Black Sabbath are just days away from their final performance, and over the weekend the band members received Freedom of the City of Birmingham, which is the highest honor bestowed by their English hometown.

Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward each received city scrolls and medals presented by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zafar Iqbal.

“The Freedom of the City honour is the one of the oldest traditional ceremonies in the country and recognises people’s exceptional service to the city," reads a statement by the Birmingham City Council. "This honour 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.”

Each member shared their own remarks about the honor. “This is a great working class city, and we’re all working class, from Aston," Butler said. "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.”

“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," Osbourne pointed out. "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!”

“It’s a great thing to receive. Birmingham is our home, and we love what Birmingham has done for us," Iommi stated. "We’ve got the bridge and the bench, things like that. We’re very grateful.”

“It’s completely overwhelming. I’m so proud to be an Astonian. That’s where I got my attitude," Ward remarked. "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.”

Back to the Beginning is an all-day event set to go down July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham. Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Anthrax, TOOL and Rival Sons will also be playing sets, along with solo performers.

Mark Manuel

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