Elton John names ex-England boss Graham Taylor among his gay icons

HE WAS the football manager known as the Turnip who presided over some dismal England performances.

But Graham Taylor is named today as something not even his biggest fans could have predicted - a gay icon.

Sir Elton John has chosen the BBC pundit - his former manager at Watford - as an inspirational figure, one of 60 "gay icons" in a show celebrating the contribution of gay people to history.

Sir Elton is one of 10 prominent gay men and lesbians to chose icons. The figures do not have to be gay, which paves the way for the inclusion of Taylor, Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela in the National Portrait Gallery exhibition which opens tomorrow.

The football manager's catchphrase "Do I not like that?" was made famous by a 1994 Channel 4 documentary when England failed to qualify for the World Cup.

But the singer describes Taylor as "a truly great manager" who achieved success for Watford, the club of which Sir Elton was chairman from 1976 to 2002.

Other selections in the show include the Village People group chosen by Labour peer Waheed Alli, while Sir Ian McKellen has named gay rights campaigner Harvey Milk.