Sir Elton John talks Watford in Gary Lineker interview

The chat between the beloved former Watford chairman and the ex-England international and Match of the Day host, aired on Football Focus today.

Looking out over Vicarage Road, Sir Elton said his love for the club began when "my dad brought me here when I was five or six", and by 1976 he had purchased the club and taken over as chairman.

"The chairman was Jim Bonser. He'd had enough of the abuse. I made him an offer he couldn't refuse. I became a director and then chairman," he said.

"I was so determined to do something other than what I'd been doing, totally different to what I'd been doing.

"In what I do, I'm surrounded by a lot of sycophants. This was where I came from - I lived six miles up the road.

Elton John at Vicarage Road.

"I was determined. When I set my mind on something, I wasn't playing silly games. I wanted to do this and knew I could."

Alongside newly appointed manager Graham Taylor, the club shot up the Football League, climbing from Division Four to Division One in just six years.

Sir Elton admitted that appointing Taylor - who turned down top-flight West Brom to take the job - was "one of the greatest moments in my life". 

He also recalled that the up-and-coming gaffer from Lincoln City thought he was "stark raving mad" when he revealed his grand plans for Watford.

"There was talk of us getting Bobby Moore. I spoke to him but the board of directors weren't keen," he said.

"Muir Stratford, who was one of our directors, said there's a chap at Lincoln City, Graham Taylor, I think he's the best young manager.

Sir Elton John and Graham Taylor.

"It was one of the greatest moments in my life when he said yes because I felt done stuff outside of music I never thought I could do.

"I convinced him we could be in Europe in six years. He looked at me as if I was stark raving mad. Then we went on this great adventure."

The Hornets finished second to Liverpool in their first season back in the top flight in 1982/83, and also reached the FA Cup final in 1984.

Watford lost the final 2-0 to Everton, and Sir Elton still regrets not giving a pre-match speech to the players in the Wembley dressing room.

"The FA Cup final was a conundrum," he said. 

"Looking back, I should have told Graham: 'I'm going in there to talk to the dressing room before the game.'

"In music, you have tours and special things like Glastonbury or Dodger Stadium where there's always a highlight coming up. Those things you have to pull off.

Watford fans before the 1984 FA Cup final.

"After the cup final, I thought they played like they thought it was enough just being there. I would have gone in and said: 'In football, you don't get this very often, it's rare, you have to go out and believe you can win the game.' I made a mistake.

"I think Graham would have done [let me do a speech] if I'd had the courage [to ask]. It made sense. I've been to big occasions, they haven't. Everton weren't the greatest team but they had old heads."

Sir Elton sold the club in 1990, but bought them back in 1997, before eventually stepping down as chairman in 2002.

In his second spell as owner, Taylor returned again and two more promotions followed as the club earned a place in the Premier League.

"I had two great relationships in my life in football and music - Bernie Taupin came from Lincoln and Graham came from Lincoln," he said as he revealed his adulation for Taylor.

"We had a special relationship, which was important. Because I'm on the outside, I used to love who he'd be interested in buying. We'd go to watch games outside of Watford together. That was fun. We got locked in at Rochdale. We stood on the terraces.

Sir Elton John has a stand named after him at Vicarage Road.

"He had great man management skills. He was of his time. I hated the way he was treated and called a turnip [as England boss]. That hurt me. He was a good man.

"He was a great guy; he's like my brother. When he died, I was distraught. I'd only spoken to him a couple of days before."

Taylor features heavily in a new book written by Sir Elton and author John Preston, 'Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other'.

“I was approached by John Preston, who wrote the book, and said it’s a really interesting subject," said Sir Elton. 

"I wanted to get my side of the story out because I don’t think we were given enough credit for what we did.

"I think when you read the book, it’s about a sense of community that’s not really in football anymore. Not in the top six, it’s gone from football a bit, but not with the lower clubs. I just love that sense of community and that’s what football must never lose."

Sir Elton was also keen to thanks Watford Football Club for what it did for him, adding: "I can't tell you how much this club has given me, so much pleasure. I get very emotional when I think about it.

"This really sorted me out. I'd come here and it would bring me back down to earth. It was a communal effort. I find a bit of this missing in football, now. You knew the name of everyone, the tea lady, the guy who did the pitch."