You Can Once Again Sit on Black Sabbath’s Heads After Famous Bench’s Refurbishment
Say what you will about their food, the weather, their dentistry, but the Brits know how and respect their heavy metal roots. We’ve already seen them pay tribute to Lemmy with a statue, save the old pub where Black Sabbath played their first gig, and now through a concerted public effort the very special Black Sabbath Bench in Birmingham, U.K. has been completely refurbished for passersby to rest on and next to some cutouts of the band’s likenesses.
Originally installed by Westside Business Improvement District back in June 2019, the bench in question features images of Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward on the back was located on the aptly renamed Black Sabbath Bridge. Located just across the canal on what’s called the city’s “golden mile” of Broad Street, it’s been a fixture of fans and enthusiasts of “engagement public art.”
However, the bench was taken down this past February after years of exposure to the elements and selfie-hungry people resulted in the installation becoming rundown. Regardless of that disgusting admission, the refurbishment was ultimately covered by the U.K. government through a project called the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.According to Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, the bench had been cleaned multiple times by specialists over the years, but that was no longer a solution, which explains the need for a complete refurbishment.
“Wind, rain, snow, ice and sunshine, along with the traffic fumes present in any city center had taken their toll on our prize tourist attraction. On top of this, the bench has had literally millions of people sitting on it to take selfies for five long years — climbing on it, kissing it and hanging off it in almost every way you can imagine. After all that wear and tear, we knew the bench needed a proper restoration, and so we were delighted that we were able to do so with the help of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
“We carefully chose and commissioned Midtherm to carry out the work, a Dudley-based company which specializes in all types of creative metalwork including laser cutting, enamels, fabrications and stainless steel. They have done a tremendous job, replacing the heads and bench struts with a cleaner, more streamlined material. They even added ‘1968’ to the inscription ‘Made In Birmingham’ on the base of the bench, which had been mistakenly left off the bench when it was first unveiled.”
Wait a second, people were kissing a public bench?! What the hell is wrong with you people?! You do know birds shit on benches, right?
