From the early 1970s, Forbes divided his energies between cinema, television, theatre and writing. In 1972, Forbes started work on the documentary, Elton John and Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye Norma Jean and Other Things (1973), which chronicled the life of the young Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The project took Forbes a full year to complete, and provided a behind-the-scenes look at the writing and recording of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, including interviews with John, Taupin and band members, including Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray, as well as John's mother, Sheila, DJM label head Dick James and son Stephen, and footage of John's Hollywood Bowl concert in 1973. (Some of the footage was licensed for the Eagle Vision Classic Albums series Goodbye Yellow Brick Road documentary.) During the filming, Forbes formed a close friendship with John and Taupin, which led him to do other work with them, including photography on the Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album sleeves. ITV transmitted the documentary in the UK on 4 December 1973 (in the US, ABC screened it) shortly after completion, and was later briefly issued on VHS.