![\"Ozzy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2.81072948.jpg\")
Floral tributes are left by the Sabbath Wall on Navigation Street in Birmingham, following the death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne aged 76 (Jacob King\/PA)<\/p>\nThe Black Sabbath star, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, died at the age of 76 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band \u2013 formed in the city in 1968 \u2013 when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June.<\/p>\n
\nHe told the PA news agency: \u201cHe (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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he put Birmingham, and especially Aston, on the world map. He\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Terence \u201cGeezer\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Mr Iqbal said: \u201cFor me, personally, to meet him was the greatest honour for me\u2026 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.<\/p>\n
Floral tributes are left by the Sabbath Wall on Navigation Street in Birmingham, following the death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne aged 76 (Jacob King\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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, \u2018Birmingham forever\u2019. And he never forgot his roots, where he came from.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s already a long queue people. I\u2019m sure over the weekend there\u2019ll be hundreds of more people coming to sign the book\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking about plans to honour Osbourne, he added: \u201cMyself and the council will probably have a meeting around this subject and we will decide at a later date what we\u2019re going to be doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s definitely going to be something, I\u2019m not sure what that\u2019s going to be looking like at the moment but we will definitely do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRichard Parker, mayor of the West Midlands, said he was \u201cvery, very thankful\u201d that Black Sabbath were given the freedom of Birmingham and that their final concert at Villa Park happened when it did.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Black Sabbath mural in the city on Wednesday, Mr Parker said: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just struck by how humble he and members of the band were and I just remember how much it meant to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn retrospect, I think we\u2019re just very, very thankful that those two events happened when they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe 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\u2019t mention where he came from and how much this city meant to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Among the bands performing were Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N\u2019Roses, and there were messages of thanks from other celebrities, including Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n