A mix by Regis featuring classic Brum tunes, as well as an article identifying "The Brum Problem":
"So is Birmingham cursed? Okay, so it's fragmented, with little sign of a cohesive 'movement' which would project it into the public eye. Yet how can you argue with its individual successes? ELO, Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Duran Duran, Ocean Colour Scene, UB40, The Streets, Judus Priest, Napalm Death – hell, even Toyah Wilcox. All have left an indelible impression on modern music (well… most, anyway).
I think perhaps people just don't want to consider Birmingham to be a success. It doesn't suit the temperament. So they blank this part out. Birmingham is a joke, an embarrassment to itself." [link]
Birmingham cursed?
I should say not. Ok – so it isn't London, who hate us because we're part of the largest county in Britain. It's probably one of the most down to earth city's in this country – with a population that is very proud of it's heritage. Hell, at one time we were once the workshop of most of the known world – now that is something that London cannot claim – and they know it.
We may be disregarded by the rest of the country as a non-entity, and a bit of a joke, but we are this country's 2nd city: something that we should claim back, somehow. Because this area has got just as much character as anywhere in the UK.