A nostalgic tribute to Roy of the Rovers

Dear “Racey Rocket” fans,

I had many highlights as a young boy and was heavily influenced by sport when growing up. It was by accident one Saturday morning when accompanying my grandparents to a 2nd hand book store which they visited every Saturday that I came across a magazine called Shoot. The magazine cover instantly caught my eye and from then onwards it was a love story which made me have wild imaginations of also being idolised one day as “Roy”. Thinking about it now makes me laugh but just picture a small boy reading this magazine week in week out and you will understand its influence on my memory and childhood.

Ο Rob Davies επιστρέφει...

...και "ανέβασε" στο blog του το strip από το Roy of the Rovers Monthly #6. Aπολάυστε το εδώ

O Roy της Melchester - Μέρος 2ο

Ο καλός φίλος Νίκος Νικολαΐδης γράφει ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο για τα καλύτερα χρόνια της Melchester (1971-1976) και μου έκανε την τιμή να επιτρέψει την δημοσίευσή του από το blog σε συνέχειες. Πάμε λοιπόν στο 2ο μέρος...


« Γιατί λείπουν από το πλάνο οι Cooper και Millar ;» διερωτήθηκε η Penny και τότε της γνωστοποίησα την απόφαση τους να εγκαταλείψουν το ποδόσφαιρο για να ασχοληθούν επαγγελματικά με την αρχιτεκτονική!

Το αστείο στην υπόθεση ήταν πως αφορμή για την επιλογή εκείνη των δύο παικτών είχε σταθεί η κατασκευή του νέου μου σπιτιού. Καθώς η οικονόμος μου μας υποδέχθηκε για ένα τσάϊ, η Penny βρήκε την ευκαιρία –σα γυναίκα- να παρατηρήσει τη διακόσμηση του σαλονιού. –«Όλα τα πρόβλεψαν ο Cooper και ο Millar όταν συμβούλευσαν το Ρόϋ να εξοπλίσει αυτό το σπίτι»
είπε η κυρία Tanner και τότε σκέφθηκα πως η επιθυμία μου είχε γίνει η αιτία να χάσουμε δύο έμπειρους παίκτες…

Στην πρώτη προπόνηση της χρονιάς ο Ben μου δήλωσε ότι είχε σκοπό να χρησιμοποιήσει σαν αριστερό ακραίο αμυντικό το 19χρονο τότε Noel Baxter, που τα είχε καταφέρει περίφημα την προηγούμενη σεζόν με την αναπληρωματική ομάδα. Καλωσόρισα το νεαρό και του ευχήθηκα να εκμεταλλευτεί οπωσδήποτε τη σπουδαία ευκαιρία που του παρουσιαζόταν.
Ωστόσο οι οπαδοί μας φάνηκαν ιδιαίτερα ανήσυχοι στην πρεμιέρα του πρωταθλήματος, όταν υποδεχθήκαμε τη Milboro. Θυμάμαι ότι ξεκινήσαμε επιθετικά, με πολύ καλή απόδοση στα πρώτα λεπτά του παιχνιδιού, έως ότου ήρθε η στιγμή να δοκιμασθεί και η άμυνά μας. Καθώς λοιπόν ο Baxter προσπαθούσε να «μπει» στο ματς, βρέθηκε μπροστά σε ένα απρόβλεπτο εμπόδιο, την υπερπροστασία του Lofty Peak!

Ο γιγαντόσωμος σέντερ χαφ μας θεωρούσε σκόπιμο να βρίσκεται συνεχώς δίπλα του και να επεμβαίνει ακαριαία σε κάθε φάση, περιορίζοντας του όμως έτσι τις πρωτοβουλίες. Ώσπου, το κακό έγινε! Σε μία επικίνδυνη κατεβασιά των αντιπάλων μας, οι δύο τους συγκρούσθηκαν και το αποτέλεσμα ήταν να επωφεληθεί ένας παίκτης της Milboro, που «κεραυνοβόλησε» από κοντά το δύστυχο Tubby!

Μάλιστα οι αποδοκιμασίες των φιλάθλων μας που δεν είχαν δει με καλό μάτι την αλλαγή στο αμυντικό σχήμα της ομάδος, ήταν τόσο έντονες που χρειάσθηκε η επέμβασή μου για να συγκρατήσω τον οξύθυμο Giles, πριν τα βάλει με όλο τον κόσμο. Ζήτησα παράλληλα από τον Peak να ελαττώσει τις επεμβάσεις του προς την αριστερή πλευρά, έτσι ώστε να ελευθερωθεί ο Noel από την ασφυκτική του παρουσία.

