Birmingham honoured one of its best-loved sons today as thousands lined the streets to witness his cortege drive past en route to a private funeral attended by his family and friends.
Ozzy Osbourne’s journey was one of brilliance carved from pain, a voice of rebellion forged in the depths of working-class Birmingham.
Born John Michael Osbourne in 1948, he found escape from poverty and dyslexia not in schoolbooks, but in the howling roar of a new genre of music – heavy metal. As frontman of Black Sabbath, he gave voice to a generation disillusioned with war, politics, and false promises.
‘Ozzy said what I wanted to say‘
His haunting wail, raw and untrained, became a siren song for the lost and angry. I was one of those. I first saw Black Sabbath live on the February 5, 1972, a 14-year-old son of an immigrant. Ozzy said what I wanted to say.
Fame brought chaos. Addiction gripped him like a shadow that never left, dragging him through the wreckage of self-destruction.
Yet somehow, behind the wild eyes and slurred laughter, there was always a fragile soul craving peace. He stumbled, he fell, but he never stopped rising. The solo years gave us “Crazy Train” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home” – not just songs, but cries from a man desperate for connection, for meaning, for redemption.
As age crept in, Ozzy’s body began to fail him. The Parkinson’s diagnosis stole his freedom, but not his fight. He still spoke with warmth, still loved his wife Sharon, still dreamed of one last stage, one last ovation.
The world is quieter
When he passed, the world felt quieter. A voice that had raged against the dark was finally silenced. Yet in the stillness, his music lives on – an echo of pain, defiance and longing.
Ozzy didn’t just entertain us. He showed us that broken things can shine, that the darkness we fear can birth something beautiful. Today as he rests tens of thousands crowd the streets of Birmingham to pay tribute.
I write this with tears in my eyes. While I cannot be among the masses today, I cannot face the pain of losing the madness I can never express.
