Ozzy Osbourne fans line Birmingham streets to honour Black Sabbath star

By Marissa Davison

Thousands of heavy metal fans lined the streets of Birmingham on Wednesday for the funeral procession of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier this month at the age of 76.

The cortege of the singer known as "The Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" was driven through his home city in central England before a private funeral.

It stopped at a bench dedicated to the musical pioneers, and Osbourne's wife, Sharon, and their family looked at some of the thousands of flowers and tributes left by fans.

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The family waved and made peace signs to the crowd, many of whom chanted "Ozzy, Ozzy".

Osbourne had said he did not want his funeral to be a "mope-fest", and celebration was mixed with sadness on the streets, with a New Orleans-style brass band leading the procession.

Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend".

"He was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up," he said.

"Black Sabbath are the originators of heavy metal and made such great music. And he dared to be different because he was different."

This month, Osbourne played a final concert in the city, where a star-studded line-up featuring Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath's legacy.

Black Sabbath hits "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" made Osbourne a star in the early 1970s, and his antics on stage, most famously biting the head off a bat, extended his fame far beyond metal music.

In 2002, he won new fans when he starred in U.S. reality TV show "The Osbournes", with Sharon and two of his children, Jack and Kelly.

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He died on July 22. No cause of death was given, but the star had disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2020.