A special vinyl record of the complete narrated TV soundtrack of Doctor Who: The Crusade, with linking narration by William Russell, is due for release in October from Demon Records.

“History must take its course.”

The TARDIS travellers materialise in 12th Century Palestine, where English Crusaders are engaged in a holy war with Saladin, ruler of the Saracens. When Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) is abducted in a Saracen ambush, the Doctor (William Hartnell), Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) and Ian (William Russell) find themselves guests at the palace of King Richard the Lionheart (Julian Glover).

First broadcast in March and April 1965, the story has become a noted classic among Doctor Who historical adventures, with a guest cast including Julian Glover and Jean Marsh.

Only two of its four episodes survive in the BBC TV archive, but this vinyl release, presented for the first time on double 140g green and yellow translucent vinyl, features the complete audio soundtrack, working from masters first produced for an earlier project by Mark Ayres.

It includes illustrated individual sleeves featuring Radio Times-style billings for each episode. The project was designed by Dare Creative, who also worked on previous Fourth Doctor record releases, with illustrations by Sam Goddard.

This release is dedicated to the memory of narrator William Russell, who died in June aged 99.

The Demon Music Group are a catalogue marketing company owned by BBC Studios, specialising in the exploitation of audio rights across physical and digital.

They work directly with artists, striving to exceed fan expectations across their packages and create physical CDs and vinyl records – lots of vinyl – to cater for all tastes.

• Preorder Doctor Who: The Crusade (2LP Green & Yellow Translucent Vinyl) from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Out: 4th October 2024 | Cat no: DEMWHOLP015

Doctor Who is available now on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ in the rest of the world, where available

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Merchandise, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television

Tags: Dare Creative, Demon Music Group, Demon Records, Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Mark Ayres, Sam Goddard, William Russell