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Artist's surprise gift as Black Sabbath visit mural

Charlotte Benton
BBC News, West Midlands
Darren Quinton/Touchstone Visuals The four original members of Black Sabbath four older men, all who are dressed in black, standing in front of a street art mural that reads "Black Sabbath" in large black bubble writing. The background of the mural is pink and purple and features white lightning strikes. Darren Quinton/Touchstone Visuals
(From left to right) Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne all signed the artwork on Saturday

Rock band Black Sabbath made a surprise visit to their newly created Birmingham mural to give the artist an unexpected gift.

The original line-up - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - once again made their mark on the city as they signed the artwork on Navigation Street on Saturday.

Mr Murals, the man behind the piece, said Osbourne immediately recognised him and he was gifted two tickets to the band's last performance at Villa Park in July.

"Every single one of them took the time to speak to me and were so kind," the artist added. "It's mental, I'm still not over it."

Darren Quinton/Touchstone Visuals Ozzy Osbourne, an older man, in a black suit with long hair signing a street art mural. He is wearing black sunglasses and holding a white pen up to the wall. The mural is black, pink and purple and painted onto bricks in a city street. Darren Quinton/Touchstone Visuals
Ozzy Osbourne signed a mural on Navigation Street, near Grand Central Station, which depicts Black Sabbath's original line-up

Thousands of heavy metal fans are expected to head to Villa Park on Saturday 5 July as the band hosts its Back To The Beginning concert.

Mr Murals next to his murals in Birmingham. He is in front of the work in progress of a 120ft (36.5m) mural depicting all four original members of Black Sabbath. He has a purple mask hanging around his neck. There is also a trolley with paint cans nearby.
Mr Murals said the visit was "going to take a while to sink in"

The gig features dozens of musicians from the industry, who will take to the stage throughout the day. However, the most exciting part is set to be when the original Black Sabbath reunite to perform together for the first time in 20 years.

Saturday will mark the final time Osbourne plays alongside his bandmates, nearly six decades after the band formed in 1968, with the original four all growing up within a few streets of each other and a stone's throw from the Aston stadium.

Ozzy is not the only member of the Osbourne family to visit the 40m (130ft) street art, his wife Sharon previously surprised the artist during a trip to the city.

Mr Murals added that the band's visit had left him "on cloud nine" and said he needed to continue painting as the work was yet to be finished.

"It's just mad; it's going to take a while to sink in," he said.

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