Ozzy Osbourne is stunned by the latest honor being bestowed upon him. After councillors approved honoring Osbourne and other founding Black Sabbath members—Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward—the Freedom of Birmingham, the icon reacted to the news.
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“I’m a proud Brummie from Aston through and through,” Osbourne said, per The Guardian. “I’m still amazed to this day that no one outside of Birmingham can understand a word I say, but that’s always made me laugh. My only regret is that my mom and dad are not here to see what I became. Birmingham for ever!”
The distinction is an honorary award in recognition of what a person has done for the city of Birmingham. Someone with the award is known as an Honorary Freeman.
Osbourne’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, also spoke about her husband’s latest honor, telling BBC Radio West Midlands that he’s “very proud” to be recognized.
“It means a lot to him, it really does, to be recognized from his home. He’s very excited,” she said. “He couldn’t quite believe it, he thought I was winding him up. He said: ‘Really, me? But I’ve been in prison!’”
Ozzy Osbourne’s Love for His Hometown
She also spoke about her husband’s love for Birmingham, saying he’s “dying to come home” from the US.
“He really, really wants to come home and that’s what been a bit tough, because each time he’s made arrangements to come, something happens,” she said, alluding to his health issues.
The singer has undergone multiple surgeries since 2019. He also continues to battle Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2003.
“We’re not home here,” she added of Los Angeles. “It’s not where we’re from. It’s not what we are. People here have been fantastic to Ozzy, but it’s not his home.”
Bimingham, though, is home, she said. So much so that the Osbournes will be giving the singer’s awards and platinum albums to a museum in the city.
“It belongs in Birmingham, it needs to stay in Birmingham,” she said. “He owes so much to Birmingham. It’s his blood. That’s who he is. If he’d have been born anywhere else, he wouldn’t be the story that it is today, so he totally embraces his history and what Birmingham means to him.”
Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
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