Birmingham and the West Midlands has always been a major centre for great music.
The city has consistently had an influential and consistent music scene over the years. Of course, Brum is known as the birthplace of heavy metal with Black Sabbath - and with the reggae sounds of UB40 - as well as classic rock provided by Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie - Brummies are proud of the city’s musical heritage.
Rap star Jaykae and The Streets frontman Mike Skinner also come from the city. If you went to the same school as one of Birmingham’s pop and rock stars, then you’ll definitely have grown up hearing stories about them.
Schools across the region are deservingly proud of their famous alumni, who have gone on to achieve highly after their time in education - but what about the famous singers and rock stars who came to Birmingham to study at university?
The department of Music at the University of Birmingham is one of the most distinguished in the UK, and it has attracted many young musicians over the years. Hundreds of legendary bands, including Sabbath, The Cure and Pink Floyd have all played at the university’s Guild of Students.
Jez Collins, founder of the Birmingham Music Archive, has looked at eight famous musicians who studied at the University of Birmingham.
Here’s the university’s famous singers and rock star alumni
5. Karl Willetts
Karl Willetts is a death metal vocalist, best known as the lead singer of Bolt Thrower and Memoriam. Willetts has a degree in Cultural Studies from the Birmingham University. | Memoriam
6. Spencer Davis
Davis’ 1960s band reached number one with the track Keep On Running. In 1960, he moved to Birmingham, to read German at the University of Birmingham | Hulton Archive
7. Bill Sharpe
Bill Sharpe is a British musician, who has worked as a member of Shakatak (pictured), as a solo artist, and with others, such as Gary Numan and Don Grusin. He studied music at Birmingham University where he gained an honours degree.
8. Amrita Hunjan
Amrita Hunjan is a British-Indian model and singer. She is known for being a singer in the R’n’B/pop band Rouge. Amrita is also known for being the winner of Miss India UK 2004. She studied dentistry at University of Birmingham | Photo from Hanny Naibaho