Το άσχημο ήταν πως δεν υπήρχε ο απαραίτητος χρόνος για την προσαρμογή των παικτών και έτσι η οπισθοφυλακή μας έδειχνε να έχει περίπου…τα χάλια της! Στην επόμενη κιόλας φάση ο Baxter κοντρολάρισε τη μπάλα άψογα, όμως η πάσα του προς το Lofty –που είχε αλλάξει θέση- ήταν κακή και μοιραία δεχθήκαμε και δεύτερο τέρμα… Μη χάνοντας άλλο χρόνο άσκοπα, ο Ben έσπευσε να αντικαταστήσει το Noel με τον αναπληρωματικό White. Επίσης τράβηξε πίσω τον Croydon, σε μία προσπάθεια να συμμαζέψει τα πράγματα, όμως δυστυχώς η κατάσταση δεν άλλαξε. Παρά τις φιλότιμες προσπάθειες του Chalkie να «βουλώσει» τα κενά, το αποτέλεσμα παρέμεινε ως τη λήξη. Είχαμε χάσει τον πρώτο αγώνα της περιόδου και μάλιστα εντός έδρας !

Στα αποδυτήρια ο Lofty έσπευσε να υπερασπισθεί τον Noel, που όμως είχε ήδη εξαφανισθεί. Όταν αργότερα μπήκαμε μαζί με το Ben στα γραφεία δεν προσέξαμε πως ο νεαρός καθόταν στην προεδρική πολυθρόνα με γυρισμένη την πλάτη προς εμάς. Έτσι μας άκουσε να συζητάμε για το πρόβλημα της άμυνας που θα λυνόταν μόνο με μία ακριβή μετεγγραφή και προφανώς απογοητεύθηκε, αφού θεώρησε εύλογα ότι δεν είχε πολλές πιθανότητες να καθιερωθεί.

Ωστόσο η έρευνα αγοράς που επιχείρησε με πολύ όρεξη η Penny τις επόμενες ημέρες, δεν έδειχνε να οδηγεί πουθενά και σ’αυτό συμφώνησε και ο Ben ρίχνοντας μια γρήγορη ματιά στις σχετικές προσφορές. Ο λόγος ήταν πως όλες οι ομάδες εκείνη την εποχή αναζητούσαν ταλαντούχους ποδοσφαιριστές. Τότε μου ήρθε η ιδέα να κοιτάξω τον ατομικό φάκελο του ίδιου του Baxter. Ισως εκεί σκέφθηκα, να βρισκόταν η λύση στο πρόβλημά μας…

<<Συνεχίζεται>>

Can you remember Roy of the Rovers?

Can you remember reading your first ever copy of the iconic Roy of the Rovers? I certainly can! Here are a few things you might not have known about the classic comic strip.

For those unfamiliar with Roy Race and for those who may have forgotten what all the fuss was about here’s a quick recap on the classic cartoon.

1. Roy of the Rovers first appeared in 1954 in Tiger magazine. The cartoon’s protagonist Roy Race was the star player of Melchester Rovers and soon became an idol to millions.

2. Roy eventually graduated to his own Roy of the Rovers comic, launched in 1976, which also featured football-based strips such as Billy’s Boots, Hot Shot Hamish and Goalkeeper.

3. Strips have also appeared in the now defunct Today newspaper, as well as weekly football mag Shoot! and the Match of the Day magazine.

4. Roy’s footballing career lasted almost 40 years, eventually ending in tragedy in 1993 when a helicopter accident led to the amputation of his foot.

5. According to the official Roy of the Rovers website on this day (March 23) 1963 Roy “make my debut for England against Caragua and soon after the start I put an easy chance over the crossbar!”

6. In the late 1980s, before it featured the actual Roy of the Rovers strip, Shoot! magazine regularly featured ‘Ray of the Rangers’, a spin-off cartoon. Another spin-off is Viz magazine’s Billy the Fish, which revolves around the fortunes of Fulchester United goalkeeper Billy, a fish with a human head.

7. In 1990 Roy Race teamed up with Gary Lineker to release a record titled Europe United. It was described in the comic as ‘a hot rocking heavy metal rap’, and failed to make the Top 40.

8. A number of Melchester Rovers Subbuteo teams were produced in the 80s and 90s, and there was also an official Roy of the Rovers board game, pineapple-flavoured chew and computer game.

9. Roy Race made a guest appearance on TV sports quiz They Think It’s All Over in 1999, but only as a cardboard cut out.

10. Real life footballers to have appeared in Roy of the Rovers include Bob Wilson, Emlyn Hughes, Sir Alf Ramsey and Trevor Francis, while other celebs featured in the cartoon include Martin Kemp, Geoff Boycott and Des Lynam.

www.footie.co.za

They think it's all over – but not for Racey

Author: Cole Morton meets Roy of the Rovers

But the fans who screamed for him wore football scarves, carried rattles and had a remarkable talent for dissecting a game in the split second it took for the ball to travel from his boot to the goal. "It's Racey's Rocket!" Even now, as he nods a greeting, the thoughts of the two dog walkers who have also stopped to watch the game seem to float above their heads in unfeasibly long speech bubbles. "Oh I say, the striker's through on the goalie and if he can just ... hang on, isn't that old Racey over there, talking to a gentleman of the press?" "Yes, I wonder if he has revealed anything about his life, now that the comic in which he starred for 40 years and which sold nearly half a million copies a week at its peak is to be reintroduced to the news-stands?"

