Aerosmith rocker Joe Perry has given presidential candidate John McCain a celebrity boost as he prepares for next week's big election - by joining the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and campaigning for the Republican former prisoner of war.

Perry tells the Boston Herald newspaper that national security issues and the American economic crisis have prompted him to split from the rest of the entertainment world, which appears to be backing McCain's opponent Barack Obama, who is leading in the polls.

He says, "We pretty much stay out of it (politics), but seeing so many people come out for Obama, I just felt like, 'What the hell, I might as well raise my hand for this side.'"

Perry also told the Herald that he's always been a "hardcore" republican, and added, "My mother and father drilled into me from the very start that if you work hard and be positive, you’ll get what you’re working for. I guess I’m living proof of that."”

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)