Ozzy Osbourne didn't want his funeral to be a "mope-fest"

In a piece for The Times newspaper back in 2011, Ozzy explained: "I don't care what [music] they play at my funeral; they can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and We Are The Diddymen if it makes 'em happy - but I do want to make sure it's a celebration, not a mope-fest.

"I'd also like some pranks maybe the sound of knocking inside the coffin, or a video of me asking my doctor for a second opinion on his diagnosis of 'death'.

"There'll be no harping on the bad times. It's worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives, so by any measure, most of us in this country - especially rock stars like me - are very lucky.

"I don't want my funeral to be sad. I want it to be a time to say 'thanks'."

News of Ozzy's death was confirmed by his family in a statement, which read: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.

"We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis."

It was later reported that Ozzy passed away at his home in Buckinghamshire, UK and his daughters had flown in from Los Angeles to be with him.

A source told MailOnline: "[His passing was] unexpected to be this soon."

The insider added that daughters Aimee, 41, and Kelly, 40, had come from Los Angeles to be with their father and Ozzy's son Jack, 39, had flown in from his home in Idaho to watch his father perform at his final Black Sabbath gig in Birmingham on July 5.

The source said: "Ozzy was always meant to come back to Britain to live in Buckinghamshire, it was where Sharon had spent so long preparing their family home for him. "There was much hope that he would be around for a lot longer than this but at one point there were fears they would not get him back from Los Angeles for the concert earlier this month.

"Kelly has been at the house a lot in the last week or so, so has Aimee. It is terribly sad for all of them, they really hoped he would be able to carry on for a bit longer. "But it's so lovely that he had his children around him during his last days."