O Roy της Melchester - Μέρος 1ο

Ο καλός φίλος Νίκος Νικολαΐδης γράφει ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο για τα καλύτερα χρόνια της Melchester (1971-1976) και μου έκανε την τιμή να επιτρέψει την δημοσίευσή του από το blog σε συνέχειες. Πάμε λοιπόν...




Εισαγωγή

Ονομάζομαι Roy Race και γεννήθηκα το 1937 σε μία εργατική συνοικία του Melchester, στη βόρεια Αγγλία. Ανδρώθηκα παίζοντας ποδόσφαιρο στις γειτονιές, πλάϊ στις όχθες του ποταμού Mel και φλέρταρα βολτάροντας στα δρομάκια του πάρκου της πόλης…Πέρα όμως από τους εφηβικούς μου έρωτες, μία ήταν η μεγάλη μου αγάπη την οποία δεν πρόδωσα ποτέ μου! Ήταν φυσικά η «στρογγυλή θεά», η μπάλα, στην οποία αφιέρωσα κυριολεκτικά όλη μου τη ζωή. Μεγάλωσα, παντρεύτηκα τη λατρεμένη μου Penny Laine, δημιούργησα οικογένεια και έκανα τρία παιδιά, που έχουν ιδιαίτερη θέση στη ζωή και την καρδιά μου, όμως ποτέ δεν εγκατέλειψα την ομάδα μου. Από το Νοέμβριο του 1954, που μαζί με τον κολλητό μου “Blackie” Gray υπέγραψα για πρώτη φορά στους “Rovers”, μετά από παρότρυνση του συχωρεμένου πια Alf Leeds, έως και σήμερα, που έχω αναλάβει τη γενική διεύθυνση του κλαμπ.
Στα 39 χρόνια της αγωνιστικής μου δράσης-εγκατέλειψα τα γήπεδα το 1993 σε ηλικία 56 ετών, μετά από το τραγικό δυστύχημα που μου κόστισε την απώλεια του αριστερού μου ποδιού, όπως πολλοί από σας θα θυμούνται-μία χρονική περίοδος θα μείνει ανεξίτηλα χαραγμένη στη μνήμη μου. Ήταν εκείνο το διάστημα που ο σύλλογος μας ενισχύθηκε με την προσθήκη νεαρών , διψασμένων για διακρίσεις παικτών, στις θέσεις κάποιων βετεράνων που αποχώρησαν και με τη στιβαρή καθοδήγηση του Ben Galloway και του Tony Storme, φθάσαμε στην κορυφή των διακρίσεων μας!
Αυτή λοιπόν την εποχή διάλεξα να σας διηγηθώ όταν μου έγινε η πρόταση να καταγράψω τα…απομνημονεύματά μου.
Δέχθηκα ευχαρίστως με την πεποίθηση ότι όσα διαβάσετε στις επόμενες σελίδες θα σας βοηθήσουν να θυμηθείτε και να διδαχθείτε από τη μαγεία, που κάποτε ομόρφυνε την παιδικότητά σας…



Ο δικός σας Roy.

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ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟ 1ο

Μια επιλογή που ταράζει τα νερά.

Το Φθινόπωρο του 1971 βρισκόμουν σε μία ιδιαίτερη κατάσταση όσον αφορούσε στα προσωπικά μου, καθώς η μνηστή μου είχε αντιληφθεί την απόλυτη προσήλωση μου στις υποχρεώσεις της ομάδας και αυτό ήταν δυνατό να επηρεάσει καθοριστικά τη σχέση μου μαζί της. Για πρώτη φορά στα αρκετά χρόνια της γνωριμίας μας χρειαζόταν να προσπαθήσω πολύ για να κρατήσω τις αναγκαίες ισορροπίες, σε μια ηλικία (ήμουν τότε σχεδόν 35 ετών) που άλλοι είχαν δημιουργήσει ήδη οικογένεια.

Βέβαια το γεγονός ότι το νέο μου σπίτι είχε πια ετοιμασθεί στα προάστια της πόλης, έδινε και στους δυο μας την δυνατότητα μελλοντικής συμβίωσης και ενίσχυε τη βεβαιότητα για μια κοινή πορεία.

Αλλά και οι Rovers βρίσκονταν σε δύσκολη καμπή, αφού μετά από μία εποχή μεγάλων διακρίσεων είχε φθάσει η κρίσιμη ώρα της ανανέωσης. Δύο- τρεις νέοι παίκτες που είχαν προωθηθεί στην βασική ενδεκάδα τις προηγούμενες χρονιές διεκδικούσαν πλέον τη μονιμοποίησή τους στο αγωνιστικό σχήμα, ενώ η αποχώρηση δύο βασικών αμυντικών προκαλούσε επιπρόσθετη ανησυχία.

