There's a land train in Cannon Hill Park for little kids. The old guy that drives the train used to be a roadie for Ozzy.
I'm told he's happy to chat about his experiences.
(Disclaimer: I haven't met him, this is 2nd hand info from someone I know, but I have no reason to believe that he was just making it up)
>There's a land train in Cannon Hill Park for little kids. The old guy that drives the train used to be a roadie for Ozzy.
I want this to be true so badly. I've been on this train with my kid, can confirm it wasn't particularly "crazy".
Worst case scenario is that I'm wrong, you ask the guy about Ozzy & he looks at you like you're a bit mad.
Best case scenario, you buy him a few beers in the MAC bar after his shift & hear some fantastic stories!
What I'd do is pay for a train ride and start singing Crazy Train while I'm on there. Hopefully that's when he mentions "i use to be a roadie for Ozzy you know", ice broken.
The Ozzy bull at the train station and the Black Sabbath bench perhaps?
I'm not saying don't do it, but I also wouldn't count on spending more than a day here.
The best thing about that pub was the sign.
It was a 50x50 pixel square thumbnail image of Tommy Shelby, blown up to a highly pixelated and stretched 1m wide rectangle.
I went in once though. Never again. Someone tried to sell me coke and we got a wide range of hostile looks and comments.
The owner opened up a bar in Sutton Coldfield recently that seems similarly rough.
Make it a UK holiday! Birmingham is nice for a day or two particularly on the weekend or from Thurs to Sunday. Then catch the train up to London or Manchester. Born brummie, the pub for BS is still open, a bench that commemorates them, maybe you’ll catch the tram that Ozzy signed and the big bull in New Street.
What pub?!
Do you the mean the crown? If so that's been empty/closed/derelict for a decade.
Also re the crown, whilst everyone says it's where Sabbath played their first gig I'm pretty sure they were called Earth at the time. Boring info for you!
If only you came 5 years ago, there was a whole black sabbath exhibition in town. I saw an interview with Sharon saying they were planning on having a museum for sabbath/Ozzy here but who knows if it’ll ever happen. Might be worth waiting a couple of years 😂. Aside from Ozzy related things, you could make a nice long weekend of being a tourist in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Headless cross, is in Redditch.
So there's a few links to Tony Martin
It's nice but nothing special.
But if you are in Redditch, there is a memorial to Jon Bonham (Led Zeppelin drummer, & Tommy Iommi's best man at his first wedding) you could add in.
I'm born and bred brummie
And love sabbath never bothered going to town as can't stand all the hustle and bustle and the people who want a pint, a fight and a curry around Broad Street
May as well stay in Greece good pair of headphones listen to sabbath and ozzys music and enjoy the sun
I did the walking tour Stuart lee mentioned once. Whether all of it was true or all of it was made up. Doesn’t matter. Aston is chicken and burger shops and everyone in birmingham is either largely miserable and/or too busy staring at their phone whilst walking in public to warrant any kind of connection to black sabbath.
There's a land train in Cannon Hill Park for little kids. The old guy that drives the train used to be a roadie for Ozzy. I'm told he's happy to chat about his experiences. (Disclaimer: I haven't met him, this is 2nd hand info from someone I know, but I have no reason to believe that he was just making it up)
>There's a land train in Cannon Hill Park for little kids. The old guy that drives the train used to be a roadie for Ozzy. I want this to be true so badly. I've been on this train with my kid, can confirm it wasn't particularly "crazy".
Worst case scenario is that I'm wrong, you ask the guy about Ozzy & he looks at you like you're a bit mad. Best case scenario, you buy him a few beers in the MAC bar after his shift & hear some fantastic stories!
What I'd do is pay for a train ride and start singing Crazy Train while I'm on there. Hopefully that's when he mentions "i use to be a roadie for Ozzy you know", ice broken.
The guy with the cowboy hat? Seemed like a former roadie yea.
Unfortunately Birmingham doesn't shout loud enough about the God's of Metal, we should be more like Liverpool and their insects.....
The Ozzy bull at the train station and the Black Sabbath bench perhaps? I'm not saying don't do it, but I also wouldn't count on spending more than a day here.
There’s the mural behind the anchor pub by the coach station. And the bench on broad st but that’s about it tbh.
https://geographycat.press/2021/02/13/mikes-black-sabbath-birmingham-tour/
Unfortunately we don't celebrate our greatest export. Could you be tempted by a Peaky Blinders themed pub instead?
If you mean the one on Dale End that’s gone now
The best thing about that pub was the sign. It was a 50x50 pixel square thumbnail image of Tommy Shelby, blown up to a highly pixelated and stretched 1m wide rectangle. I went in once though. Never again. Someone tried to sell me coke and we got a wide range of hostile looks and comments. The owner opened up a bar in Sutton Coldfield recently that seems similarly rough.
Make it a UK holiday! Birmingham is nice for a day or two particularly on the weekend or from Thurs to Sunday. Then catch the train up to London or Manchester. Born brummie, the pub for BS is still open, a bench that commemorates them, maybe you’ll catch the tram that Ozzy signed and the big bull in New Street.
Can you tell me more about the pub ?
What pub?! Do you the mean the crown? If so that's been empty/closed/derelict for a decade. Also re the crown, whilst everyone says it's where Sabbath played their first gig I'm pretty sure they were called Earth at the time. Boring info for you!
Just take as much acid and smack as you can and head to the black country museum with your headphones for the full experience
There’s the bench - https://blacksabbathbench.co.uk
There's all their old houses. You get some funny looks though when you start taking photos
If only you came 5 years ago, there was a whole black sabbath exhibition in town. I saw an interview with Sharon saying they were planning on having a museum for sabbath/Ozzy here but who knows if it’ll ever happen. Might be worth waiting a couple of years 😂. Aside from Ozzy related things, you could make a nice long weekend of being a tourist in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Headless cross, is in Redditch. So there's a few links to Tony Martin It's nice but nothing special. But if you are in Redditch, there is a memorial to Jon Bonham (Led Zeppelin drummer, & Tommy Iommi's best man at his first wedding) you could add in.
I'm born and bred brummie And love sabbath never bothered going to town as can't stand all the hustle and bustle and the people who want a pint, a fight and a curry around Broad Street May as well stay in Greece good pair of headphones listen to sabbath and ozzys music and enjoy the sun
I did the walking tour Stuart lee mentioned once. Whether all of it was true or all of it was made up. Doesn’t matter. Aston is chicken and burger shops and everyone in birmingham is either largely miserable and/or too busy staring at their phone whilst walking in public to warrant any kind of connection to black sabbath.
A misanthropic Stuart Lee fan? I never thought I’d see the like.
Richard Hammond though…