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Black Sabbath and Zephaniah considered for city honours

Shyamantha Asokan
BBC News, West Midlands
David Davies/PA Wire A man stands in front of a microphone against a red stage backdrop. He has chin-length dark hair and he is wearing a black long-sleeved tunic. He has black eyeliner around his eyes.David Davies/PA Wire
Black Sabbath, co-founded by singer Ozzy Osbourne, are often credited with inventing heavy metal music

Birmingham music legends Black Sabbath and trailblazing poet Benjamin Zephaniah are being considered for city honours.

Birmingham City Council is due to discuss a proposal to award City Freeman status to the four founding members of the heavy metal band, which formed in Aston in 1968.

The city has previously awarded the symbolic title to conductor Sir Simon Rattle and pioneering sailor Lisa Clayton.

The council will also consider posthumously awarding a medal to Zephaniah, who died of a brain tumour in 2023.

Black Sabbath was founded by singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Terence "Geezer" Butler and drummer Bill Ward.

The band is often credited with inventing heavy metal music and won a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 2019.

Black Sabbath is seen as a core part of Birmingham's cultural heritage and a large mechanical bull in New Street Station is named after Osbourne.

Campaigners previously called for the singer to be made a City Freeman, a title that recognises a person's contribution to a city.

A black and white photograph shows a group of four men sitting together against a plain white backdrop. They all have long hair.
Osbourne, Bill Ward, Terence Butler and Tony Iommi (pictured left to right), founded the heavy metal band in Birmingham in 1968

The council will also consider whether to award a City of Birmingham Medal to Zephaniah.

The Handsworth-born poet was dyslexic and unable to read or write when he left school aged 13, yet went on to have a career that spanned poetry, literature, music and acting.

A man speaks into a microphone. He is wearing a white top and a green jacket, and he has long dreadlocks. He is standing under yellow lighting and another performer can be seen in the background.
Zephaniah's early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style, and his career spanned literature, music and acting

His early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style that evolved into the music genre of the same name.

Zephaniah was also an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders, set in Birmingham, between 2013 and 2022.

Since his death, tributes have included a city centre exhibition and a mural.

"He always saw himself as a 'son of Birmingham' and he was passionate about promoting the city", his brother Tippa Naphtali said in a statement.

Two separate reports recommending the honours for the artists will be discussed at a council meeting on 28 January.

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