Κι όλα αυτά με απασχολούσαν ακόμη και τη στιγμή που χάζευα την καθιερωμένη ομαδική φωτογραφία της ομάδας, ενόψει της νέας περιόδου 1971-72, που θα χάριζα στην Penny για να κοσμήσει το γραφείο της , αυτό της γραμματέως του συλλόγου.

Όρθιοι πόζαραν οι Taffy Morgan (γυμναστής), Eddie Eager, “Chalkie” White, Chris Dylan, Tubby Morton, Lofty Peak, Goeff Giles, Ben Galloway (μάνατζερ) και καθιστοί οι Terry West, “Blackie” Gray, εγώ, Jumbo Trudgeon, Vernon Eliot και Andy Croydon, το σύνολο δηλαδή του έμψυχου δυναμικού της πρώτης ομάδας.

(Συνεχίζεται)

O Roy επιστρέφει!!!!

Η πρώτη έκδοση Roy of the Rovers μετά από 14 χρόνια είναι γεγονός. 1η Απριλίου κυκλοφορεί μια επανέκδοση αγαπημένων ιστοριών από τα 80s, που, αν αποδόσει τα προβλεπόμενα, ίσως προαναγγείλει την επιστροφή του ήρωά μας με νέες περπέτειες.

Διαβάστε τι γράφει η Daily Mail:

"Forget The Damned United. There's another fictional account of a famous football manager's life about to jostle for position in the nation's consciousness once more and you can guarantee this particular hero's family are not about to cry foul over his depiction.

In fact, for many thirtysomethings and above, the life and times of Brian Clough pale into insignificance when compared to those of a man whose footballing c.v. includes winning every honour in the game - on several occasions - surviving a 1981 assassination attempt, seeing six team-mates murdered in a bus attack by 'Basranian terrorists' in 1986 and even the loss of his left foot in 1993 - a travesty after which even he was forced to hang up his boots.

But then Roy Race, aka Roy of the Rovers, who first appeared in the Tiger comic in 1954, is for so many the ultimate footballing icon. Or at least that's how copyright holders Egmont Publishing are hoping he is still seen as they prepare to launch him back on to the nation's newsstands for the first time in 14 years.

A 64-page special edition comic, comprising strips of Roy and other characters from the Eighties, will grace the shelves of WH Smith for a 12-week period from April Fool's Day. But for Egmont, it will be no joking matter.

They are using the print run as an acid test of just how much 'Racey' and other two-dimensional heroes such as Billy 'Billy's Boots' Dane, Tommy 'Tommy's Troubles' Barnes and Kevin 'Mighty Mouse' Mouse, are still loved by their former readers and their children.

'We keep our classic characters under review all the time, to see what scope there is for their development,' explained Egmont's Melanie Leggett.

'Roy is without doubt one of the most, if not the most, popular, so it's exciting for us to see how well this goes.

'We've been very careful to stay as close to the original as possible and are even putting it out on specially produced tactile paper, just to ensure the reader is propelled straight back into his - or her - own childhood.'
Roy of the Rovers

And it is difficult not to be. A flick through an advanced copy and the memories come flooding back. The classic red-and-yellow Melchester Rovers strips (Race and Co seemed to change them even more than England back in the day), the classic, last-minute, left-foot finishes (into the top corner, naturally) and teammates such as Blackie Gray, Vic Guthrie and Paco Diaz (always a rich mix of nationalities) were just the start of it.

There is even a cartoon of a youthful-looking Gary Lineker, drawn for his 'Go For Goal with Gary Lineker' quiz page. Unfortunately there is no sign of fellow 'real' personalities Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes (brought out of retirement to play for Melchester in 1985), Geoff Boycott (long-time Melchester chairman) and Sir Alf Ramsey (caretaker Melchester manager while Roy was in his coma). And as for the storyline which saw Spandau Ballet duo Martin Kemp and Steve Norman don the famous redand- yellow strip, well, perhaps that is best forgotten, after all.

But did the players of the day appreciate Roy grabbing all the, at least fictional, glory? 'Roy of the Rovers is a national treasure, which I remember reading in the Eighties, so I am delighted to see it being bought back to newsstands,' said Chris Waddle. 'Roy was a great player who kids and adults will enjoy reading about again . I'll definitely be grabbing a copy.'

As, no doubt, will the fans, caught up in the current thirst for Seventies and Eighties nostalgia, who have helped revive demand for all things Melchester over the past few years.

A few minutes' surfing the web offers the chance to buy various replica Rovers shirts, a Melchester Subbuteo team (£21.39 on eBay last night, plus shipping from the USA - yes, the USA!) and The Bumper Book of Roy of the Rovers, published last autumn, which sold a healthy 7,000 copies.

So what next for the ultimate comic book footballing hero? A big-money film offer, perhaps? Michael Sheen, take off that baggy green jumper . . ."

Το Αγόρι, το Μπλεκ και μια σοκολάτα...

