Watch video clip below...

What an absolute amazing day I had in Birmingham on Friday!

The 6^th July 2007 was officially called OZZY OSBOURNE DAY, in Birmingham, when the local Aston born rock star, was the first to be inducted on to the cities ‘Walk of Stars’.

Thousands of people braved the horrible, wet weather, to welcome home Ozzy, who was clearly chuffed at being honored. When asked if he’d be offended if someone p****** on his plaque like he’d done at The Alamo, he joked that he would be offended if worse things didn’t happen on Broad Street where the commemorative star would be placed! Many of those same people were to attend the National Indoor Arena where Ozzy and his band were doing a show later that evening.

Me and my mate Dom were lucky enough to receive a call from Ozzy’s personal assistant Anth, asking if we would like a couple of backstage passes for the show. Mmmm, a difficult decision to make….NOT! and we met Anth at the back of the arena and he invited us in to the venue. Just a few minutes catch up with Anth as he was ‘working’, and he told us to enjoy the show and that he’d catch us later. We were invited to get something to eat and drink, but no alcohol available!

The National Indoor Arena is quite a huge size venue holding 13000 people, set in a canny little location by the canal. Mind, I wouldn’t want to be walking along the canal path after having a beer to many, as it looks pretty easy to fall in as there are no barriers to keep you safe!

Back in the arena, opening band HEADSPACE were just finishing and the road crew were ready to change the stage in time for BLACK LABEL SOCIETY.

BLS fronted by Ozzy’s guitarist Zakk Wylde, had most of the young fans in the hall jumping about, but with not being a great fan of them, off to the bar for a refreshing vodka & tonic…at £4.50!!!!!!! crikey!!!!

With BLS show over the hall was heaving with young and older folk, eager to see Ozzy perform in his home city. You could tell it was going to go f-ing crazy on the arena floor, so me and Dom went through the barrier and waited for the show to begin in the wing of the stage. A cry from Ozzy went through the P.A. and the crowd stared to roar. A large screen showed a few comic sketches with Ozzy taking the p*** out of some recent movies and celebrities, which had the crowd in stitches.

The intro tape rang out and Ozzy hit the stage. The crowd went wild and the mayhem began. I managed to get right in front of the stage in the media pit along with the freelance photographers with their huge zoom lenses and expensive digital cameras, armed with my little Fuji cam and got a couple of decent shots during the two song time limit to take photos.

Alright, one or maybe two dodgy notes, but hey, this guy is 59 years old and he still shows the young wannabes how to do it….shows them how to rock! Whereas Ozzy, to be honest, looked so unwell for the first half hour last week in Prague suffering from a chest infection, but still managed to get through the show by filling it out with “I can’t f-ing hear you”, “I love you all” etc, tonight it was just 110% rock n roll.

Ozzy was on fine form. No forgetting the words, no dodgy repeating patter, just a full whole hearted performance for those who had come along. Back and forth across the stage Ozzy ran, inciting the crowd to join in (as if they needed it!). The temperature was boiling in the hall and welcome buckets of water spilled on to the audience.

He bounced, frog-leaped, head banged throughout the whole 90-odd minutes. This was Ozzy’s homecoming and everyone loved it right to the final note of the ‘Paranoid’ encore.

Backstage we were invited to wait in the lobby while Ozzy chatted with his family, and some of the local guests who had been invited through the civic reception and and finally managed see the man himself when he went out to meet some waiting fans. With that over and the guests gone, it was a bit more relaxed and we had personal introductions and a few photos with Ozzy, Sharron, the band and family friends.

Two hours after the show ended, Anth and the team were trying to get Ozzy & Sharron in the car and away home for the night…they had a flight at noon the next day to L.A…but they were still joking and talking to everyone there.

It had been a fantastic day, and a day I’ll never forget! The man is a true marvel…a hero!...and thanks to Anth for making it all happen!

Here's a short clip of Ozzy singing 'Crazy Train' looking from the wing of the stage, and of the back of the projection screen.
This was the second last song...Ozzy still full of energy!

Davy P