Fan gets Ozzy tattoo in honour of late singer

Simon Humphreys said Ozzy Osbourne's "rebellious nature" and music inspired and helped him through rough times

A Black Sabbath fan from Dudley has marked his birthday by getting an Ozzy Osbourne tattoo in honour of the late singer.

Simon Humphreys, who had the word "Ozzy" tattooed across his four fingers, said he was "absolutely devastated" by the news the rock legend had passed away on Tuesday. Birmingham-born Osbourne, one of the most influential musicians in rock, was 76.

Mr Humphreys, 59 , told BBC Radio WM his love for Ozzy solidified when he listened to Sabbath music while in hospital paralysed from the waist down, at the age of 17.

"It was a dark period of my life. It was the music that got me through it," he said.

Ozzy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, died just weeks after Sabbath played their farewell gig in his home city of Birmingham.

Mr Humphreys said while he had gone to rock concerts his whole life, until the 5 July show he had never seen the band play before.

"I used to go to rock concerts all the time, but I'd never got the chance to see Ozzy or Sabbath.

"So [seeing him] is more poignant now."

The Brierley Hill resident celebrated his birthday on Thursday by getting the Ozzy tattoo inked at SS Tattoos in Kingswinsford.

But it is not the first tattoo he has dedicated to the singer.

"I've got a big portrait of Ozzy Osbourne on my leg. It took 11 and half hours - and that hurt," Mr Humpreys explained.

"He's singing into a microphone. You can see dark blue in his hair and his black jacket. It means a lot more now than it did."

Simon Humphreys and his wife spent his birthday at the Black Sabbath bridge in Birmingham

Mr Humphreys spoke about the moment he heard the singer had died.

"It was sooner than we thought. My wife saw it on social media," he said.

"But then I went through the news channels and there it was. Devastated, I was absolutely devastated.

"It hasn't been a good time, I haven't really slept to be fair. He was just an icon. There was only one Ozzy Osbourne."

When Mr Humphreys was 17, he suffered a "life-changing" incident that caused him to be paralysed from the waist down for two years.

He said Osbourne's music "certainly helped me through some rough times when I was younger".

"I was in hospital for 18 months and mainly on my own, in my own room.

"All I did then was listen to Sabbath and Ozzy. His rebellious nature got me through and [the music] was an incentive to get me back onto my pins again."

'Just a bloke from Brum'

While in and out of hospital in his teens, Mr Humphreys even managed to meet the star.

"I was on the way back from hospital and my dad diverted to a pub somewhere. I was still in my wheelchair at this point and Ozzy was there propped up at the bar.

"He told us to go away, he'd had a few drinks. But he came over afterwards and apologised and paid for our pints."

Mr Humphreys spent the rest of his birthday visiting the Black Sabbath Bench and Bridge in Birmingham, as well as signing the book of condolence.

Speaking on what made Ozzy special, he said: "He was just a bloke from Brum, working in factories and slaughterhouses - he could've ended up in prison - he could've ended up anywhere.

"But look what he did, look what they did. He should be an inspiration to everyone.

"He was just such a nice geezer and everything he's done for the music industry - all these bands that are around now, half of them are around because of him and because of Black Sabbath."

Mr Humphreys told the BBC the Ozzy tattoo on his leg had more meaning following the death of the musician