NEWS – Number of the Beast Narrator Passes Away at 80
Published on December 29, 2011 by Christian Sellers · No Comments
“Woe to you O earth and sea for the Devil sends the beast with wrath because he knows the time is short,” spoke the opening narration to the 1982 Iron Maiden classic The Number of the Beast. The passage, taken from the Book of Revelations, and the concept for the track was inspired by the horror sequel Damien: Omen II, released four years earlier, and proved to be the band’s breakthrough into the mainstream, remaining one of their most iconic songs.
The dialogue was recited by Barry Clayton, whose subsequent work would include narrating the cult children’s show Count Duckula during the early 1990s.
According to the Islington Tribune Clayton has passed away at the age of eighty-years-old; “An Islington resident for 40 years, Clayton was also a pioneer of black television and radio programming… He produced the Black Londoners radio programme for the BBC – the first black daily radio programme – from its first airing in 1974 until 1988 when he left to join Capital Radio… He also arranged for a Christmas link-up with Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad for a Channel 4 special in 1981… A full tribute will appear next week.”
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