Birmingham Walk of Stars

The Birmingham Walk of Stars is a walk of fame-style installation on the pedestrian pavement of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, which honours notable people from the Birmingham area or with significant connections with it. The scheme is organised and funded by the Broad Street Business Improvement District.

Star for Ozzy Osbourne on the canal bridge pavement of Broad Street in Birmingham

The Walk of Stars honours residents of the city who have made a significant contribution to the arts sector, in music, television, film, theatre, sport, business and literacy.

Criteria

edit

The criteria for a person to have their star added to the walk include that they must have performed at one of Birmingham's major venues such as the International Convention Centre (ICC), National Indoor Arena (NIA), Symphony Hall and The Rep theatre. They must also be originally from the area or have prominent links with Birmingham and the Midlands region.

History

edit

The idea for a Walk of Fame style tribute was first thought of by a local Birmingham man Garry Raybould, who then approached the Broad Street Business Improvement District who developed the idea and created the name Broad Street Walk of Stars together with a brand and registration of the original website, www.walkofstars.co.uk which quickly became very popular and was chosen by Radio 2 as 'Website of the Day'. The first star to be honoured was Ozzy Osbourne on 6 July 2007. The event was held in Centenary Square and introduced by Elliott Webb from Birmingham's commercial radio station BRMB and the star was presented to Ozzy by Lord Mayor of Birmingham Randal Brew.[1] The Ozzy Osbourne presentation created £1.7M worth of worldwide publicity for the area.[citation needed]

Comedian Jasper Carrott was the second person to have a star installed on Broad Street on 15 September 2007. The star was presented to him by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham during ArtsFest in front of a 10,000 strong crowd.[2] In December 2007, Noddy Holder became the third inductee on the Walk of Stars which was presented to him on a canal boat, during the Broad Street Christmas Canal Boat Light Parade.

The stars were briefly fenced off following safety concerns about their polished surfaces. Leicestershire-based Charcon Specialist Products, who produced the stars, was consulted over the situation.[3]

Murray Walker was inducted into the Walk of Stars. A joint induction took place on 12 September 2008 for BBC Radio 4 series The Archers and cast member Norman Painting. On 7 October 2008, the BBC announced that Julie Walters would be inducted.[4] The following month founder member of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi was inducted.

On 26 March 2009, it was announced that each of five local football clubs (Aston Villa,[5] Birmingham City, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers) would have a star commemorating their teams, a player, or a specific era. The presentation ceremonies will be staggered between May and August.[6]

