His public funeral procession, which will pass by the Black Sabbath bench and bridge, before a small, private family service will be held for the rocker who died at 76. Thousands of fans have been gathering since the heavy metal icon died last week aged 76 to leave flowers and tributes.
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The Black Sabbath frontman’s hearse will make its way down Broad Street ahead of a private funeral attended by close family and friends, including his wife Sharon. Black Sabbath were born in and around Aston, Birmingham, England and are well known as the godfathers of heavy metal music.
Ozzy Osbourne funeral
Ozzy Osbourne once revealed the name of the song he wanted to be played at his funeral. In a 2016 blog for NME, the Black Sabbath legend named the Beatles classic “A Day In The Life” as his one request for his future funeral.
“I really need a few more years to think this over, but probably something from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Revolver.” Osbourne wrote at the time. “I definitely don’t want my f—ing greatest hits album – I never ever play that thing, I’m f—ing embarrassed about it. And I definitely don’t want a f—ing happy song – I’m dead.”
He then selected the John Lennon/Paul McCartney-penned “A Day in the Life.” Osbourne previously said the closing track on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album took him “back to a magical time in [his] life,” according to American Songwriter. Osbourne was a lifelong fan of the Beatles after first hearing their 1963 breakthrough Beatlemania hit, “She Loves You.”
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“This is the one that sucked me in,” he told Rolling Stone. “I was a 14-year-old kid with this blue transistor radio. I heard ‘She Loves You,’ and it floored me. It was as if you knew all the colors in the world. Then someone shows you a brand-new color, and you go, ‘F—in’ hell, man.’”Aside from the Beatles. Osbourne didn’t have any other preferences for his funeral playlist. In 2021, he told The Sunday Times, “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.”
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Ozzy Osbourne will be honored with a public funeral procession in his hometown of Birmingham, England, on July 30, according to a Facebook post by the city council. Broad Street will be closed to traffic from 7am and buses and trams will be diverted.
The tribute will feature local brass ensemble Bostin Brass, who will lead the procession down Birmingham’s Broad Street. The walk will conclude at the Black Sabbath Bridge and Bench — a popular landmark celebrating the iconic band.
Osbourne passed away on July 22 at the age of 76, just weeks after his final performance with Black Sabbath at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham.