Publishers Viking have today announced the acquisition of a new book entitled ‘Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other’ by award-winning journalist and author John Preston in collaboration with Sir Elton John.
‘Watford Forever’ - set to be launched in hardback, e-book and audiobook on November 16, 2023 - is the remarkable story of Elton’s ownership of Watford FC and its transformational journey to the top of the First Division under GT, the club’s greatest ever manager.
Britain in the 1970s was beset by unrest and unemployment. Meanwhile, the Hornets were floundering in 92nd place at the bottom of the entire Football League. Enter Elton - the most successful rock star in the world and a lifelong fan of the club - as Chairman and President in 1976, and then Taylor as manager a year later.
Inspiring and infectiously funny, the book is a tribute to football’s unlikeliest friendship as Elton and GT - a straight-talking former full-back with a love of Vera Lynn - beat the odds and their personal demons to save a club and a community. ‘Watford Forever’ is one of sport’s great underdog stories and a love letter to the beautiful game.
Elton said: “I cherish my relationship with Graham as one of the greatest of my life. What we accomplished together was extraordinary on and off the field, but so was the lifelong bond we built. He was like a brother to me and I loved him dearly.
“When we started working together in 1977 I had huge ambitions and hopes for my childhood club, but Graham’s understanding of the game and leadership achieved something beyond even my wildest dreams. He was a true genius.
“We took a club in financial turmoil at the bottom of the football pyramid to second in the league, an FA Cup final and European football. It’s one of the greatest managerial accomplishments of all time.
“Myself and every single Watford fan will be forever grateful to him for the memories he gave us and what was achieved for the club and the community.”
Author Preston - whose most recent book ‘Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell’ was a Sunday Times bestseller, was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and won the Costa Biography Award in 2021 - said: “When Elton John bought Watford FC in 1976 - the first rock star ever to buy a football club - almost everyone said that it was an act of madness - a rich man’s folly that was sure to end in tears.
“But they had fatally underestimated Elton’s determination and his emotional bond to the club. His father had first taken him to Vicarage Road when Elton was six, and when he became a superstar it was the one place in the world where he felt both safe and at home.
“One of Elton’s first acts as Chairman was to appoint Graham Taylor as manager, a man as ostensibly conventional as Elton was flamboyant. But the two of them would form an extraordinarily close bond and take Watford FC from the bottom of the Football League to the top in just five years - something that’s never been done before or since. In the process, they would have a hugely dramatic effect on one another’s lives.
“The chance to work in close collaboration with Elton has been the fulfilment of a long-held dream, and I hope we’ve managed to produce a book that does justice to the ultimate story of underdogs triumphing against all the odds.”
Shyam Kumar, Commissioning Editor at Viking, added: “Watford Forever is a classic British underdog story. Recalling the likes of ‘The Full Monty’, ‘Pride’ and ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ with contemporary hints of ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ - there’s something for everyone here whether you’re looking for a rags-to-riches tale or simply a feelgood buddy story.
“Fans of John Preston - undoubtedly one of our best living narrative non-fiction writers - will appreciate how he brings to life the grime and glamour of 1970s Britain like no-one else. Fans of Elton John will rejoice reading his heart-warming and often hilarious recollections about Graham Taylor and his boyhood club.”
