“He used to hate it profusely”: Robert Plant reveals how he used to annoy Jeff Beck with one of his most iconic songs
You might not know it, but Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant is a long-time supporter of the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In a new interview with football magazine FourFourTwo, the singer comments on the club’s running tradition of using Led Zeppelin’s songs, including Kashmir, before games at the Molineux Stadium. “I’m very proud of that, except they’ve edited the thing wrong – I need to get in there and cut it up,” he says. “But it’s a fanfare just before Jeff Beck‘s Hi Ho Wolverhampton [Hi Ho Silver Lining],” he says.
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Plant also recalls how Kashmir, one of Led Zeppelin’s most popular songs, would annoy guitarist Jeff Beck: “I used to call him up when they played that and he used to hate it profusely… he hated that song.” Alongside Kashmir, Wolves also regularly play Stairway to Heaven and Whole Lotta Love for fans at the stadium.
But Plant’s connection to the club runs deeper than his fandom. In the same interview, he recalls how Wolves supported his physical rehabilitation after a car wreck in 1975.
“I was in a wheelchair for several months,” he says. I had to learn to walk and use my right foot again. It stopped a lot of Led Zeppelin activity, though we did write and cut a new record [1976’s Presence].”
Continuing, he adds: “I said to Sammy Chung, who was the club’s assistant manager at the time, “Look, l’ve put my credibility and reputation on the line a bit, performing like a pantomime pony under the floodlights – can you help me to walk?” So, I started a physiotherapy regime and went to the gym with players of that time, such as Willie Carr and John McAlle. Sammy helped me to get as much movement out of my leg again as I could.”
You might think that a musician’s busy schedule means they’re unable to catch matches, but Plant says he was “always with it”. “The whole idea of coming to Molineux on a cloudy, misty Tuesday night, when the South Bank was just an absolute miasma of cigarette smoke with a fantastic atmosphere and chant,” he says, remembering the games.
“It was such a far cry from what l’d been involved with on tour. I could get lost in the euphoria, the pain, or the bliss. On a Tuesday afternoon, I would be recording with Led Zeppelin and suddenly get a sore throat to be away for a night game.”
It’s not uncommon to see rockstars vouch for their favourite clubs these days. Recently, Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler have been repping Birmingham’s Aston Villa. While Oasis have never shied away from promoting that they’re die-hard Manchester City fans.
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