Για τους νεότερους πιθανότατα οι παρακάτω ιστορίες δεν σημαίνουν τίποτε, όμως σε όσους βρίσκονται γύρω στα 35 και μεγάλωσαν διαβάζοντας κόμικς στη δεκαετία του ’80, ίσως το θέμα αυτό να φέρει στο νου γλυκές αναμνήσεις από τα χρόνια της αθωότητας. Τότε που οι περισσότεροι ονειρευόμαστε να γίνουμε επαγγελματίες ποδοσφαιριστές για να σκίζουμε τα δίχτυα όπως ο Χάμις, να κερδίζουμε τίτλους και δόξα όπως ο Ρόι Ρέις ή να κάνουμε ηρωικές αποκρούσεις σαν τον Μπεν Λήπερ.

O Rob Davies για το Roy of the Rovers

O Rob Davies, καλλιτέχνης που σκίτσαρε το κόμικ στριπ του Roy of the Rovers Monthly, σε ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον άρθρο, γεμάτο αναμνήσεις...

http://dinlos.blogspot.com/2009/03/roy-of-rovers-monthly.html

O Roy της Melchester

Ο καλός φίλος Νίκος Νικολαϊδης γράφει ένα μυθιστόρημα βασισμένο στις περιπέτειες του Roy της Melchester στα χρόνια 1971-76, που πολλοί θεωρούν τα καλύτερα στην "ιστορία" της ομάδας. Το πρώτο δείγμα ακολουθεί...

He shoots ... he scores!

Fifty years ago this month, football hero Roy Race first turned out for Melchester Rovers, and although the ace striker hung up his shooting boots some years ago, the legend lives on, writes Tom O'Meara

Kidnappings, a shooting and the saxophone player from Spandau Ballet: forget about the football, Roy of the Rovers encompassed far more. Long before the Footballer's Wives scriptwriters started work on a soccer soap opera, the creators of Roy of the Rovers realised the value of mixing football with melodrama.

Roy Race comes to life in a charming biography of the Melchester Rovers legend

Publishers love football biographies and autobiographies.

They can estimate with considerable accuracy the likely sales, based on the regular attendance figures at the player’s club, with additional sales added on if the subject is an international.

The process is also more straightforward than conjuring marketable fiction out of a “blocked” novelist. All that is required is a willing and competent ghost-writer, a tape recorder and a fortnight in an acceptable Caribbean hotel.

Footballers can occasionally turn awkward, particularly when confronted with chapter headings such as “The Totalled Baby Bentley”, “Me, the Barmaid and the Handcuffs”, and “Back to The Priory”. Swift mention of the likely tabloid serial rights will often quell the nerves.

The wisest authors seek players who cannot answer back: either those who have gone to the great dressing-room in the sky, or those who never existed in the first place.

Great credit in this connection to Mick Collins, who has written the story of the greatest fictional footballer in English history. Roy of the Rovers: The Unauthorised Biography (Aurum) will take enraptured fans of a certain age back to the days when Melchester Rovers bestrode the footballing world like a colossus, with their blonde-mulletted striker, captain and later manager always at the heart of the action.

The author is certainly not short of material. As well as battling for the FA Cup, for the League title or (occasionally) against relegation, Melchester and Roy were subjected to plot twists that could - and often did - come straight from contemporary soap operas.

On their regular pre-season tours to South America, for example, Roy and/or a sizeable proportion of his squad could expect to be kidnapped on a regular basis, escaping only just in time to triumph in the tour-closing fixture. Helicopters and cars crashed, Roy got shot in the head and half the team were massacred in the Middle East. Perhaps most shocking of all, though, was the occasion when Roy’s long-suffering wife (and former secretary) Penny walked out on him with the kids and took a brief holiday in Crete.

Collins has pitched his biography well: he notes the risibility of the plot-twists and Roy’s unlikely longevity as a player, but he constantly reminds us of the affection that his subject commanded among his vast young audience.

He has conducted interviews with the surviving editors, writers and artists, who provide insights into the challenges of conveying football-related excitement on a weekly basis. Did you know, for example, that Roy Race’s nose was based on that of Cliff Richard?

Towards the end, events at Rovers started to spiral out of control. Geoffrey Boycott was appointed as the club’s chairman, and some of the players recruited on his watch were unusual, to say the least. Bob Wilson is, as the author rightly notes, a fine man, but perhaps 11 years of retirement might not have been the best preparation for assuming the goalkeeping duties at Mel Park.

A similarly retired Emlyn Hughes was another questionable signing, but he seemed positively sensible by comparison with Martin Kemp and Steve Norman, who when they were not turning out for Melchester had a lucrative sideline performing for the pop group Spandau Ballet.

Roy and his eponymous comic were chasing an audience that had other things on their minds, and the relentless rise of computer gaming and the unromantic evolution of the Premier league eventually sunk Roy, Melchester, the comic and the wonderful world they had inhabited.

