A FAMOUS drummer born in Cirencester, who played with Black Sabbath, Suzi Quatro and Whitesnake, will be remembered at a highly-anticipated music festival in the town this month.

The Phoenix Festival, which will be held in the Abbey Grounds at the end of August, will be naming the main stage in honour of Cirencester-born drummer Cozy Powell, whose band The Corals had a number three hit in 1974 with Dance with the Devil.

The decision was made after a petition from an Italian fan of Cozy Powell's, Rossella Amadori, called for the town to install a plaque in the musician's memory. The drummer died in April 1998.

In reply to the petition, which already has more than 120 signatures, Cirencester deputy mayor Mark Harris said he would raise the idea of plaque within the town council.

"But we thought in the meantime what better way to acknowledge a Cirencester hero than to name this year’s main stage in his honour," said Cllr Harris who is also the festival's stage manager. "Back in 1998 we were discussing with Cozy the possibility of making an appearance at the Phoenix festival, but tragically he was killed in April of that year."

Festival organiser Clare Bartlett said that The Corals used to play at the youth club in Cirencester when he was young.

"Given that this event sprung out of the youth club Ozone, it seems so right that we should name the stage in his honour," she said.

The Phoenix Festival is on August 30-31 in Cirencester’s Abbey Grounds. It is run entirely by a volunteer team, including many young people from youth group Ozone.