Ozzy Osbourne's home city hails star who 'lived life in rock n' roll'
Floral tributes piled up for the legendary Black Sabbath frontman, just over two weeks after he and his fellow band mates filled a stadium in the central English city for a memorable reunion concert.
Some fans told AFP they were still in shock and felt emotional at news of the 76-year-old's death on Tuesday after a battle with Parkinson's disease.
"Today is, I think, one of the darkest days in heavy metal history because the godfather of heavy metal just passed away," said Burjor Anklesaria, a 32-year-old doctor from London.
Nigel O'Connell, 63, brought his grandson with him to view a mural honouring the group in the city centre.
He said he was saddened by the news but not surprised "because he lived his life in rock and roll".
"Ozzy was just a bit of an icon of the city -- he was a bit of a fool, but everybody loved him!" he said, adding Osbourne had "done the city proud".
Elsewhere in the city centre, posters of the singer sprang up on walls while flowers also appeared at the Black Sabbath canal bridge.
Fans left lit candles, flowers, soft toys and even cans of beer at a bench on the bridge adorned with drawings of the faces of the four band members.
Fresh in everyone's mind is the July 5 concert at Birmingham's Villa Park football stadium in front of tens of thousands of adoring heavy metal fans from around the world.
Weak from Parkinson's disease, the ailing singer had to stay seated throughout the sell-out gig, the first they had performed in 20 years.
His performance moved many in the crowd to tears.
'Mad days, good memories'
Rebecca Brownell and her 13-year-old son Billy, a recent convert to heavy metal, were among those leaving flowers at the mural.
The 45-year-old seamstress described Osbourne's death as both "sad and not sad because, you know, he had a great last few months".
She said the heavy metal scene was "big for Birmingham" and the concert had "brought it all back".
"Hopefully that will carry on for a little while ... and a new generation of kids will learn all about it," she said.
Black Sabbath's first manager Jim Simpson, visiting the bridge, said the number and range of people who had turned out following his death showed the impact his music had on people.
"There are people here who are 80 years of age or eight years of age and all stages in between and it shows he had a remarkable way of contacting people," he said.
"It has been 55 years and still [Black Sabbath] are more popular than ever."
The world had lost "an inordinately nice, balanced, human being" in Osbourne, he said.
For schoolgirl Eliza Shepherd, 16, Osbourne had been a "massive part" of her life as her father had passed on his love of Black Sabbath.
Praising him as "cool and funny", she said the concert had been the "best day of my life".
"It was just sad to see him struggling a bit. But it was so good," she said.
For many fans, however, the sadness was tempered by the memory of happy times and great music over the years.
"All the concerts were mad, everyone was just jumping around and having a good time ... mad days, but it was good fun, good memories," O'Connell added.
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