Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant reckons his local Non-League club Kidderminster are ready to rock Premier League West Ham this weekend.
Plant was at Aggborough on Tuesday for third-placed Kidderminster’s 3-0 win over Leamington in the National League North.
The legendary singer and songwriter has a ‘Whole Lotta Love’ for the side in Worcestershire and will be back on Saturday when top-flight West Ham visit in the FA Cup.
The Wembley steps are still way off for Kidderminster, and realistically out of reach, but their televised fourth round clash is a ‘Stairway to Heaven’ after dumping out Championship Reading previously.
Plant was away on tour the last time the clubs met at Aggborough in the fifth round of the FA Cup when the Hammers’ won 1-0 in 1994.
But the Black Country-born star followed their exploits as he toured the world with rock band Led Zeppelin, who formed in 1968 and went on to sell over 200million albums , including eight consecutive UK number-ones.
Now nothing will stop the singer attending this time and Plant has high hopes for his local club which is just three miles from his home.
Quizzed about a potential upset this weekend, Plant,73, said: “Why not?
“Reading weren’t even at the races.
“West Ham are having a really good season but this club is consistent now with some cracking little players.
“They play really well and the size of the pitch will baffle West Ham.
“When you play on small pitches like this you really have to contain your game.
"Hopefully the town can be a giant-killer.”
Plant is a lifelong Wolves fan but has had always had a soft spot for Kidderminster, who he says have even moved him to tears before.
Wolves are at home to Norwich on Saturday at 3pm but Plant is opting for Aggborough’s 12.30pm kick off.
He added: “Kidderminster has always been my second team after following Wolves all my life.
“Last time they played West Ham I was somewhere lost in America.
“Saturday is going to be exciting , I wouldn’t miss it.
“I can’t do both games without a jump-jet.
“But I have been allowed an afternoon off to come here.
“I have been to lots of games here before.
“I went to a lower league play-off once when Kidderminster lost and I was in the middle of recording an album.
“I drove back to London in tears.
“It is terrible when the club you have followed all your life ends up playing against Chorley in the Yorkshire league or whatever it is.
“There have been some great people and characters running this place over the years.
“Now it is getting consistent again.
“Everybody is excited for the weekend.”
Plant, who is now a country singer, laughed off suggestions he could pen an FA Cup song for his local team.
He also declined to find a comparison for Kidderminster’s style after Jurgen Klopp said his own brand of football was akin to heavy metal music.
But the singer is under no illusions about how important Saturday’s Cup tie is for the entire town, which was famous for making carpets previously.
He assessed: “It is quite a passionate town for its local football.
“This area has a really big football pool with nearby Premier League clubs.
“In the last 30-40 years it has been a see-saw for Kidderminster Harriers with despair and elation.
“But when they are successful it is really good for the spirit of the town.
“When I was a kid in this area, the town was incredibly affluent.
“There was a lot of business and employment with the carpets and agriculture.
“It is another age now but football and the resonance it has created here goes right the way through into the blood stream and nervous system of the town.”