Collins’ cracking book will inspire many former Melchester fans to seek out back issues of the comic on Ebay, but happily there is an easier source of nostalgia. Titan Books now has the rights to Roy’s adventures, and recently brought out a large-format paperback with the self-explanatory title The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1980s.

www.telegraph.co.uk

Μεγάλη συνέντευξη του David Sque

My recent post about Roy of the Rovers (and the indelible mark certain stories, from that comic, left on me) set me off on one of my infrequent internet trawls to see what hard information I could dredge up about this great (and sadly missed) title. Unsurprisingly (given the relative neglect1 suffered by British comics) I found precious little of substance on the creative talent behind what was, in its time, essential reading for every young fella with even a passing interest in football. Luckily enough, however, one (significant) avenue of exploration was open to me, since I had - over the last few years - exchanged a few emails with the man whose artwork on Roy of the Rovers remains the most iconic (and elegant) take on the character: As royoftherovers.com reliably informs us: David drew the Roy of the Rovers story from January 1975 to August 1986. He gave Roy a new image with the flowing blond locks he became famous for. Essentially, then, David's span on the comic coincided with my most formative (and comic-devouring) years, so it's no surprise that I consider the period in question to be something of a 'Golden Age' for the strip (although I consider that opinion sound, even when subjected to objective scrutiny). Where better then for fústar.org to go for answers/clues/anecdotes than to the door of the man whose inimitable style made the character one of the most celebrated fictional sporting heroes of all time? Fortunately for me, David was nothing but enthusiasm and cooperation personified when I asked him to submit to an interview, and the result, I hope, is something that will interest all those readers who once followed a comics industry that has (sadly, and perhaps terminally) suffered near total collapse. Anyway, it is not our business, here, to dwell on such negative thoughts…so on with the show. Enjoy.

O Ρόυ και ο Μπεν δεν μένουν πια εδώ...

Είναι κάποια πράγματα που μένουν βαθιά χαραγμένα στην μνήμη σου. Βιώματα μιας άλλης εποχής, όταν εμείς που βρισκόμαστε πια στα πρώτα και τα δεύτερα -άντα, διαβαζαμε κόμικ. Ιεροτελεστία ολόκληρη η απόκτησή τους, με το χαρτζιλίκι να πηγαίνει μια φορά την εβδομάδα στον περιπτερά για να διαβάσουμε τα "κατορθώματα" των αγαπημένων μας ηρώων...

Profiles Of the Great and Good: Roy Race: It's Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff Here

Roy of the Rovers was by far the most popular football comic ever. Running from 1954 to 2001, stories covered various issues—Roy as a teen trying to break into the famed "Melchester Rovers" team, winning every trophy imaginable, representing his country in the World Cup, playing with pop stars and even relegation. He even had an unstoppable shot called the "Racy Rocket"....ah, those were the days.

Roy Race made his debut in the Tiger comic in 1954. Tiger was from the same stable as the famed "Eagle Comic" which focused on the science-fiction end of things, with Dan Dare as it's banner character. Tiger was focused on real life, and all of it's stories were based in the "real" world. And this new direction proved to be an instant success. Readers took to football stories like proverbial ducks to water, with Roy of the Rovers becoming one of the most popular stories on the planet—in the '70s sales reached the million mark. Considering the comic was weekly, that is some sales figure.

Beginning on September 11th 1954, Roy of the Rovers was the banner storyline in the Tiger Comic. Initially focusing on a teenage Roy as he tried to break into the first team at Melchester Rovers. After a whole year in the youth team (story-lines were slow-burners in those days) Roy eventually made it into Melchester's first team and became a star. Roy won his first honour in 1957 (League Title) and over the next 46 years, it was a rare occasion for Roy to go a season without a trophy. As was expected with most comics of this nature, it focused on the matches and scoring glorious goals against "cheating foreigners" but where Roy of the Rovers differed especially during it's golden period of the 70's and 80's was that it often featured side stories about training methods and the perils of being a footballer and the obstacles they have to overcome.

Most sport comics at the time required the reader to make huge assumptions and connect the panels together as the story progressed. The writers of Roy of the Rovers invented a novel method of doing this for the reader, in such a simple way that they didn't even notice it. They had the crowd make comments during the matches. Nothing strange there, but the comments were carefully designed pieces of commentary. As if the reader had John Motson sitting on his shoulder. By adding in lines such as "Race is looking to find Gray with a pass", "The keeper will never save that shot" etc., the commentary moved the story line of the match on with incredible ease. That sometimes these whole paragraphs took place from the time the ball left Roy's boot to when it hit the back of the net never dawned on the average fan, it was all part of the beauty of story-telling. And although the football matches were at the core of the comic, it often branched out in some strange directions.

Over the years, storylines saw Roy lapse into a coma after being shot, which was the starting storyline for when Roy eventually flew the Tiger coop and got his own comic, Roy of the Rovers. In a storyline mimicking the famous Who shot J.R.? story, Roy was shot by an actor who played Roy on TV. Over the next couple of weeks the story captured the public's imagination (and mine) and for a short while it became an item that featured on the news as the comic became one of the most popular comics on the planet. The Melchester team were even kidnapped by Arab terrorists, in this storyline the team escaped after being held captive for weeks, only to crash into a terrorist car laden with explosives. Six of the Melchester United side were killed, and the story brought so much condemnation of it's stereotypical portrayal of the Middle-East, that the story-line was never referred to again.

