'I designed a medal for Black Sabbath and they said it was f*****g brilliant' - Shropshire student wows famous band
A Shropshire student could barely believe it when the member of an iconic heavy metal band described his work as "f*****g brilliant" - before he was invited to their gig and exclusive afterparty.
Toby Williams, aged 20 and from Cleobury Mortimer, designed the Freedom of Birmingham gold-plated medals that were presented to members of Black Sabbath at a special ceremony last weekend.
He won a competition put on by his university, Birmingham City University (BCU), where he is studying for a Higher National Diploma in Jewellery and Silversmithing.
All four members of the band - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Terence 'Geezer' Butler - received the Freedom of the City award at the Council House in Victoria Square.
And after being invited onto stage for a picture with the medal he designed, Toby had the pleasure of meeting the stars for an encounter he will never forget.
He said: "I tried to leave the stage after the pictures and they said 'no, go and meet the band'. I did and went and said hello to Ozzy and asked if he liked the medal, and said that it was such an honour to be able to do it and I was a big fan. He said it was really good and said 'thanks'.
"I then went across to Geezer and Tony and they said the same things and shook my hand.
"But then when I went to Bill Ward, who was very softly-spoken, really humble and nice, I said 'is the medal alright?' He replied 'oh yes, it's f*****g brilliant!'
"That was enough for me at that point, I was very happy."
