Mourners at Ozzy Osbourne‘s private funeral today outside his sprawling Buckinghamshire, England, home were greeted by a humorous floral array. The tribute, situated on the banks of a lake on the 250-acre property, simply read: “OZZY F—ING OSBOURNE.”
Ex-Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, Rob Zombie, Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor, Marilyn Manson and others were on hand as widow Sharon Osbourne said goodbye along with their children Jack, Kelly and Aimee, and Ozzy Osbourne’s son Louis from a previous marriage. His Black Sabbath bandmates Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward are expected to attend, as are Elton John and Metallica‘s James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo.
Osbourne died on July 22 at age 76 after years of health issues. The service is being held a day after his hearse traveled through Osbourne’s hometown of Birmingham before an estimated crowd in the tens of thousands. More flowers and tributes began accumulating outside of Osbourne’s estate in advance of today’s service.
READ MORE: Yes, Ozzy Osbourne Really Wore That in the ’80s
Singer Yungblud, a more recent Osbourne friend, was asked to give a reading. A music stage has been erected next to lake, and Wylde arrived with guitar in hand. Osbourne apparently didn’t make any special requests: “I honestly don’t care what they play at my funeral,” he told the Times of London in 2011. “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.”
Ozzy Osbourne’s 10 Craziest TV Moments
Ozzy Osbourne became a huge television star between celebrated stints in Black Sabbath – and some of what aired was pretty insane.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
Remembering Guitarist Randy Rhoads