This storyline in 1986 signalled the end for Roy, as readership levels began to steadily fall. The players killed in the explosion were replaced by pop-stars Martin and Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet. Almost every match had a last gasp winner, and with the matches sometimes being stretched over three or four weeks (to keep people buying the comic) the readers began to grow bored. In an attempt to regain high readership levels, the writers tried some other unusual gimmicks. One storyline saw an earthquake in Melchester cause subsidence under the stadium, and being left homeless, Melchester had nowhere to play. Luckily enough a benefactor agreed to let them use Wembley for a season. How the writers thought that Roy Race playing at Wembley would boost figures is anybodies guess.

By this stage in 1993, readership levels were at an all time low, and the writers took the decision to curtail the weekly comic and go monthly instead. In another gimmick, other popular football comic stars of the past signed for Melchester. Johnny Dexter "The Hard Man", Hot-Shot Hamish, Kevin "Mighty" Mouse, Billy Dane (Billy's Boots), Rick Stewart (Goalkeeper) and Blackie Gray all became Melchester players in a bid to centralise all the British football comic characters and to try to convince all of their fans to buy "one" comic. The whole history of Melchester Rovers changed too. Roy's 40-year career was shortened to 10 years to make it more realistic.

Opposition place names changed too, to mirror this new realism. Melchester didn't play against Everpool or Liverton anymore, the team-names were changed to reflect real areas such as Birkenhead, Toxteth, and Islington. Failing to realise that these real names meant nothing to fans was a huge mistake. Fans knew that the writers couldn't use the real team names but they easily identified with teams like Everpool, Tyne Castle, Liverton, and Melchester. And although the new names reflected a certain realism, fans couldn't identify with them because they didn't know where the areas were or who they represented. In another effort to drum up readership among ethnic minorities, Melchester signed a token Nigerian in 1994, just prior to the World Cup. Del Ntende was nicknamed "Delroy of the Rovers" and featured heavily but the writers attempts at reviving the comic were too little too late. Finally the writers chose to "jump the shark". Roy was on his way to see a prodigious youth play when his helicopter crashed. Over the next few weeks fans all over the world waited with baited breath to see if Roy would survive.

He did, but he had to have his trusted left foot amputated, and so ended the playing career of the greatest comic book player ever. How the writers thought that this would save the flagging comic is mind-boggling. Roy moved into management, first with A.C. Monza in Italy but then back to Melchester. But even he couldn't save the comic from finishing. By the end of Roy of the Rovers final season as a comic, Roy had had his foot amputated. Blackie Gray had resigned after receiving death threats from fans, Melchester Rovers were in receivership and were on the verge of going out of business and Roy's son Rocky scored the winning goal in the FA Cup. Like father, like son. From the comics demise in 1995, various attempts have been made to bring Roy of the Rovers back from the dead. In 1997, BBC bought the rights to the comic, and they began to feature an on-going storyline in "Match of the Day" magazine. BBC ran the comic strip until 2001, when they decided that the time was right for Roy to retire for good. Roy of the Rovers is remembered fondly by all those who had the pleasure of reading it as a child. Especially those of us who are lucky enough to have read it in it's heyday of the 70's and early 80's. It had a certain kind of charm, storylines were simple and not controversial back then. The miserable attempts by the writers in the late 80's and 90's to boost readership figures should be held in contempt for exactly what they were, soulless.

It's unlikely that we'll see a new Roy of the Rovers strip nowadays. People who were fans have moved on, and that kind of stuff isn't as popular with children of today. Times have changed. However, in early 2008 worldwide publishing firm Titan Books announced that they had bought the rights to the entire back catalogue of Roy of the Rovers comics. And they hope to have them on the shelves in graphic novel format for Christmas this year. If you know someone in their 30's or 40's, or even 50's who read the comic as a child, you could do a whole lot worse as a present for Christmas. But lets honour the greatest player to ever play (in a comic). Over his 55-year career, he won the league 10 times, the FA Cup 10 times, European Cup three times, Cup Winners Cup four times, UEFA Cup strangely only once, and the World Club Championships twice. He even managed England. He scored 436 goals for Melchester and is the record goal scorer in English football.

The phrase "it's real Roy of the Rovers stuff" has even become a staple of any good commentator, especially when describing the unbelievable.

Not bad...for a comic.

I would like to thank the Race family for being so helpful in putting this article together.

www.bleacherreport.com

The Roy of the Rovers documentary

H Egmont στα πλαίσια της προώθησης του RotR το 2009 "ανέβασε" στο site της ένα εξαιρετικό ντοκιμαντέρ. Απολάυστε το εδώ

Συνέντευξη με τον εκδότη του "Best of Roy of the Rovers"

Although Roy first appeared way back in 1954 as a young apprentice signed by Melchester Rovers’ forward thinking youth team scout – Bert Bonser, it wasn’t until the 1980s that he truly became Roy Race: The Legend. The 80s defined him more than any other decade, his blond, centre-parted mullet became the haircut of the moment and his name became synonymous with outstanding sporting achievement.

