Sir Elton John visits renamed road at his beloved Watford FC after street was retitled in homage of his iconic album and praises it as ‘fantastic’

Sir Elton John has praised the decision to rename a road after his 1973 album as he visited it for the first time since the change.

The street runs along the side of Watford Football Club’s stadium, Vicarage Road, and was originally called Occupation Road.

However, a group of fans, The 1881 Movement, petitioned the council to rename the road in tribute to Sir Elton, 76, and last week it was finally made official.

The street has been changed to Yellow Brick Road, as a nod to Sir Elton’s iconic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and his recent Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour

New yellow signs have been installed to mark the official name change, which the singer is proud to visit this week.

Sir Elton has long had a deep commitment to Watford FC, having become chairman of the club in 1976 and taking on the title of honorary chairman for life.

He already has a stand named after himself at the Vicarage Road ground and said it was there that he ‘fell in love with football’ as a child.

Speaking about the renamed road, he said: ‘Using Yellow Brick Road is a really fantastic, clever way for supporters to play a part in recognizing a time when I was here virtually every day – on this amazing journey with Graham Taylor [former Watford manager].

‘Now that the stand here at Vicarage Road has been named after me, I feel treated very special. And even when I come back here on a non-match day, there is still a buzz for me because this is where I fell in love with football and my club.

‘As I have said many times before, Watford Football Club has done more for me in my lifetime than ever before.’

Scott Duxbury, Chairman and CEO of Watford FC, added: ‘As someone who has personally experienced the challenges of running a football club, Elton’s empathy and fantastic personal support have been a huge motivation behind the progress we have made over the past decade. name of Watford. So.

“I am so pleased that this honour, which we are delighted to grant, comes from the suggestion of a supporter, as there cannot be a supporter who has given more to this club than Elton himself.

“The club’s owner, Gino Pozzo, and I will be forever grateful that Elton’s childhood love for Watford continues to burn so brightly. It’s always a privilege to welcome him, David and the boys to Vicarage Road.”

It comes after Sir Elton released his new book Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other earlier this month.

In the book he reflected on his friendship with former England boss Graham Taylor and revealed the manager ‘saved his life’.

Graham worked under Sir Elton during his two spells as Watford manager and the singer told how an encounter at a board meeting on Boxing Day in 1981 helped him in his battle against alcoholism.

Sir Elton recalled pouring himself a whiskey during the morning meeting, which led to Graham calling him for a private chat the next morning.

During the conversation he threw a bottle of brandy on the table and said to Sir Elton: ‘That’s what you’re having for breakfast, isn’t it?

‘What do you think you’re doing? You let yourself down and you let the club down. If you ever look like that again, I’m damned.”

Sir Elton admitted: ‘I have no doubt that Graham saved my life. Without him I would have been lost.”

Elsewhere in the book, Sir Elton said the Watford manager was ‘like a brother to me and I loved him very much’.

Graham previously spoke about confronting the Rocket Man singer over his drinking, recalling: ‘Elton was a bit stunned and looked at me so seriously that I wondered if we were about to have a big argument.

‘But it seemed to resonate with him. If it wasn’t a turning point, I think it pushed him to address that aspect of his lifestyle.”

For a time, Sir Elton and Graham were one of football’s great double acts as chairman and manager who put Watford on the football map.

In 2017, Graham died of a heart attack at the age of 72, a shock to family, friends and many others in the football community.

Sir Elton paid tribute at the manager’s funeral, telling mourners: ‘We were an unstoppable force of nature.

‘We were Batman and Robin. And when Batman left for Aston Villa, Robin was stranded without his buddy.

‘I missed him and made some bad decisions, but I had to let him go. He had done the work of a thousand men at Watford.

‘Thanks to him I have engraved the name of Watford Football Club in my soul. I have sublime memories and a sense of achievement that no one else can ever take away.

“He is a legend in this community, in football and in life. I love you my friend. Thanks for everything.’