Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath members received the Freedom of Birmingham, Sharon Osbourne said after the city council approved the award.
Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward will get the honorary title for their contributions to the city. The council also gave a posthumous City of Birmingham Medal to poet Benjamin Zephaniah for his work in literature and charity.
The singer’s wife Sharon told BBC Radio West Midlands, “It means a lot to him, it really does, to be recognised from his home. He’s very excited.”
Ozzy himself was initially skeptical about the award due to his criminal past. “He couldn’t quite believe it, he thought I was winding him up. He said: ‘Really, me? But I’ve been in prison!’”
The rocker was arrested several times for various reasons — burglary, public intoxication, urinating on the Alamo Cenotaph, and so on. Though being in prison didn’t seem to have affected Osbourne’s career and his recent achievement, a similar incident certainly affected Ronnie Radke’s.
In December, Falling In Reverse had to postpone their U.K. tour after Radke was denied a visa due to his criminal history. The tour was set to begin in December 2024, but the U.K. Home Office’s strict visa rules have blocked their plans, citing Radke’s past conviction and prison sentence as the reason for the denial.
Radke’s legal troubles go back to a 2006 incident in Nevada that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Michael Cook. While the singer wasn’t directly involved, his role in the fight caused a probation sentence. In 2008, he violated that probation and served over a year in prison. Even after many efforts to rebuild his career, these events still affect the band’s ability to tour.