Νέες εκδόσεις: The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 80s

He may have lost his left foot and been the victim of a suicide bomber, but Roy Race will never die. David Pollock has a ball as the comeback kid bounces back

Forget Teddy Sheringham or Craig Brewster. Each would have to play on for almost another 20 years to match the footballing career of Roy Race, who turned out for and then player-managed the famous Melchester Rovers from 1954 to 1993 (with a brief sojourn at Walford Rovers in 1983). Who has been as iconic a representative of British football as Roy of the Rovers over the last half century and more: Best, Gascoigne, Cantona, maybe a couple more? Not bad for a made-up character, now is it?

‘I think Roy’s appeal always lay in his honesty and his flair for the spectacular,’ says Mark Towers, who runs fansite www.royoftherovers.com. ‘He’s even given the English language a new phrase. You still hear commentators referring to something as “real Roy of the Rovers stuff” when a game has been won against the odds. That sums up the excitement of the strip, but also the fact that Roy stood for honesty and integrity.’

Making his debut in the sport and adventure comic Tiger in 1954, Roy was created by the collaborative efforts of writer Frank S Pepper, artist ‘Stewart Colwyn’ (a pen-name of Joe Colquhoun, who went on to co-create the seminal war strip ‘Charley’s War’ for Battle in the 70s) and editor Derek Birnage. Pepper would only write the strip for four issues, before Colquhoun took over, until being replaced in turn by Birnage four-and-a-half years later.

It wasn’t until 1976 that Roy’s adventures were spun out into his own weekly comic, which went monthly just as Roy moved into management in 1993 and eventually folded in 1995. Yet, Roy still had one more comeback left in him, with a short monthly strip in the pages of Match of the Day magazine from 1997 to 2001. In his time he married and had three children with Penny (who died in 1995), won a hatful of domestic and European trophies (despite an England career which lasted 24 years, Roy sadly missed out on international honours), and also variously contended with a shooting incident, the death of half the Melchester first team in a suicide bomb attack, and finally the loss of his famous left foot in a helicopter crash.

Now a new generation of fans are being given the chance to catch up with Roy’s life with reprint books from Titan, including the Roy of the Rovers Archives (to kick off in August), which will tell Roy’s story in chronological order from 1954. ‘Roy’s an exceedingly unusual comic character as he’s the subject of one continuous story,’ says David Leach, editor of the new collections. ‘If kids were to pick up this story from the beginning they’d become hooked. Look at the way Harry Potter moves from one academic year to the next. Roy’s sporting life is the same.’

Although Leach points to the dramatic downturn in the early 90s kids’ comics market as a cause for Roy’s disappearance, it’s ironic that his weekly adventures finished during the ‘92/’93 season, the first year of the English Premier League and the advent of an avaricious era of wags, oligarchs and television money. His return, as well as a nostalgia trip for many, is also a reminder of simpler days when footballers really did seem like heroes.

www.list.co.uk

Nέες εκδόσεις: The Bumper Book of Roy of the Rovers

Splitting your defences with a timely ‘gosh’, ‘heck’ and ‘thunderation’, this collection of Roy Race’s adventures from the years 1958-71 should send a tingle down the spine of anyone who ever picked up the comic. Melchester Rovers’ most famous son played for the red and yellow stripped icons for a mere 39 years until the amputation of his deadly left foot in 1993 and while he is the obvious centrepiece, The Bumper Book shows that there was more to Roy of the Rovers than our mulleted blonde hero – step forward his glamourous wife Penny and trusty team-mate Blackie Gray.


The classic ‘If You Were the Ref’ features some dilemmas for the match officials, ‘Penalty’ has fun facts about spot kicks and we even get the history of Bobby Charlton (a consultant on the strip in the early 60s). Unintentionally hilarious, gloriously nostalgic and occasionally bonkers, this should get you into some Race relations.

www.list.co.uk

Melchester Rovers - Η ομάδα του Roy Race

H Melchester Rovers, είναι μια φανταστική ομάδα, στην οποία πέρασε μεγάλο διάστημα της λαμπρής του καριέρας ο πιο διάσημος ποδοσφαιρικός ήρωας κόμικ, ο Roy Race.

Πρωτοεμφανίστηκε στο κόμικ Roy of the Rovers, που φιλοξενήθηκε αρχικά στο περιοδικό “Tiger” το 1954. Στην Ελλάδα έκανε τα πρώτα του βήματα στο περιοδικό “Zαγκόρ” σαν “Ρόυ Ρέις” την περίοδο 1971-72 και συνέχισε στο “Αγόρι” με τον τίτλο “O Ρόυ ξαναγυρίζει” την περίοδο 1976-1983. Από το 1985 και μετά τιτλοφορήθηκε ως ο “O Ρόυ της Μέλτσεστερ” ή ο “Ρόυ της Ρόβερς”.