Sharon Osbourne fulfilled Ozzy’s final odd wish as his burial site has been revealed.
The Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne sadly passed away on 22 July aged 76.
His death came just weeks after his final performance with Black Sabbath at Villa Park, Birmingham earlier in the month – back where the band started in 1968.
The statement from his family read: “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.
“He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” they wrote.
Black Sabbath also shared a heartbreaking tribute to the Prince of Darkness, which simply read: ‘Ozzy forever’.
Sharon was seen for the first time since his passing in his hometown of Birmingham for the procession on 30 July, which saw his coffin and family drive through the middle of the city surrounded by thousands of grieving fans.
She was accompanied by her three children, Kelly, Jack and Aimee who mostly remains out of the public eye.
Ozzy’s other three children from his first marriage were also present; Elliot, Louis and Jessica.
The 72-year-old was visibly devastated and was being supported by Jack and Kelly as she admired the hundreds of flowers laid by fans on the Black Sabbath bench.
Sharon could also be seen hugging the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal.
Each of the family members carried a pink flower wrapped in black paper that they laid to join the other offerings. Eagle-eyed fans also couldn’t help but notice sharon wore a memento that belonged to Ozzy – his wedding ring on a chain around her neck.
The couple met in 1970 but didn’t begin dating until 1979. They later got married in 1982 when they went on to have three children.
They briefly split in 2016 before quickly getting back together and renewing their wedding vows in 2017. Ozzy wore his original wedding ring and the gold one, from their more recent celebration, on his finger.
At the time, Ozzy told Hello! the 2017 event was ‘actually [their] real wedding day.” “This is the one that I will remember,” he said. “Sharon and I have been through so much, and this honestly feels like a new beginning.”
Ozzy’s hearse drove past his childhood home on Lodge Road before making its way towards the famous bench, on Broad Street.
While the family all grieved at the Sabbath bench, lip reader Nicola Hickling shared with The Mirror that the Jack comforted his sister by allegedly saying: “Come on now, Dad wanted us to celebrate his life.”
Speaking to The Times in 2011, the iconic star claimed he didn’t want his end of life celebration to be a “mope-fest”. He didn’t want it to be a “sad” affair.
“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 them happy,” he said. Adding he didn’t want “no harping on the bad times.”
“A bit of planning is the right thing to do for the family you leave behind. It’s worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives,” he added, “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.’”
Walking in front and behind the hearse were musicians from Bostin Brass playing covers of Sabbath songs, in a poignant celebration of the icon.
Fans could be heard cheering and weeping while shouting his name and throwing flowers at the procession.
On July 9, the star’s daughter, Kelly, shared a video of her engagement to Slipknot band member, Sid Wilson.
In the clip, Wilson proposes with a ring to Kelly, who is visibly stunned, in front of her parents and her brother.
Wilson could be heard saying: “Kelly, you know I love you more than anything in the world…” to which Ozzy piped in: “F**k off you’re not marrying my daughter.” to laughter from the crowd.
Wilson went on: “Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you. So, in front of your family and all of our friends… Kelly, will you marry me?”
While he put the ring on Kelly’s finger, Ozzy can be seen smiling in the background.
Watch the touching moment, below:
Sharon was married to the icon for 43 years. Following his passing, she responded to a tribute from Radio 1 DJ Jack Saunders, who shared a clip of his own reaction to the heartbreaking news.
In the clip shared, Saunders said: “I’m bringing you the sad news that Ozzy Osbourne has passed away at the age of 76,”. He continued; “The frontman of one of the most important heavy metal bands, Black Sabbath, whose second album Paranoid remains without a doubt the most influential metal album of all time.”
Taking to the comments, Sharon wrote: “Jack thank you for your tribute to Ozzy tonight,” she wrote in the comments. “Bless you.”
The legends final post before his death was a shot of the poster promoting his final performance with Sabbath – a show that raised over $190 million for several charities, including a children’s hospital.
‘Back to the Beginning’ had a solo performance by Ozzy, plus a reunion of Black Sabbath for the first time since 2005. Other music legends also performed, including Steven Tyler, Ronnie Wood, Metallica, Slayer, Guns N’ Roses and more.
Sharon organized the entire event – speaking to Music Business Worldwide, she said: “The only place that we could do it would have been Aston, because that’s where Ozzy was born and grew up, which is right where the Villa ground is,”.
“I thought of having all the bands he’s ever had relationships with perform and maybe do Sabbath songs and Ozzy songs.
“It became a celebration of the music.
“All the generations are going to be there that Sabbath and Ozzy have passed the torch down to.”
At the time, Sharon told The Sun he was ‘very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this’.
“Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. It’s not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body, and it’s affected his legs,” she said.
“But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.”
Fans have flooded to the comments to share their condolences. One person wrote; “Rest in peace – thank you for everything,” while another penned: “The Prince of Darkness Forever.”
A third wrote: “We will never forget you, legend! Rip.”
Ronnie Wood, of the Rolling Stones, shared his sorrow: “I am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne, what a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham,”.
His sisters Jean Powell and Gillian Hemming also opened up to The Mirror, revealing their shocked reaction at the outpouring of love.
“He was frail but it still came as a shock,” Jean shared, “He still had plans and things he wanted to do. We don’t know the details of his death, it’s still too early. It’s just so sad. I’m just thankful he died in England.”
She continued: “We just can’t believe he is gone and we won’t be getting another phone call or text from him. Every week without fail he would get in touch, either by phone or text, to ask how we were all doing and what was going on.”
Jean then revealed the last message she received from her brother: “In his last text to me he said he would be coming to Birmingham again,” she said, adding: “He said ‘I can’t wait to come back’.
The official funeral was a private affair held after the procession. Back in 2010, Ozzy shared in his autobiography I Am Ozzy: “Eventually death will come, like it comes to everyone.
“I’ve said to Sharon: ‘Don’t cremate me, whatever you do.’ I want to be put in the ground, in a nice garden somewhere, with a tree planted over my head.”
He asked it be ‘a crabapple tree, preferably’ so this his ‘kids can make wine out of me and get p***ed out of their heads’.
Ozzy added: “As for what they’ll put on my headstone, I ain’t under any illusions. If I close my eyes, I can already see it. Ozzy Osbourne, born 1948. Died, whenever. He bit the head off a bat.”
It seems his devoted wife has done exactly as he asked. The icon has reportedly been buried near the lake on his 250-acre mansion in Buckinghamshire.
Behind the home, flowers spelling out ‘OZZY F*****G OSBOURNE’ could be seen.
RIP Ozzy.
