After Ozzy Osbourne, the rock legend, passed away in late July, a procession was held to honor the singer in Birmingham, England. Thousands of fans gathered to celebrate Ozzy's life, making stops around the city, including the Black Sabbath bench and the legend's childhood home.
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During the event, Osbourne's wife, kids, and a few close friends departed to gather for a private funeral away from the public eye. In attendance was his long-time friend and Metallica bassist, Robert Trujillo, who gave some insight into what the gathering was really like.
"It was a small group of people, but it was very, very beautiful," the bassist told the Trunk Nation Podcast. "It was very sad, but at the same time, some of the speeches were, as you could imagine, pretty funny. People sharing stories, and all of a sudden there's laughter, and 'I remember this, I remember that.' It felt like there was closure from this."
According to Trujillo, not only were memories shared, but so were songs. Osbourne's daughter, Kelly Osbourne, performed one of her dad's hits, "Mama, I'm Coming Home," on acoustic guitar, while wearing his signature sunglasses. "Her lyrics flew," recounted Trujillo. "Like the wind blew her lyrics away. It was almost like Ozzy was having fun with her."
The Metallica bassist also described Ozzy's bandmate, Geezer Butler's eulogy as a "magical moment," when "the sun came out," and the service being "beautiful from that moment on."
How Knowing Ozzy Osbourne Changed Robert Trujillo's Life
Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Trujillo have a long-running history as musical collaborators and close friends. From the 1990s through the early 2000s, Trujillo acted as a bassist in Osbourne's solo band before leaving to join Metallica. However, what came out of this wasn't any negative feelings, but rather a solid friendship that led to many opportunities for the musician. "I just want to say... Ozzy was the conduit for so many new relationships, both creative collaborations and real, lasting friendships," Robert wrote in a post on Instagram. "Ozzy was a humble man and sometimes so honest it hurt, but his sense of humor made everything absolutely amazing."
