Folder 1
UK
The original UK first issue. Barcode, printer code and second cat# all match.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Not legible: the catalogue number printed at the right of the side-B label is partly obscured by glare; the surrounding text is consistent with EMD 1006, but the characters themselves could not be resolved and are not relied on. The rear-cover catalogue block supplies the number instead.
Run-out groove, photographed 2026-08-23. Both sides, at native resolution:
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 17 of them
MOONCHILD · INFINITE DREAMS · CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS · THE EVIL THAT MEN DO / SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON · THE PROPHECY · THE CLAIRVOYANT · ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG
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Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin Birch.
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Four-line format block: EMD 1006 · TCEMD 1006 · CDP 7 90258 2 · UK: CDEMD 1006 - the vinyl, cassette and CD catalogue numbers. Each line is preceded by a small format-indicator symbol too small to resolve reliably, so the symbols are not transcribed here
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Boxed second catalogue number 79 0258 1
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Barcode 0 77779 02581 7
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Printer code SP8804JU
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℗ 1988 Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd / © 1988 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd
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Label rim: MANUFACTURED IN THE UK BY EMI RECORDS LIMITED
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Label rim: ALL RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER AND OF THE OWNER OF THE RECORDED WORK RESERVED UNAUTHORISED COPYING, HIRING, RENTING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND BROADCASTING OF THIS RECORD PROHIBITED
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Label: EMI in box, 33⅓ RPM, OTHER SIDE / THIS SIDE track split
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Label: All titles published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
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Run-out, side A, etched: EMD-1006-A-2-1-
image00015, image00016
Run-out, side A, hand etched: VERY DIRECT METAL
image00011, image00012, image00013
Run-out, side B, etched: EMD-1006-B-3U-1-
image00006, image00007
Run-out, side B, hand etched: IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT …
image00002, image00003, image00004
Run-out, hand etched: Sterling
image00001, image00010
Label, side B: EMD 1006 / (EMD 1006-B)
image00004
The photographs
IMG_0589.jpg1 of 23READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - single (non-gatefold), Derek Riggs ice-field artwork,
IRON MAIDENin blue-and-yellow at the left edge,Seventh Son of a Seventh Sonscript at the right. - Inner sleeve - present, printed both sides. One side carries the clairvoyant-at-the-desk painting; the reverse is deep blue with the full lyrics in yellow, a colour band photograph, and
EMD 1006printed at the top edge. - Labels - the EMI globe design in yellow, green and violet,
IRON MAIDENin the band logo across the top. Both sides photographed. Side A shows the eye/Eddie artwork variant of the same design. - Inserts - none photographed. Discogs notes that some copies of this release included an 8" square double-sided colour merchandise insert; its absence here is not evidence either way, since it was never universal.
What distinguishes this pressing
- It is the original - the UK first issue, April 1988, against which every other copy in this collection is a licensee's local edition.
- The label rim reads
MANUFACTURED IN THE UK BY EMI RECORDS LIMITEDand carries no rights-society mark - where the Greek copy in folder 18 hasAEPIand the Uruguayan in folder 7 hasAGADU. Within this collection, that absence is a reliable UK signature. - The label prints no
STEREOand no local catalogue number, where the overseas pressings add both. - Catalogue
EMD 1006is the UK number. Discogs also records79 0258 1for this release, and the boxed number on the rear cover matches it.
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Moonchild
- A2Infinite Dreams
- A3Can I Play With Madness
- A4The Evil That Men Do
Side B
- B1Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
- B2The Prophecy
- B3The Clairvoyant
- B4Only The Good Die Young
Sourced from Discogs release 576952; the producer, publisher and copyright lines are independently corroborated by the photographs above.
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, synth · Steve Harris - bass, string synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Sleeve illustration, concept and design by Derek Riggs (with Rod Smallwood). Inner-sleeve photograph by Ross Halfin. Printed by James Upton. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
(Inference, flagged as such: the JU ending the SP8804JU printer code on the sleeve is very likely James Upton's initials, given Discogs credits that firm with printing this release. Discogs does not state the connection.)
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Sleeve: visible corner wear and slight bumping, most obvious at the upper corners; light edge wear along the opening. General surface handling marks. No splits or seam separation visible in these shots.
- Vinyl: light surface scuffing and handling marks catch the light across both sides. No visible deep scratches, warping or edge damage in these photographs. The labels are clean, unmarked and unstickered.
Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.
What is settled, and what is not
Confirmed, on one discriminator rather than the three first claimed here. External review prompted a check of which cited details are actually specific to release 576952, measured against every release fetched for this master:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Detail | Verdict |
|---|---|
Printer code SP8804JU | Unique to this release. This is what confirms it |
Barcode 0 77779 02581 7 | Shared by 10 releases in this master, including Canada, Australasia, Yugoslavia and Italy. It corroborates the family, not the pressing |
Second catalogue number 79 0258 1 | A label catalogue number, not a Discogs identifier. Supports country and family only |
The grade stands, because one release-specific discriminator is what Confirmed requires. The earlier wording overstated the evidence by counting three.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing that is absent from Discogs altogether.
Settled - which stamper variant. This was the open question on this entry, and the run-out photographs of 2026-08-23 close it. Discogs records seven run-out variants against this release, distinguished by the stamper suffixes. This copy reads:
| Side | Etched | Also present |
|---|---|---|
| A | EMD-1006-A-2-1- | VERY DIRECT METAL, Sterling |
| B | EMD-1006-B-3U-1- | IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT … |
Only one of the seven pairs those two suffixes together:
| Variant | Side A | Side B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EMD-1006-A … -2 | EMD-1006-B … | suffixes not in this form |
| 2 | EMD-1006-A … -3 | EMD-1006-B … | side A ends -3 |
| 3 | EMD-1006-A-2-1-1- | EMD-1006-B-3U-1- | matches |
| 4 | EMD-1006-A-3U-1-1- | EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- | both sides wrong way round |
| 5 | EMD-1006-A-3U-1- | EMD-1006-B-3U-1-1- | side A is 3U |
| 6 | EMD-1006-A-2-1-1- | EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- | side B is -2- |
| 7 | EMD-1006-A-2-1-2 | EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- | side B is -2- |
The identification of the release never depended on this - that rests on the catalogue number, the barcode and the printer code. What the run-out adds is which pressing run within the release this copy came from, which is a different and finer question, and one that only the deadwax can answer.
Note also what it does not prove. EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- is cached against the Fame reissue as well, so a side B suffix alone would not even establish which release this is; it is the pairing of both sides that picks the variant out.
Folder 37 is the collection's other copy of this release and reads EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- on side B - a different variant, from a different stamper. The two UK originals are not the same pressing run.