Tales of the City - Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero

For once in my life I'd actually planned my outfit in advance for my meet-up with Nikki...this incredible 1960s seeksucker maxi by Young Dimensions for Saks Fifth Avenue, recently found on Vinted and not yet worn.

  

And here it is in action!

@vixbrearley Morning, bab! Off to Brum to pay homage to Ozzy and giving this vintage Saks, Fifth Avenue maxi her first outing....#vintagestyle #over50women #1970sfashion #heavymetal ♬ original sound - Black sabbath

Has there been a zombie apocalypse? I messaged Nikki whilst sitting alone in the sunshine at Walsall station; there wasn't a soul to be seen!

Disembarking at Birmingham New Street I headed to our regular meeting spot on the concourse, waving at Ozzy, the mechanical bull, still pulling in the crowds three years after his appearance at the Commonwealth Games. 

We caught up over pots of herbal tea at the hip bakery Medicine which, back in the 19th Century, was home to the Royal Society of Birmingham Artists.

The brighty coloured Birmingham Bulls are part of a city trail.

Our destination was Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the magnificent building in the background.

Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025): Working Class Hero is a free exhibition showcasing Ozzy’s most prestigious international honours – including Grammy Awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame accolades, MTV awards, Hollywood Walk of Fame and Birmingham Walk of Stars honours and a selection of his platinum and gold discs which recognise millions of record sales around the world, alongside photography and video that charts his journey from “a working-class kid from Aston” to becoming the world’s most recognisable global rock legend.

What's in the bag, bab?

The last time we'd posed by these signs was on July 9th, three days after Black Sabbath's farewell gig at Villa Park when Ozzy was still with us. I'm sure you're already familiar with Ozzy Osbourne but just in case, you can read The Guardian's excellent obituary HERE.

As well as some fantastic music, Ozzie's words of wisdom are priceless, here's just a few.....

"The only black magic Sabbath ever got into was a box of chocolates".

"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."

"The lifestyle I've been living for the last 30 years, I could have been dead a thousand times."

"Sabbath were a hippy band. We were into peace."

"I should have been dead way before loads of them. Why am I the last man standing? I don't understand any of it. Sometimes I look in the mirror and go, 'Why the f--k did you make it?!' I'm not boasting about any of it because I should have been dead a thousand times. I've had my stomach pumped God knows how many times."

"I wasn't keen on "Paranoid" at first. I thought it was a rip-off of Led Zeppelin."

"A life of booze, drugs and unprotected sex is only going to f*** you up! I mean, look at me!"

"If you want to stand out, don't get a tattoo."

"I'm sure I'd been exposed to other songs, but I think the first one that had a real effect on me was "She Loves You" by The Beatles. It was just magic - it was like being hit by a bolt of lightning. I even remember where I was and what I was doing. I was walking down the road in Aston one day, with my light blue transistor radio, and this song came on. I thought, 'What the fuck is that?' It changed my life forever, and at that point I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I never knew it would turn out the way it did - it turned out way bigger than my wildest expectations - but I knew that I wanted to be the singer in a band. John Lennon was so great with words. He had an amazing way of turning out ridiculous lyrics but making them sound interesting and clever. Sometimes I like more straightforward lyrics, but at the same time, I'm a fan of lyrics that do a number on my head."

"I think Christmas is the biggest load of bollocks ever." (Amen to that, Ozzy!)

"One night in Hamburg, I painted my face purple, and didn't realise it was indelible. So I had to walk around Hamburg for the next three days with a purple head."

"All I have to say is this. Sobriety F***ing Sucks!"

"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."

"Sometimes I think my whole career and life has only been about a bloody Bat!"

"They say military have the so-called 'secret intelligence', this amount of intelligence must be very secret, since I've never seen any intelligent military person, nor I have seen any sense in the bloody stupid wars."

"Could be worse . . . I could be Sting."

Recalling an LSD trip: "There were these horses in a field. They were talking to me."

"I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't make it offstage quick enough to get whatever variety of shit I was tipping down me. I thought to myself: There are people working in gas stations, and all these menial jobs, to put money aside to see the Ozzfest, and I'm more interested in going back to the hotel, and doing a bag of white powder, or whatever shit it is I'm on."

"People thought ['_The Osbournes_'] was scripted but it wasn't. They'd sit there with five cameras pointing in all directions just for you to slip on a dog turd or something."

"I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week."

"I got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat but that's OK - the bat had to get Ozzy shots."

"Every time I did drugs, I would come close to death. It got to the point where I would worry about choking on my own vomit, so I would have to sleep face down. I do it even to this day... I'm very lucky to be alive and realize that. Nearly all the friends I used to get pissed with are now dead. I am living on borrowed time."

Ozzy Osbourne (1948 - 2025): Working Class Hero is open daily from 10am–5pm until 18th January 2026

The weather forecast had been pretty miserable, cloudy with heavy rain which , happily for me and my bare arms, proved to be spectacularly wrong! 

Lunch was Chaat Attack at The Indian Brewery....accompanied by a couple of pints of their excellent Juicy Mango Beer, a hazy pale ale brewed in Birmingham, which despite the name, wasn't at all sweet or sickly. In fact, it was so good, we ordered more! It's currently on tap in a lot of the Birmingham Wetherspoons' pubs inclusing the one at Birmingham airport...I know what my pre-flight tipple will be!

We'd not seen owner Marni since the Spring and had a lot of catching up to do. 

We love the Indian Brewery but don't just take our word for it, get your arses down to Snowhill, you won't regret it! 

Both Nikki and I worked in the city centre for years and love how Birmingham continues to evolve. The dingy underpass has had a makeover since we last cut through it, how cool are these tiles?

Ta for a fab day out, bab!

Thanks for reading! I'm off island hopping, see you in October!