First met Elton John?
In 1977 I was manager of Lincoln City when Don Revie, the England coach, called saying he'd recommended me to a new chairman. I was thinking: 'Blimey, which top club is this?' When he told me it was Elton John at Watford my heart sank. They were in the bottom division. I thought: 'Rock star in charge of a Fourth Division club. This is crazy!' But Elton invited me to his house in Windsor and said he wanted to take the club into Europe. I said I didn't think he'd see any change from a million pounds, which back then was a lot of money. He just said: ' Right, we'll give it a go.' Six years later, when we got into Europe, he worked out that he'd spent £790,000.
First saw John Barnes?
We'd heard about this boy who was playing for Sudbury Court in Brent, north London, so we brought him in for a trial. I watched him in a reserve game against Leyton Orient, in 1981, and knew he was special when he hit the crossbar from about a yard inside the halfway line. We offered Sudbury a set of kit and John signed for us.
First asked to be England manager?
April 1990. I was approached by the FA without the knowledge of my chairman. In effect, I was tapped up. I was confirmed in the job just before Bobby Robson's team left for the World Cup in Italy, though the announcement was later. What people forget is that we weren't beaten until my 13th game in charge, a record for any England manager, and we went into Euro 92 with one defeat in 21 games [England were knocked out in the group stages in Sweden then failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup].
Last saw Gary Lineker?
We still speak. Our relationship is all right now, although it did suffer. I made Gary England captain, so when I became the villain for substituting him [in his final game for England] at Euro 92, I felt poorly treated. I know he wanted to break the England record for international goals but against Sweden, in our final match, all I saw was a player wearing No 10 who wasn't in the game. I made a big decision. I smile now when Sven-Goran Eriksson is criticised for not substituting David Beckham.
First saw the 'Turnip' headline?
I thought 'Swedes 2 Turnips 1' was a great headline, though I didn't see the pictures the next day [of Taylor's face superimposed on to a turnip]. But that did upset my parents. Some people who read the Sun feel they can address you in any manner they see fit. I think the majority of the public thought it was unfair. What helped me is I didn't run away from management, but resurrected my career. I take pride in that.
First met Kevin Keegan?
I played against him when he was 17. I was left-back for Lincoln and he was playing for Scunthorpe. They were given a penalty and this young lad immediately picked the ball up. I thought : 'You're a confident little sod.' But the penalty was saved and we went on to win.
Last time you spoke to Karl-Josef Assenmacher, the referee from the notorious World Cup qualifier against Holland in 1993?
Oh, I've got his address and phone number, of course! People think I lost my temper when Ronald Koeman brought David Platt down, but it was actually later. We took the free-kick from that foul and the referee played on when the Dutch charged it down. Then, when Holland got a free-kick and it was closed down, Paul Ince was booked. Koeman took it again and scored [England lost 2-0]. Then I lost my rag. We were being cheated and I let everyone know what I felt. I have to smile when Eriksson is hammered for not showing emotion.
Last time you saw Elton?
I went to his wedding last year. We were close, almost like brothers. I helped Elton because, whereas there were people around him who never spoke the truth, I told him what I thought. We had an agreement that if he didn't tell me which team to pick, I wouldn't tell him which songs to sing. It worked well.
Last time you swore on TV?
I was criticised for swearing on The Impossible Job fly-on-the-wall documentary, but people love that programme because it is so truthful. Swearing is part of the language of football and I allowed the programme to show it as it is.
Graham Taylor is part of the BBC Radio Five Live World Cup team.
