Folder 119
Germany
Unofficial promo picture disc, unnumbered. Printed "for Promotional Use only" and claiming 1984, but Discogs identifies this pressing as a 2001 German bootleg. Full-face photographs of both sides show no hand-written edition number, which is what separates it from its numbered twin sharing the same catalogue number.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
No etched run-out groove - this is a picture disc, printed edge to edge on both sides. What Discogs and this copy both carry in its place is printed text curving around the rim. This copy's own printed line, side B, reads (as legible in the photograph): Special Limited Edition / Printed in the UK for Promotional Use only / PLP 9 64-24 02001. Discogs records the equivalent field as two Matrix / Runout identifiers, PLP - 9 64 6424 02001 - A and - B - a close but not character-for-character match to what is legible here, which is recorded as Discogs' own value rather than corrected to agree with the photograph.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 20697697. Green: in my collection (1 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A runout) | PLP - 9 64 6424 02001 - A — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Side B runout) | PLP - 9 64 6424 02001 - B |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 6 of them
Side A (image face): POWERSLAVE and IRON MAIDEN printed over the pyramid/sphinx artwork, with the small circular Eddie-pharaoh EMI roundel at lower right
IMG_2372
Side B: printed tracklist - OTHER (Aces High, 2 Minutes To Midnight, Losfer Words (Big 'Orra), Flash Of The Blade, The Duellists) and THIS (Back In The Village, Powerslave, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner) - and PLAYING TIME: 51.20
IMG_2373, IMG_2376
Side B, rim: Manufactured and distributed by EMI Records Ltd. / Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd., and Warning: Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this record is prohibited! - Special Limited Edition / Printed in the UK for Promotional Use only / PLP 9 64-24 02001
IMG_2373, IMG_2375
Side B: © 1984 Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. / ℗ 1984 EMI Records Ltd.
IMG_2373, IMG_2376
Side B: printed barcode block, on what reads as an applied sticker rather than artwork printed under the lacquer - 5 096424 020015
IMG_2373, IMG_2374
Both faces: no hand-written number, initials or mark of any kind visible anywhere in either full-disc photograph
IMG_2372, IMG_2373
The photographs
IMG_2372.jpg1 of 5READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- No outer sleeve, inner sleeve or insert photographed. This folder holds five photographs, all of the disc itself; whatever this copy is currently housed in was not captured.
- Picture disc, both sides fully printed - no paper label of any kind, consistent with this being a picture disc rather than a standard pressing.
- Vinyl - clear/picture-disc construction, artwork visible edge to edge; no black vinyl margin.
What distinguishes this pressing
- Catalogue
PLP 9 64-24 02001and barcode5 096424 020015, shared by exactly two Discogs entries and no others in the fetched version list. - No hand-written number on the vinyl itself. Discogs' numbered edition (rel. 2252780) is described as marked in permanent marker directly on the vinyl; this copy's two full-face photographs show no such mark. Discogs also describes that edition as issued with a numbered A4 certificate, but no certificate, sleeve or insert was photographed for this copy at all, so its presence or absence is simply not evidence here either way.
- Discogs' own note that the disc's claimed origin is false: "This edition says made in UK, but is from Germany" and carries the Iron Maiden logo on the front lower edge, which it names as what tells this pressing apart from other unofficial editions of the same artwork.
- A 2001 release date on Discogs against an on-disc
© 1984/℗ 1984- the printed copyright lines reproduce the genuine 1984 EMI text, which is exactly the kind of claim a bootleg reproduces rather than a fact about when this copy was actually pressed.
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Aces High
- A22 Minutes To Midnight
- A3Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
- A4Flash Of The Blade
- A5The Duellists
Side B
- B1Back In The Village
- B2Powerslave
- B3Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar · Steve Harris - bass · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch, assisted by Bruce Buchhalter and Frank Gibson. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau; mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York. Sleeve illustration by Derek Riggs; sleeve and design concept by Derek Riggs, Iron Maiden and Rod Smallwood. Photography by Moshe Brakha. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 1846534, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. The producer, publisher and copyright lines are independently corroborated by this copy's own label, quoted above.
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Sleeve: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no splits or seam separation visible in these shots.
- Vinyl: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches, warping or edge damage in these photographs. The labels are clean and unmarked.
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, with the standing caveat that this is a bootleg and Discogs' own documentation of it is necessarily less certain than for an official release. The catalogue number and barcode narrow the field to two Discogs entries, both unofficial German-made picture discs sharing every printed detail:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 20697697 - unnumbered | Matches. Explicitly the unnumbered counterpart to 2252780. Neither full-face photograph of this copy (IMG_2372, IMG_2373) shows a hand-written mark. |
| 2252780 - numbered edition of 200 | Ruled out on the vinyl itself: Discogs describes it as "numbered with a permanent marker" directly on the disc. Neither full-face photograph of this copy shows such a mark. (Discogs also describes that edition's numbered A4 certificate, but no certificate or sleeve was photographed for this copy, so that detail is not part of what rules it out.) |
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs, and an unofficial release's own documentation is only as good as whoever catalogued the bootleg. A single surviving candidate is a best match, not proof of uniqueness.
Open: whether a marker number has simply faded or was never applied in a spot these five photographs happened to miss. Both full-disc shots are clean and unambiguous over the whole printed surface, which is why this is graded Confirmed rather than Probable, but a bootleg produced to be hand-numbered is exactly the kind of item where a very light or partial mark could be easy to miss. A macro pass over both faces under raking light, specifically hunting for a faint or worn marker stroke, is what would close this completely.