The memoir of a black, gay football fan has gone to the top of the bestsellers list of gay biographies sold by Amazon when it was launched in September, timed just before Black History Month.

The book is the debut novel of campaigner Darryl Telles who was brought up in East Finchley, studying at Bishop Douglass School.

It charts his nearly 30-year-journey from one of the first members of the Gay Football Supporters Network to today, where he has been an out season ticket holder at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Now officially recognised as a gay supporter by the club, through membership of the Proud Lilywhites, this book tells of a journey from isolation to inclusion.

It starts in Thatcher’s Section 28 Britain, he and his friends get used to the constant abuse of fellow supporters around them. Along the way however there are also pleasures to enjoy, including the coming out of a professional footballer.

Along the way he is found in a compromising situation with a World Cup referee and befriends and comforts Justin Fashanu.

Within a day of being published, the book rose to the top of the charts debuting in the top twenty sports books and the top ten football biographies.

Coming as it does on the 50th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality, this is a timely reminder of the struggles fought and won.

Copies of the book are available to buy now from Amazon, Waterstones and is published by Mereo.