Stars honoured

edit
Number Recipient Induction date Profession Comments Image Location
1 Ozzy Osbourne 6 July 2007 Musician Founding member of Black Sabbath and solo artist   52°28′40″N 1°54′40″W / 52.47786°N 1.91099°W / 52.47786; -1.91099 (Ozzy Osbourne)
2 Jasper Carrott 15 September 2007 Comedian Comedian, actor and television presenter   52°28′31″N 1°54′51″W / 52.47539°N 1.91416°W / 52.47539; -1.91416 (Jasper Carrott)
3 Noddy Holder 9 December 2007 Musician Member of Slade   52°28′37″N 1°54′43″W / 52.47706°N 1.91200°W / 52.47706; -1.91200 (Noddy Holder)
4 Murray Walker 28 June 2008 Sports commentator BBC/ITV Formula One coverage   52°28′42″N 1°54′32″W / 52.47847°N 1.90880°W / 52.47847; -1.90880 (Murray Walker)
5 The Archers 12 September 2008 Soap opera Long-running BBC Radio 4 serial   52°28′42″N 1°54′35″W / 52.47825°N 1.90978°W / 52.47825; -1.90978 (The Archers)
6 Norman Painting 12 September 2008 Actor Voice of Phil Archer in The Archers   52°28′42″N 1°54′35″W / 52.47822°N 1.90985°W / 52.47822; -1.90985 (Norman Painting)
7 Tony Iommi 23 November 2008 Musician Member of Black Sabbath   52°28′42″N 1°54′36″W / 52.47827°N 1.91012°W / 52.47827; -1.91012 (Tony Iommi)
8 Aston Villa F.C. 1982 Team 4 May 2009 Football team 1982 European Cup-winning team   52°28′41″N 1°54′38″W / 52.47810°N 1.91054°W / 52.47810; -1.91054 (Aston Villa F.C.)
9 Tony 'Bomber' Brown 17 May 2009 Footballer Professional footballer from West Bromwich Albion F.C.   52°28′39″N 1°54′42″W / 52.47739°N 1.91158°W / 52.47739; -1.91158 (Tony Brown)
10 Frank Skinner 1 August 2009 Comedian Co-Host of Fantasy Football League   52°28′38″N 1°54′41″W / 52.47727°N 1.91132°W / 52.47727; -1.91132 (Frank Skinner)
11 Gil Merrick September 2009 Footballer Professional footballer from Birmingham City F.C.   52°28′37″N 1°54′44″W / 52.47683°N 1.91230°W / 52.47683; -1.91230 (Gil Merrick)
12 Ray Graydon September 2009 Footballer Former manager of Walsall F.C.   52°28′43″N 1°54′32″W / 52.47848°N 1.90879°W / 52.47848; -1.90879 (Ray Graydon)
13 Julie Walters 27 October 2009 Actress/Comedian Star of Educating Rita & Harry Potter Films   52°28′28″N 1°54′57″W / 52.47434°N 1.91575°W / 52.47434; -1.91575 (Julie Walters)
14 Gary Newbon 10 December 2009 Television journalism Sports Reporter   52°28′42″N 1°54′32″W / 52.47845°N 1.90880°W / 52.47845; -1.90880 (Gary Newbon)
15 Lenny Henry 19 December 2009 Actor/Comedian Presenter of Tiswas   52°28′43″N 1°54′32″W / 52.47849°N 1.90879°W / 52.47849; -1.90879 (Lenny Henry)
16 Beverley Knight 20 March 2010 Singer   52°28′42″N 1°54′32″W / 52.47846°N 1.90880°W / 52.47846; -1.90880 (Beverley Knight)
17 Joan Armatrading 4 May 2010 Singer   52°28′42″N 1°54′35″W / 52.47828°N 1.90970°W / 52.47828; -1.90970 (Joan Armatrading)
18 Chris Tarrant August 2010 Broadcaster Host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?   52°28′42″N 1°54′33″W / 52.47841°N 1.90921°W / 52.47841; -1.90921 (Chris Tarrant)
19 Birmingham Royal Ballet September 2010 Dance   52°28′42″N 1°54′34″W / 52.47844°N 1.90947°W / 52.47844; -1.90947 (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
20 David Bintley September 2010 Dance   52°28′42″N 1°54′34″W / 52.47842°N 1.90955°W / 52.47842; -1.90955 (David Bintley)
21 Roy Wood November 2010 Singer Musician Member of Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard and The Move   52°28′42″N 1°54′37″W / 52.47824°N 1.91024°W / 52.47824; -1.91024 (Roy Wood)
22 Bev Bevan February 2011 Singer Drummer Member of Electric Light Orchestra and The Move   52°28′41″N 1°54′36″W / 52.47817°N 1.91004°W / 52.47817; -1.91004 (Bev Bevan)
23 Matt Croucher GC 16 June 2011 Lance Corporal Awarded the George Cross in 2008  
24 Laurie Mansfield 16 June 2011 Theatrical agent Represented Jim Davidson, Ken Dodd, Cannon & Ball, The Krankies, Tommy Steele, Eddie Large and Freddie Starr.[7]  
25 Sir Keith Porter 16 June 2011 Military Surgeon  
26 Nigel Mansell August 2011 Racing driver 1992 Formula One World Champion   52°28′41″N 1°54′37″W / 52.47810°N 1.91021°W / 52.47810; -1.91021 (Nigel Mansell)
27 Malkit Singh May 2012 Musician "King of Bhangra"[citation needed]  
28 Harry Moseley August 2012 Fundraising/Charity
29 Jaki Graham October 2012 Singer
30 Ellie Simmonds December 2012 Paralympian Multiple Gold Medal winning swimmer
31 David Harewood July 2013 Actor Actor famous for his role in Homeland  
32 Jeff Lynne March 2014 Singer/Composer/Musician Member of Electric Light Orchestra and The Move
33 Trevor Francis November 2014 Footballer Professional footballer from Birmingham City F.C.
34 Ian Lavender 22 June 2015 Actor Private Pike in Dad's Army
35 Dennis Amiss 11 February 2016 Cricket Played for England and Warwickshire and was ECB Deputy chairman
36 Ann Haydon-Jones 11 February 2016 Tennis First left-handed female Wimbledon winner
37 Steel Pulse 18 April 2016 Band Members are: Ronald McQueen, Basil Gabbidon, Steve Nisbett, Selwyn Brown, David Hinds & Sidney Mills
38 Toyah Willcox 11 December 2016 Singer Actress
39 Don Maclean 11 December 2016 Comedian Actor
40 Geezer Butler 3 February 2018 Musician Member of Black Sabbath
41 Jamelia 11 April 2018 Singer
42 UB40 27 May 2018 Band Members included: Ali Campbell, Terence "Astro" Wilson, Duncan Campbell, Earl Falconer, Yomi Babayemi & Norman Hassan. UB40 songs included "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling in Love". As well as "I Got You Babe".
43 Black Sabbath 6 September 2018 Band Members included: Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi & Bill Ward
44 Bill Ward 9 February 2019 Musician Member of Black Sabbath
45 Carl Palmer 11 April 2019 Drummer Drummer of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Prog Rock of Asia & Founding member of Atomic Rooster.
46 John Lodge 11 April 2019 Musician/bass guitarist Founding Member of The Moody Blues
47 Brian Lara 23 August 2019 Cricket Scored well for Warwickshire County Cricket Club 1994 Team by Dermot Reeve, Keith Piper, Gladstone Small, Michael Bell and Tim Munton. That year they won the County Championship, the Sunday League and the Benson & Hedges Cup.
48 Steve Gibbons 6 November 2022 Guitarist/Musician Singer-songwriter and bandleader, His music career spans more than 50 years.

Nominees

edit

There used to be a Walk of Stars website listing other potential nominees on which the public are invited to vote. But this no longer exists. These include:

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ozzy's Coming Home – 6 July 2007 3 pm – 4:30 pm". Birmingham Walk of Stars Broad Street. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. ^ Carrott on Brummie Walk of Stars, BBC News, 15 September 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  3. ^ Walk of Stars is fenced off, Birmingham Mail, 26 October 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  4. ^ BBC Birmingham – Julie Walters
  5. ^ Greatrex, Jonny (18 April 2009). "Aston Villa legends take place on Walk of Stars". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  6. ^ "We're all about football this summer!". Walk of Stars. Retrieved 26 March 2009. [dead link]
  7. ^ "Laurie Mansfield clients".
edit