Spin-offs and Merchandise
Roy of the Rovers Annual's were produced every year from 1958 until 1994, and again in 2000. A number of tie-in books were also published, including a handful of paperback prose storybooks in 1977 and 1993, and two football quiz books in 1978 and 1979. Roy of the Rovers never made the leap from page to screen, although he did make an appearance on the BBC comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over in 1999, in the form of a cardboard cut-out.
A Roy of the Rovers computer game was released, on the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1988. It was split into two parts: the first an adventure game, in which—taking the role of Roy Race—the player had to find and rescue the kidnapped Melchester team, before then playing the second part, which consisted of a charity match to raise funds for the club. The fewer players recovered before the match began, then the smaller the team who could take part. In the extreme, Roy would be the only player for Melchester. The game received mixed reactions; the Spectrum version received 7/10 from Your Sinclair, but only 3/10 from Sinclair User.
A number of official Melchester Rovers Subbuteo teams were produced in the 1980s and 1990s. There was also an officially licensed board game in the 1980s, which saw players take on the role of Roy Race and manage the club. The Old Fashioned Football Shirt Company now makes officially licensed replica shirts.
In 1990, "Roy Race" and footballer Gary Lineker released a single, "Europe United", described in the comic as "a hot rocking heavy metal rap", which failed to chart in the UK Top 40. The confectionery company McCowans produced a pineapple-flavoured "Roy of the Rovers" chew bar in the 1990s.
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