“It’s one of the greatest cities ever, it’s given the world so much”: Black Sabbath have been awarded the freedom of Brum

All four members of the ‘classic’ line-up of Black Sabbath have been awarded the freedom of the City Of Birmingham.

The Lord Mayor of the City presented scrolls and medals to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler in a private ceremony on Saturday. It’s an honour that no Brummie (and surely no metal fan) would quibble about.

And it comes a week before what is set to be an emotional evening at Villa Park, when the band will make their final appearance together at the Back To The Beginning concert.

Interviewed afterwards, Ozzy Osbourne reflected on how far he and the band have come since their early days: “I first put an advert in a music store in town. If these guys hadn’t come to my door, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”

“It seems to have flown by so quickly. It’s amazing. I think about my dad, who went into debt to buy me a microphone. If only he could be here now. I think he would be very proud. I’m a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham forever!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkYfhkGhEL0

Meanwhile Geezer Butler added: “This is a great working class city, and we’re all working class, from Aston.”

“We weren’t given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us. People used to make fun of our accents, but we’re all proud Birmingham people and we love this city. It’s one of the greatest cities ever, it’s given the world so much and we’re proud to be here.”

The band also found time to visit a newly-created mural of the band that’s been painted on Navigation Street in the city and they met the artist, a fellow known only as ‘Mr Murals’ and gave him two free tickets to next week’s Villa Park show.

"Every single one of them took the time to speak to me and were so kind," Murals said. "It's mental. I'm still not over it."