Ozzy Osbourne put Birmingham on the map and never forgot his roots, says mayor

Leader Live

23-07-2025

The Black Sabbath star, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, died at the age of 76 on Tuesday.
Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band – formed in the city in 1968 – when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June.
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He told the PA news agency: 'He (Osbourne) was very important and he was a proud Brummie. He loved the city. He will be much missed, I think, and he was loved by so many people in the city.
'I think he put Birmingham, and especially Aston, on the world map. He's done so much for the city and we honoured him with the freedom of the city as well, which we were grateful that he came (to) and received about six weeks ago.'
Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Osbourne were all recognised for their significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham and as pioneers of heavy metal in the city and beyond.
Mr Iqbal said: 'For me, personally, to meet him was the greatest honour for me… very humble guy, very down-to-earth guy. He spent, I think, a couple of hours in the council house just talking about Aston, Aston Villa Football Club, the people of Birmingham.
'We presented him with the scrolls and he spoke as well for a couple of minutes on that day, and the thing I love about him is that at the end of everything he said, he always said, 'Birmingham forever'. And he never forgot his roots, where he came from.'
The lord mayor also said he spoke to fans queueing up to sign a book of condolences, which was opened by a Birmingham museum hosting an exhibition dedicated to Osbourne.
'It's already a long queue people. I'm sure over the weekend there'll be hundreds of more people coming to sign the book', he said.
Speaking about plans to honour Osbourne, he added: 'Myself and the council will probably have a meeting around this subject and we will decide at a later date what we're going to be doing.
'I'm sure there's definitely going to be something, I'm not sure what that's going to be looking like at the moment but we will definitely do something.'
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Richard Parker, mayor of the West Midlands, said he was 'very, very thankful' that Black Sabbath were given the freedom of Birmingham and that their final concert at Villa Park happened when it did.
Speaking at the Black Sabbath mural in the city on Wednesday, Mr Parker said: 'I was very fortunate to attend both events and I was just struck by the sense of goodwill and a sense of pride that he gave us all.
'I was just struck by how humble he and members of the band were and I just remember how much it meant to them.
'In retrospect, I think we're just very, very thankful that those two events happened when they did.'
He added: 'The fact that (Osbourne) came down here and wanted to play their final gig here meant a lot, and there was hardly a conversation he had that didn't mention where he came from and how much this city meant to him.'
Osbourne, who grew up in Aston, played a farewell gig at Villa Park on July 5 which saw him reunite with his Black Sabbath bandmates.
Among the bands performing were Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N'Roses, and there were messages of thanks from other celebrities, including Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Dolly Parton.