Synopsis

An irritable art teacher leads a group of students through the ruins of Tintern Abbey, where one pupil's drawing of Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie becomes a source of annoyance. After falling through a hole, the teacher descends into a strange underground world filled with animation, television images and increasingly surreal encounters. His journey ends with a bizarre meeting involving Eddie inside a refrigerator, turning the song's themes of madness, imagination and supernatural visions into a distinctly Monty Python-style comedy.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in March 1988 as the promotional clip for the first single from Iron Maiden's album "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son."

• Filming took place at Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire, Wales, and Chislehurst Caves in Bromley, London.

• Graham Chapman of Monty Python plays the frustrated art teacher. The appearance was among his final onscreen performances before his death in October 1989.

• Iron Maiden do not appear performing in the main storyline. Instead, the teacher watches the band on a television screen, with footage drawn from earlier promotional videos and the "Live After Death" concert film.

• The video combines live action with animation, including a cartoon version of Eddie, reinforcing the album era's interest in prophecy, fantasy and altered states of perception.

• The song reached No. 3 on the UK singles chart, giving the clip a major role in one of Iron Maiden's most commercially successful periods.

• The deliberately absurd tone made the video unusual for a heavy metal release of its time, pairing the band's macabre imagery with Chapman's dry, exasperated comic presence.