Led Zep icon pays tribute to club
Rock legend Robert Plant went back to his roots to pay tribute to the dancing club which helped launch his career and set many other stars on their way to success. He told how a ballroom in a Midlands back street had been "a really special and important place at a very important time".
Between 1968 and 1971 Frank Freeman's Dancing Club became a hub of the region's music scence, playing host to a constant stream of talent, including Plant with ace guitarist Kevyn Gammond in Band of Joy as well Fleetwood Mac, Captain Beefheart and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Now a blue tourist plaque has been erected outside the doorway of the former club in Mill Street, Kidderminster, to help mark its place in history.
Plant, frontman for Led Zeppelin, who appeared at the club in his early days with Kevyn Gammond in Band of Joy, told Frank's widow Wynn Freeman, who was the special guest at the ceremony: "It is only right and just that this plaque goes up.
Fantastic
"Many years ago we were like an extended family here and we were looked after like we were her children.
"We were also made welcome. It was a fantastic environment for the youth at the time.
"It was a really special and important place at a very important time."
Wynn said that she was sad that her late husband had not lived to see the plaque and acclaim given to their work.
"Those who came to the club were not pupils or clients but they were our friends."
Local music historian John Coombes thanked Kidderminster Civic Society for their efforts in getting the plaque erected and said it was particularly relevant that the ceremony had taken place on the day designated in memory of the late John Peel who had appeared as a disc jockey at the ballroom in those early days.
The late television and radio presenter Peel, who tragically died of a heart attack last year, had remained friends with the Freemans and often recalled many magic nights at the venue on his Radio 1 shows as well as in books and biographies.
John Coombes said: "For those who entered through the massive arched wooden doors into the ballroom, Frank would introduce the audience to an alternative music scene with an unending stream of talent, such as Fleetwood Mac, Captain Beefheart and T. Rex.
"Many local music fans today still have their own favourite memories of those great days."
John, who last year published his book about the local music scene, said: "Frank and Wynn Freeman also promoted famous dance bands around the Wyre Forest area like Victor Silvester and Joe Loss.
"Their contribution to Kidderminster's cultural heritage should never be forgotten."
