Elton John and Rod Stewart at Watford FC, 1974

May 1974. Elton John was already an international star and had recently been appointed as a director of Watford Football Club, my home team.

These were the days before Watford were even close to getting into the top division (Division 1 as it was then) of the football league. They were in need of a boost financially, so Elton agreed to put on a benefit concert. Tickets were £1 and it was billed as Elton John and guests. 

Nazareth opened the concert. My mates and I were fans of their album 'Loud 'N Proud' which included the hit single version of Joni Mitchell's 'This Flight Tonight' as well as a  cover of the Little Feat song 'Teenage Nervous Breakdown'. 

We held back during Nazareth's set but then a couple of us moved right to the front of the stage for Elton's show. 

This was the classic EJ band, with Dee Murray, Nigel Ollson and Davey Johnstone, plus Ray Cooper on percussion.  

Watford are known as The Hornets and so Elton naturally arrived on stage in a hornet (well, more like a bee) costume. You can see from the footage of the concert here that Elton's colourful outfit was a contrast with the long hair and denim of most of us in the crowd (I'm down there at front centre). It was a good-natured crowd and I remember at least one streaker. There were a few glammed-up Rod-alikes and by the sound of the screaming, quite a few girls. 

Elton's set included recent classics like Candle In The Wind and Daniel. They also debuted a new single, a cover version of The Beatles' Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.  

Rod Stewart’s appearance certainly added an extra element of star quality. 

He strode on stage wearing a white silk suit and matching scarf and his trademark haircut - every inch the rock star. This was pre-Atlantic Crossing, the point at which he focussed on making it big in America. He sang a mix of Elton material that he had covered on his early solo albums. 

Melody Maker's front page about the Watford gig and rock's football fans

The second video clip shows Rod's entrance and the run-through of Country Comforts. It's just a shame the sound balance has his vocals way down. There are no official release clips from this concert, so this is all we have to go on. 

I remember the Elton John Band being really professional and excellent musicians. It was a treat to see them up-close. I remember thinking I had never seen a drummer wearing headphones on stage, the way Nigel Ollson did. 

The photo here, taken from the front page of the following week's Melody Maker, is pretty much the view I had down at the front. 

The article in the MM - 'How rock gets its kicks' was about how people like Elton, Rod, Ian Hunter, Rick Wakeman, Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters were "confirmed soccer freaks". 

This was 10 years before Watford had their period of success in the old first division under the management of Graham Taylor. At this point, they had made it up from the third to the second division and were holding their own without ever really looking like being promoted to the first division. They had a brief glory period in the 1969-70 season, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the FA cup quarter finals before being trounced 5-1 by Chelsea in the semis.

The Liverpool manager Bill Shankly said bitterly they had never lost to a worse team, but to judge from the clip below, Watford could have won three or four - nil. Anyway, Chelsea went on to win the cup that year, beating Leeds United in a replay at Old Trafford. Watford continued in lower league mediocrity for several years until Taylor was appointed and took them right up to the First Division.

My son and I at a recent game

Having stood on the terraces as a 12 year-old through my mid-teens, I drifted away in adulthood. And now I live overseas I don't get to the football much, but I keep track of the team's fortunes. 

The ground is looking much better now, enclosed on all sides. And for the past few seasons, despite a revolving door of managers, the team have held their own in the Premier League. (Edit: the current owners have lost the plot with this firing managers business and Watford now sit mid-table in the Championship (2nd division)).

Rod Stewart joins Elton on stage at Watford FC, May 1974

And to bring it all up to date (almost), here is Elton playing Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding at Watford FC in his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in 2022. The tickets cost a bit more than £1!!

See also on this blog:
From Pinner To L.A. - Elton's Big Breakthrough

Elton John playing '60 Years On' live in 1971 - rare clip

Elton John - Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding - Live at Watford FC, 2022

Headlines and charts from Melody Maker, May 1971

It's May 1971, Andy Williams is top of the album charts and the front page of the MM announces that the legendary Fillmore rock venues in San Francisco and New York are to close.

Promoter Bill Graham says he refuses to pay the increasingly high prices being charged by the top groups for what he sees as a decline in the quality of the music.

The front page on May 8 1971 also has details of a European tour by Rod Stewart & The Faces, including an appearance at the Crystal Palace Garden Party in August.

In the 'Pop 30', Double Barrel by Dave and Ansil Collins retains the top spot but Tony Orlando and Dawn are knocking at the door (or is it the ceiling?).

The Stones are at 3 with Brown Sugar, while T. Rex's first big hit has peaked. There's some classic singles in there, and this being the singles chart, some odd ones too. The album chart is quite impressive for the sheer number of classic rock albums in the list.

American soul artists did very well in the singles charts throughout the late 60s and early 70s, including these gems from this week in 1971. The Delfonics - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) Diana Ross - Remember Me The Fantastics – SomethingOld, Something New
What's interesting at this time is how different the British albums charts are from the US charts. Bands like Three Dog Night, Grand Funk, Chicago, Brewer & Shipley didn't make any impression in the UK.

Good to see The Yes Album, my favourite of theirs, riding high in the UK album charts, alongside Jethro Tull's Aqualung.  

Elton John was making his first breakthrough in the UK at this time (on the back of Your Song) with three albums in the British charts.

Interesting, then, that on page 8 (below) in MM's news from America, it says that Elton is struggling to sell tickets. "Elton is dead in New York," says an unnamed observer.

Page 8 of Melody Maker starts by noting the popularity of the all-girl band Fanny and the news that a film about Jimi Hendrix, called Rainbow Bridge is about to be released. Further down the page , there's a report about The Doors having abandoned all future plans to tour. The report says, "Jim Morrison can be reached right now somewhere in France."  And sadly for Jim, he died there two months later.

Here's a couple of gig reviews from this week

In the letters page, the jury is still out on whether Led Zeppelin's new acoustic direction (on LZ III) is going down well with the fans. "Please leave the gentle songs to people like The Strawbs," says one. Further down, Stevie Wonder is referred to as an "abominable popcorn merchant". On the left of the page, John Peel gets a kicking for his criticism of Deep Purple. The letter says, "By dismissing groups like Deep Purple, ELP and more recently CSN&Y and at the same time applauding musical dullards like Medicine Head, Bridget St. John, Ron Geesin, Brinsley Schwartz etc, John Peel is influencing the hard-core of his non-musical followers with his worthless opinions."