The Birmingham, England airport authority says, "We've no plans to rename the airport so not quite sure where the story's come from but we're certainly not in discussions," but if Jim Simpson has his way that will soon change. Simpson was the guy who discovered Black Sabbath back when and is leading a charge to rename Birmingham Airport after Ozzy.

The Birminham newspaper quoted Simpson as saying, “The message that would carry is instantly international, confident, powerful, unforgettable and says ‘Hey World, we are proud of our own.’” He also noted that “Ozzy might not always have been a paragon of virtue, but he is a genuine flesh and blood Brummie.” (“Brummie” is a term that residents of Birmingham use to identify themselves)

Birmingham Councillor Philip Parkin was behind a effort to establish a “Black Sabbath Day” in Birmingham, but those plans were delayed — possibly shelved — a few weeks ago. The working class city is apparently trying to use their musical heritage as a way to attract tourism; other than Sabbath and Priest, the Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran, Christine McVie and UB40 all hail from there.

Parkin tells the Birmingham Mail that he’s optimistic about the idea of renaming the airport: “It’s an interesting idea and I’ve got an open mind but I think something like that would need to be consulted on fairly widely because it’s a significant part of our infrastructure. I would be interested to know what people thought about that as an idea.”

Cool idea, huh? Beats the hell out of naming it The Duran Duran Airport.