The group was awarded due to its significant cultural and musical diversity in the city
The founding members of Black Sabbath were awarded the Freedom of the City of Birmingham at a ceremony in the Council House on Saturday.
At the ceremony, the original band members of Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bill Ward were presented with their Freedom of the City scrolls and medals by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal.
The Freedom of the City honor is one of the oldest traditional ceremonies in the country and recognises people’s exceptional service to the city.
This honor recognises Black Sabbath’s significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham, their strong association with the city and continued influence as pioneers of heavy metal in both Birmingham and beyond.
As part of the Freedom of the City, each band member received the title of Honorary Freeman and an engraving of their names on the Freedom of the City marble board was also unveiled at the ceremony.
The scrolls were produced by local company Hilton Studios and the medals were produced by Jewellery Quarter-based business Fattorini.
The medal design was created by competition winner Toby Williams, a student studying in the School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University.
Toby’s winning design was inspired by the themes of industry and community, reflecting the people of Birmingham
Black Sabbath formed in Aston in 1968, going on to create eight albums and selling over 75 million albums worldwide. They are considered pioneers of the heavy metal genre and are one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
“This is a great working-class city, and we’re all working class, from Aston,” Butler said at the ceremony. “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.”
“It’s a great thing to receive. Birmingham is our home, and we love what Birmingham has done for us. We’ve got the bridge and the bench, things like that. We’re very grateful,” Iommi added.
“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!” Osbourne shared.
“It’s completely overwhelming. I’m so proud to be an Astonian. That’s where I got my attitude. It was a blessed – and cursed! – to meet Tony when I was 15, and I’m so proud that I got to know Geezer and Ozzy. They’re my brothers. I love them very much and we love our city very much,” Ward stated.
The engravings in the Council House building join the Black Sabbath Bridge on Broad Street as a permanent tribute to the band and their accomplishments.
The honor was bestowed a week before the original four reunite for their final performance at Back to the Beginning. The sold-out charitable show will feature sets from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon. The all-day event will also feature a supergroup of musicians. Artists announced so far include Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Duff McKagan & Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jake E. Lee, KK Downing, Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token II (Sleep Token), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Zakk Wylde.
The event will be streamed with a two-hour delay globally, with all proceeds to benefit charity.
