Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of metal mourners waiting for the funeral cortege carrying the Prince of Darkness to arrive was at the same time both sombre and strangely joyous.

Ozzy Osbourne’s final journey past the Black Sabbath Bridge named in his honour in Birmingham didn’t just attract hardcore fans… every age and walk of life seemed to be on display, with heavily tattooed die hard rockers joined by families with pushchairs, builders and office workers.

Like one person said to me, “it wasn’t just the music, it was the man himself”, and that feeling from a crowd wanting to say goodbye to the local boy done good felt like it transcended the generations.

The heaving mass of people was gathered on Broad Street in Birmingham, home to the city’s very own Hollywood-style ‘Walk of Stars’ etched into the pavement, one of which is Ozzy himself, having been born less than three miles away in Aston.

And despite his global stadium-filling fame, hit reality TV show, and famous wife and family, Ozzy has always been rooted in the city of his birth.

On July 5 he had the chance to say thank you and farewell to his hometown in the incredibly successful Back to the Beginning Black Sabbath charity gig at the ground of his beloved Aston Villa FC. Just 18 days later the Godfather of Metal would leave this mortal coil.

At his funeral procession eight days later, it was a chance for the multitudes of admirers to say their own goodbye and thank you to him.

In one poignant moment, the hearse drove up and Sharon and the family exited at the Black Sabbath Bridge as a cry of ‘Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy’ rose up from the crowd sparking tears from Ozzy’s wife of 43 years.

And the great man himself would have hopefully been moved too by the love shown to him by so many today.

He would have likely enjoyed by one particular shout issued from a fan as the hearse set off once more, “Ozzy! Let’s go f**king crazy”, the fan shouted, and just like when Ozzy said the same words at his farewell gig, the crowd responded with cheers.