{"id":178103,"date":"2025-06-12T10:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T10:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/178103\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T10:02:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T10:02:18","slug":"your-heavy-metal-tour-guide-to-black-sabbaths-birmingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/178103\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Heavy Metal Tour Guide To Black Sabbath\u2019s Birmingham"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Black
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Michael Ochs Archives \/ Stringer<\/p>\n

What\u2019s there to say about Black Sabbath<\/strong> that hasn\u2019t been said before? The heavy metal pioneers<\/strong> inspired thousands of people, sold millions of records, have been streamed billions of times, and essentially made rock music what it is today. Quite the feat for four humble men\u2014Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, bassist Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne\u2014from Birmingham.<\/p>\n

The original members will play together for the first time<\/a> in 20 years with one last performance at Villa Park on Saturday, July 5<\/strong>. Black Sabbath fans from all over the world will descend on the city for what\u2019s been described as \u201cthe greatest heavy metal show ever.\u201d Local or not, our Black Sabbath tour guide<\/strong> should help you get a little closer to the greatest rock band Birmingham ever produced!<\/p>\n

1. Ozzy the Bull \"OzzyCredit: Steve Travelguide, Shutterstock <\/p>\n

Any guided tour of Birmingham should start with Ozzy the Bull<\/strong>. Named after the Prince of Darkness, this 33-foot mechanical bull won this city\u2019s hearts during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but now sits proudly in New Street Station. If you\u2019re after another Sabbath-inspired statue, Antony Gormley\u2019s Iron Man<\/strong> lives nearby in Victoria Square.<\/p>\n

2. Black Sabbath Bridge & Bench \"BlackCredit: Chris Homer, Shutterstock <\/p>\n

Everyone from Anvil to Anthrax and Behemoth has made the pilgrimage to sit with Tony, Bill, Geezer and Ozzy. The Black Sabbath Bridge and Bench<\/strong> on Broad Street (unveiled by Tony Iommi and Brummie comedian Jasper Carrot in 2019) remains the ideal resting spot in Birmingham. Nearby is the Broad Street Walk of Stars<\/strong>, too, featuring all the members of the band.<\/p>\n

3. Black Sabbath Street Art \"MrCredit: Central BID Birmingham <\/p>\n

Ahead of the \u2018Back to the Beginning\u2019 gig, the world-renowned street artist Mr Murals<\/strong> is creating a spectacular 120ft mural of Black Sabbath on Navigation Street<\/strong>, right next to Birmingham New Street Station. It\u2019s not the only Sabbath street art in town either.<\/p>\n

This includes another stunning mural adorning the Short Stay Car Park at Birmingham Coach Station on Rea Street<\/strong> in Digbeth, while the Prince of Darkness is commemorated next to the UK\u2019s first self-service bar, Auto Brew<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

4. Ozzy\u2019s childhood home \"OzzyPhoto by Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images for ABA <\/p>\n

Probably only one for mega-fans. There\u2019s no blue plaque outside, but 14 Lodge Road near Aston Park<\/strong> is where Ozzy Osbourne grew up. Please, don\u2019t bother the current occupants, though.<\/p>\n

5. Swordfish Records \"InsideCredit: Swordfish Records <\/p>\n

If you consider yourself a real metalhead, then listening to \u2018War Pigs\u2019 through AirPods on Spotify isn\u2019t going to cut it. You need vinyl records\u2014and where better than the coolest record store in Birmingham? Swordfish Records<\/strong> started life on Hurst Street back in 1979 for punk and post-punk vinyl. But, having moved around a bit, it is now located on Dalton Street, selling new and used vinyl and CDs, plus plenty of collectables.<\/p>\n

6. The Crown \"TheCredit: Elliott Brown, Flickr <\/p>\n

The Crown<\/strong> on Station Street was built back in 1881, but didn\u2019t find its calling until almost a century later. Black Sabbath played their first-ever gig here<\/strong>, while the likes of Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest also famously performed. From the early 70s to the 80s, it was arguably one of the most important music venues in the UK.<\/p>\n

The \u2018birthplace of heavy metal\u2019 has been closed for over a decade now, but recently attaining listed status, there\u2019s hope that it will eventually reopen. If you want to catch some music in the city, the latest talent can be found at dedicated alternative rock and metal venues like Subside<\/strong>, Scruffy Murphy\u2019s<\/strong>, The Asylum<\/strong>, and The Flapper<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

7. The Wilderness \"TheCredit: Tom Bird <\/p>\n

The Wilderness<\/strong> has nothing to do with Black Sabbath. But if you\u2019re hungry in Birmingham, there\u2019s nowhere better for rock \u2018n\u2019 roll fans. Combining heavy metal and haute cuisine, Alex Claridge\u2019s one-of-a-kind restaurant serves innovative and surprising tasting menus set to a punk and heavy metal soundtrack<\/strong> inside a restored factory\u2014now that\u2019s metal!<\/p>\n

8. Black Sabbath \u2013 The Ballet \"\"Credit: Birmingham Royal Ballet <\/p>\n

Almost two years after \u2018Black Sabbath \u2013 The Ballet\u2019<\/strong> made its world premiere in Birmingham, the theatrical performance returns<\/a> to the Second City this September. Catch the Birmingham Royal Ballet<\/strong> dance alongside full orchestrations of the legendary hits like \u2018Paranoid\u2019 and \u2018Iron Man\u2019<\/strong>\u2014as well as new orchestral works inspired by Black Sabbath. There are 12 performances at the Birmingham Hippodrome from September 18 to 27<\/strong>, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Michael Ochs Archives \/ Stringer What\u2019s there to say about Black Sabbath that hasn\u2019t been said before?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,62762,453,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-178103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-metal-music","13":"tag-rock","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114669823736807067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}