The Lord of the Rings by BBC Radio

The 1981 audio adaptations of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings were a childhood gateway to a lifelong love of radio dramatisation, culminating in my work with Sir Christopher Lee on director Dirk Maggs' The Gemini Apes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day in 1998.

Demon Music Group has announced a limited edition box set of The Lord of the Rings featuring stunning artwork.

“One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them; One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.“

Presenting ‘The Lord of the Rings’, a limited edition deluxe 14CD box set (limited to 4000 worldwide) of the original 1981 BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’, released for the first time in its original 26-episode broadcast format. Over 13 hours of newly-mastered audio drama in superb stereo sound with every tense cliffhanger (and stirring theme music reprise) intact, plus a standalone disc of the series’ celebrated soundtrack by the renowned composer Stephen Oliver.

The contents are presented across 14CDs in deluxe 7” sized box set packaging. Each set is individually numbered and features beautiful original artwork, re-imagining the landscape of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Starring Ian Holm (Alien, The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit, Chariots of Fire) as Frodo, Michael Hordern (Barry Lyndon, Gandhi, Paddington) as Gandalf, John Le Mesurier (Dad’s Army) as Bilbo, Bill Nighy (Love Actually) as Sam, and Robert Stephens (Romeo and Juliet) as Aragorn, alongside Gerard Murphy (Batman Begins), Peter Vaughan (Game of Thrones), Simon Cadell (Watership Down) and Michael Graham Cox (The Stone Tape) this acclaimed 1981 full-cast production was dramatised by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell.

A 12-Page booklet, featuring behind the scenes cast photos and a note about the making of the series by dramatist Brian Sibley, is also included along with full cast and credits for every episode.

Also available as a numbered and limited edition 14LP vinyl box set.

Pre-order The Lord of the Rings at Amazon (affiliate link).

Have you listened to the BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings? Let me know in the comments below.