Yesterday marked a painful day in Rock history, with Ozzy Osbourne receiving his final farewell in his hometown of Birmingham.
The world hasn’t quite felt the same since The Prince of Darkness passed away, and many legends have come forward to pay tribute to the influence of Ozzy on their lives.
Metallica Bassist and Ozzy’s former bandmate Rob Trujillo shared his heartfelt tribute to Ozzy yesterday on Instagram, while announcing that he was on his way to London to attend the funeral.
Not only did Rob have a stint as Ozzy’s bassist, but Ozzy was also one of the true champions of Rob’s band, Infectious Grooves.
While Metallica shared their tribute to Ozzy the day he passed, we all felt that Rob’s tribute was coming in due course, and man - this hit hard.
The 60-year-old shared a picture of a tour program with himself alongside Ozzy, announcing that they were on their way to London to farewell the godfather of heavy metal.
“Ozzy was the conduit for so many new relationships, both creative collaborations and real, lasting friendships,” he started with.
Rob shared that both of his children’s godparents “came directly from my friendship with Ozzy,” with Joe Holmes being his daughter Lullah’s godfather and Mike Bordin having the honour for Rob’s son Tye.
Infectious Grooves toured with Ozzy on his ‘91 ‘Theatre of Madness’ tour, and Rob shared his gratitude for this, saying they were a “brand new band” who had really just recorded some “fun songs”.
We weren’t ready to hit the road, but he made us step up and make it happen.
Rob quoted Ozzy saying, in true Ozzy fashion: “I’m your best friend, Rob, I fucking love the bass and the funkier and the heavier the better.”
He went on to describe Ozzy as “the gateway” and a “humble man” who was so “honest it hurt, but his sense of humour made everything absolutely amazing”.
“We’re all so thankful for his heart and soul,” he continued.
“Ozzy and Black Sabbath were and still are the soundtrack to our lives. The inspiration they gave us is beyond words.”
About the devastating funeral that happened yesterday, he said it was “time to pay our respects, share our love and offer our support to Sharon and the family.”
He described it as “heartbreaking”, but assured that Ozzy would’ve given everything in his last days on earth.
Rob also shared his gratitude to have been a part of Ozzy’s final ‘Back to the Beginning' gig, saying he was “honoured” to share “our music and Sabbath’s music” on the special occasion.
“Being part of that meant so much to us.”
He ended the tearjerking tribute with a simple: “Ozzy, RIP, brother. We love you.”
