Black Sabbath have been granted the Freedom of the City of Birmingham, a rare civic honour marking their extraordinary impact on music and their role as hometown heroes.
All four founding members — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — reunited for a private ceremony at Birmingham’s Council House on Saturday. The Lord Mayor presented them with scrolls and medals in recognition of their pioneering influence as the band that helped invent heavy metal.
Their return home isn’t just ceremonial. On Saturday 5 July, Sabbath will hit the stage at Villa Park for “Back to the Beginning”, their final-ever performance and the first time the original four have played live together in over 20 years.
“We weren’t given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us,” said bassist Geezer Butler, calling it “a great working-class city.”
Ozzy Osbourne was emotional as he remembered his late father, who went into debt to buy him his first microphone.
“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,” said Ozzy. “I’m a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham Forever.”
The band also visited a new Black Sabbath mural in the city and added their signatures to the artwork which is now a lasting tribute to their legacy in the place where it all began.
The Final Show: Back to the Beginning
Their last concert promises to be massive. The support line-up reads like a rock fan’s dream:
- Guns N’ Roses
- Metallica
- Pantera
- Slayer
- Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith
It’s the kind of send-off few bands ever get. One last roar from the Midlands to the world.
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