# 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.
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

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

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. The Ozzy Osbourne presentation created £1.7M worth of worldwide publicity for the area.
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. 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.
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. 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, 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.

## Stars honoured

| Number | Recipient | Induction date | Profession | Comments | 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. | |
| 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" | |
| 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 | 52°28′43″N 1°54′33″W﻿ / ﻿52.478539°N 1.909218°W﻿ / 52.478539; -1.909218 |
| 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

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:
* Clive Owen
* The Moody Blues
* Electric Light Orchestra
* Benjamin Campbell
* Judas Priest
* Denise Lewis
* Johnnie Walker
* Martin Shaw
* Benjamin Zephaniah
* Adrian Chiles
* Tiswas
* Sir Simon Rattle
* Cat Deeley
* Robert Plant
* Duran Duran
* The Move
* Bill Oddie
* The Spencer Davis Group
* The King Bees