Ozzy Osbourne revealed message he wanted on his headstone before death
Ozzy Osbourne didn't leave anything up to chance when it came to his funeral plans.
The late rocker, 76, settled on the songs he wanted to be played and made it clear he didn't want the sombre occasion to 'be sad' - and he also revealed what he wanted on his headstone.
The Black Sabbath frontman essentially left a blueprint behind for his family - widow Sharon and his six children - to follow in the event of his death.
Sadly, his time came last week and his family announced he had died 'surrounded by love' on the morning of the 22 July.
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Tens of thousands of people then lined the streets of Birmingham yesterday (30 July) to bid one final goodbye to the 'Crazy Train' singer as his funeral procession made its way through his home city.
Ozzy's nearest and dearest were spotted sporting a series of accessories in honour of him, while fans were left moved after seeing Sharon make a sweet gesture in tribute to her late husband.
In October 2009, the music legend published his autobiography I Am Ozzy, which detailed his rise to fame - and ghost writer Chris Ayres, who helped him pen it due to his dyslexia, said he had more than enough material for a second book, too.
In one passage, Ozzy speculated about the way in which he would leave this world one day in the future, while offering some inspiring life advice and revealing what he imagined his headstone would say.
He explained that he'd already warned his wife Sharon not to cremate him, as he wished to be buried.
"I want to be put in the ground, in a nice garden somewhere, with a tree planted over my head," Ozzy said. "A crabapple tree, preferably, so the kids can make wine out of me and get p***ed out of their heads.
"As for what they'll put on my headstone, I ain't under any illusions.
"If I close my eyes, I can already see it: Ozzy Osbourne, born 1948. Died, whenever. He bit the head off a bat."
Although he has now been laid to rest, Ozzy's anecdotes and one-liners will still be making us laugh for years to come.
The 'Prince of Darkness' famously bit the head off a bat during a 1982 gig in the US state of Iowa, later explaining that he initially believed it was a toy - and he only realised it was the real thing after it was between his teeth.
Elsewhere in the passage, the heavy metal icon outlined his wishes and took a stab at guessing the circumstances which may surround his future death.
"If I don't live a day longer, I'll have had more than my fair share," Ozzy wrote. "The only thing I ask is that if I end up brain-dead in a hospital somewhere, just pull the plug, please.
"But I doubt it'll get to that. Knowing me, I'll go out in some stupid way. I'll trip on the doorstep and break my neck. Or I'll choke on a throat lozenge.
"Or a bird will shit on me and give me some weird virus from another planet."
He then made a hilarious reference to the quad-bike accident he suffered at his Buckinghamshire home in 2003, which left him with a broken neck vertebra, a broken collarbone and six broken ribs.
Ozzy said: "Look what happened with the quad bike: I'd been taking lethal combinations of booze and drugs for decades but it was riding over a pothole in my back garden at two miles an hour that nearly killed me.
"Don't get me wrong: I don't worry about that kind of heavy-duty stuff on a daily basis. I've come to believe that everything in life is worked out in advance.
"So whenever bad s**t happens, there ain't nothing you can do about it.
"You've just gotta ride it out. And eventually death will come, like it comes to everyone."
Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Celebrity, UK News, Celebrity News, Books
Olivia Burke