Sharon Osbourne clutched her children’s hands this week as she stood before Birmingham’s Black Sabbath bridge, taking in the sea of flowers, balloons, letters and photographs left in tribute to her late husband Ozzy Osbourne.
On July 30, the grieving 72-year-old was visibly distressed as she leaned on son Jack Osbourne and daughter Kelly Osbourne for support amid the frontman’s funeral procession.
Aimee Osbourne, the couple’s eldest child was also there, according to Associated Press. Photographs showed the group making their way to the memorial site along Broad Street— one of the city’s major thoroughfares.
In 2019, the city unveiled the Black Sabbath Bench and Bridge, which commemorates the pioneering heavy metal band’s origins in Birmingham.
Sharon Osbourne, dressed in black, made her brief appearance at the memorial site, accompanied by her three children with the late singer, who was also the father to three other children.
The hearse carrying Ozzy Osbourne was followed by six separate vehicles carrying his family and escorted by police motorcycles and a police car, according to AP.
“Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi”— a variation of the popular British chant “Oggy oggy oggy” — was shouted by fans as the hearse passed by.
Ozzy Osbourne, who was born in Marston Green, a suburb of Birmingham, and who died at the age of 76, was one of the city’s most celebrated cultural icons. He and Sharon Osbourne were married for 43 years before his death.
The late singer died on July 22, just over two weeks after his final live performance — Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” benefit concert— in his hometown.
In an resurfaced 2011 Dear Ozzy column for The Times, the late rock star had shared his hopes for his funeral.
“I do want to make sure it’s a celebration, not a mope-fest,” he said at the time. “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.’”
Adding in part, “There’ll be no harping on the bad times… I don’t want my funeral to be sad. I want it to be a time to say ‘thanks.’””
