The ‘Whole Lotta Love’ hitmaker is a lifelong fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and even at the height of the band’s fame, he appreciated being able to slip out and immerse himself in the “euphoria and pain” of cheering on his club.
Asked if he got to many games at the height of the band’s success, he told Empire magazine: “I 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 or cigarette smoke with a fantastic atmosphere and chant.
“It was such a far cry from what I’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.”
The 76-year-old rocker was seriously injured in a car accident in the 1970s and turned to the club’s physio team for help and support.
He said: “In 1975, during those Led Zeppelin days, I had a really bad car wreck and I was in a wheelchair for several months. 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.
“I said to Sammy Chung, who was the club’s assistant manager at the time, ‘Look, I’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.”
