Midlands Heroes: Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant still has a Whole Lotta Love for the West Midlands
"These are the lads from the city of the gold-and-black temple." This was how Midlands Hero and rock legend Robert Plant introduced Express & Star journalists to his stage crew when we interviewed him back in 2021.
The reference was, of course, to the Led Zeppelin frontman’s great passion in life other than music - his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers.
For while his exploits with Zeppelin, Band of Joy and Alison Krauss have made him a global star to rival the likes of Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury or Jim Morrison, Plant remains very much a man of the Midlands. If he's not performing or listening to music, there's a good chance he will be enjoying a pint in his local or watching the boys in black and gold.
Though he was born in West Bromwich, from an early age Plant opted to follow Wolves rather than The Baggies, visiting the Molineux for the first time when he was very young.
"I was five when my dad took me down for the first time and Billy Wright waved at me,” he recalled in an interview with us. “Honest, he did. And that was it – I was hooked from that moment."
In 2009 he became vice president of the club, and remains one its most devoted ambassadors, never failing to remember his roots and do his bit for fans.
In a very special treat last January, the Stairway To Heaven singer poured post-match pints for supporters at Wolves local, The Leaping Wolf.
Although the game against Nottingham Forest had left a bad taste in fans' mouths, this was soon washed away as Plant got behind the bar.
He was pictured pointing to the Neck Oil tap, a product of Beavertown Brewery of which his son, Logan Plant, is the founder.
Marketing manager of the pub, Daniel Morris, spoke to us about how the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer ended up behind the bar.
Reportedly, it all started when he was on his way to the match.
"He has a fob to get him into the Molineux car park, but it had run out of battery," Daniel laughed. "So he drove up to our pub car park and asked Nathan, the manager, if he could use it.
