CITY EARNS ITS STRIPES

ADIDAS TRAINER CELEBRATES BRUM AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF HEAVY METAL

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BLACK Sabbath's first manager, Jim Simpson, has starred in a video about a new Adidas 'Birmingham' trainer that celebrates the city as the birthplace of heavy metal.

The video was filmed outside The Crown pub in Station Street, where the band' played their first gig, and was commissioned by Size?, a footwear and clothing chain that is part of the JD Sports empire.

The footage features a stylish eulogy from Mr Simpson on how heavy metal was born in the city.

Mr Simpson, now in his mid-80s, discovered the talented musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward in the late 1960s, when they were called Earth. Under his management, they relaunched as Black Sabbath and in 1970 released their seminal self-titled debut album, followed up by the equally adored Paranoid album.