Marilyn Manson leads rock royalty at Ozzy Osbourne's funeral

Daily Mail​

a day ago

By KATHERINE LAWTON and AIDAN RADNEDGE and NICK FAGGE
Marilyn Manson has led the stars arriving at Ozzy Osbourne's private funeral this afternoon as the heavy metal icon is laid to rest. The Black Sabbath frontman, who died aged 76 on July 22, is being buried in the grounds of his own mansion in Buckinghamshire - as he had said he desired.
Ozzy's widow Sharon and their children were joined by heavy rock icons at today's event at the family's home near Gerrards Cross, where he was being laid to rest near a lake ay the heart of the sprawling 250-acre estate.
Guests also included Manson's wife Lindsay Usich, and Ozzy's lead guitarist Zakk Wylde - and in true Ozzy fashion, stars arrived in gothic and heavy metal attire, with Rob Zombie donning skulls on a black scarf while Manson wore a long black jacket.
Mourners who attended today include Metallica frontman James Hetfield, and Sir Elton John , as tents were seen across the Buckinghamshire estate's grounds.
Speaking in 2011 about how he imagined his future send-off, the Black Sabbath legend said : '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. But I do want to make sure it's a celebration, not a mope-fest.'
The funeral cortege yesterday was led by a live brass band, Bostin' Brass, who performed versions of Black Sabbath songs such as Iron Man, as thousands of tearful devotees lined the streets and sang along in Ozzy's memory.
Today, marquees and a music stage had been erected next to pond where the private tributes were paid at his home. Guests were seated under huge awnings due to the rain showers that had fallen earlier in the day - while catering facilities, with their own generators, were provided in the garden.
However, diehard fans did leave flowers outside the gates to their rock idol. Ozzy had spoken in 2011 about his funeral intentions, telling the Times : ' I want to make sure it's a celebration, not a mope-fest.
'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'.' And he wrote in his autobiography I Am Ozzy, published in 2010: '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. 'A crabapple tree, preferably, so the kids can make wine out of me and get [expletive] out of their heads.
As things have transpired, huge crowds gathered along the route hours in advance of Wednesday's 1pm start to pay their respects to the Prince of Darkness whose hits included Paranoid and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
The hearse carrying the singer's coffin - adorned with purple flowers spelling out 'Ozzy' - had passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, shortly after midday.
Flowers had been placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park while the owners of the house put up a picture of Osbourne in the front bay window.
The Jaguar hearse and six Mercedes funeral cars, accompanied by police motorcycle riders and a police car, drove slowly along the street watched by a handful of fans and the current owner of the house. Thousands of people were pictured taking their places not only on Black Sabbath Bridge but along the city centre route along which his cortege travelled towards the Black Sabbath Bridge bench. Elsewhere in London, the Coldstream Guards payed tribute to the heavy metal legend at the changing of the guard by performing their own rendition of his hit-song Paranoid.
While organizing the procession, Birmingham City Council collaborated with the Osbourne family, who funded all of the associated costs. Ahead of today's follow-up service, the Sun quoted a source as saying: 'Singer Yungblud, who became close with Ozzy in recent years, is going to give a reading.
'His Sabbath bandmates, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, will be there, along with James Hetfield from Metallica. 'Elton John is also hoping to join the family at the church. 'Sharon and his family have been so touched by messages they received not only from Ozzy's friends, but also his fans around the world.'
Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates - Butler with the nickname 'Geezer', Iommi and Ward - were recently given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, which recognises people's exceptional service to the city. The group, which formed in 1968, are widely credited with defining and popularising the sound of heavy metal.
Osbourne, who also had a successful solo career, found a new legion of fans when he appeared in the noughties reality TV series The Osbournes, starring alongside his wife Sharon and two youngest children, Kelly and Jack . The music star, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, performed his last gig on July 5 in a concert that also saw performances from the likes of Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N' Roses.
Ozzy took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death - reuniting with his original Black Sabbath bandmates for the first time since 2005. More than 42,000 fans packed into the venue for the Back To The Beginning show, during which he told the crowd in his final speech: 'You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart.'
A message on screen then read: 'Thank you for everything, you guys are [expletive] amazing. Birmingham Forever,' before the sky lit up with fireworks. He had told of it being his last performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson's in 2020. In a statement shared last Tuesday, Ozzy's family said he died 'surrounded by love' , adding: '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 is survived by his wife Sharon and his five children Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. Daily Mail revealed last Wednesday that an air ambulance was called to Osbourne's grand country home as paramedics battled to save his life for two hours. Friends told the Mail's Alison Boshoff that his heartbroken wife Sharon was considering now burying Ozzy in the gardens of the 350-acre estate in an intimate family funeral.