'I wanted to pay my respects to our king', says Black Sabbath superfan who went to Ozzy Osbourne's funeral
Thousands of Ozzy Osbourne fans lined the streets of Birmingham earlier this week as the Prince of Darkness made his final journey through his home city.
Mourners began lining Broad Street from as early as 5am on Wednesday to pay their respects to the legendary heavy metal icon following his death aged 76 last week. His funeral procession passed by the Black Sabbath Bridge, which had been transformed into a giant shrine featuring hundreds of flowers and tributes.
Fans began flocking to the area early in the morning and chants of 'Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy' could be heard while nearby bars blasted out Black Sabbath hits.
Denise Baxter, 66, travelled down from from Widnes near Liverpool, and said: "I wanted to pay my respects to our legend, our king. I have been a Sabbath fan all my life. It's credit to the man to see how many has come out today. I was very upset about it, he's a legend.
"Elvis is king of rock n roll, Ozzy is the king of heavy metal."
The cortege was accompanied by a brass band performance from Birmingham musicians Bostin’ Brass. The Osbourne family paid for the event and all associated costs. Wife Sharon, and children Kelly, Jack, Aimee and Louis followed the procession before a private funeral later in the day.
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal, 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.”