Sharon Osbourne catches Sabbath artist 'off guard'

The artist behind a major Black Sabbath mural in Birmingham was "caught off guard" when he got a visit from Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife.

Mr Murals said he suddenly noticed a blacked-out car had pulled up on Navigation Street in the city centre, and out strode Mrs Osbourne.

"[But] she was just so chilled out, so kind about the artwork, just loves everything that I've done so far," he said.

The mural is due to be completed to coincide with July's concert at Villa Park, when Ozzy will reunite with his heavy metal bandmates for the last time.

The images of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward are being created in a 120ft (36.5m) mural.

Mr Murals said: "You meet celebrities and you never know quite how it's gonna go, but you just forget that they're just normal people."

He was painting the Black Sabbath logo where the car pulled up, he added.

"But I think, because I've got masking tape all over it,.... [Sharon] was probably thinking, 'What is going on with that bit?'. But she was still really kind about it.

"She... just loved the black and white stuff that's on the wall."

Asked about his reaction to her arriving, he said he was "caught off guard".

"So many people have pulled up, so many different types of vehicle, usually it's a taxi beeping me out the way, so I was just glad there was no horn," he added.

More than 100 people stopped him to take photos and ask questions in one day, he added..

The artist said there had been "no autographs yet luckily, because my handwriting's terrible".

Asked what the mural looked like currently, he explained there was a "bit of thunder, bit of lightning that's kind of going behind" the logo and he was "jumping back over to Bill Ward on the drums".

He added though, that Ozzy's recreation is not yet finished and said: "I've asked a few people whether to hold him until the end."

Black Sabbath formed in Aston in 1968 and their final gig on 5 July will also features other heavy metal legends, including Metallica, Pantera and Anthrax.

Mr Murals said hopefully the artwork, which was commissioned by Central BID Birmingham with the support of Network Rail, would be finished by 12 June.

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