “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.”
“But I do want to make sure it’s a celebration, not a mope-fest. I’d also like some pranks: maybe the sound of knocking inside the coffin, or a video of me asking my doctor for a second opinion on his diagnosis of ‘death’.” “There’ll be no harping on the bad times. 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’.”