Folder 132
Europe
Europe, and the plain one of four. Four releases share this catalogue number, this Holland-printed sleeve and these GEMA/STEMRA labels; what separates them is the deadwax, and this copy's carries no Sterling Sound and no Sheffield mark on either side.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photo named beside it, except where the source column says otherwise - those rows come from the record itself, by reading it or by playing it, and each says which.
Run-out photographed on both sides across six frames, and read off the record by eye as well. Side one is stamped 2405971-A1, side two 2405971-B1 - short, evenly machine-stamped, and alone in the deadwax. No Sterling Sound wording, no △13445 Sheffield triangle and no ST-…-Dmm string appears on either side in any frame, and the owner's reading by eye found none either. That absence does the whole work of the identification here, so it is worth saying what it rests on: six frames plus a reading of the record itself, rather than one continuous shot of each full circle.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 32480940. Green: in my collection (9 of 18). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 1) | 2405971-A2 1 VO1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 1) | 2405971-B2 1 1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 2) | 2405971-A1 1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 2) | 2405971-B1 1 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 3) | 2405971-A1 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 3) | 2405971-B1 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 4) | 2405971-A1 — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 4) | 2405971-B1 1 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 5) | 2405971-A2 — copy 140 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 5) | 2405971-B2 — copy 138 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 6) | 2405971-A2 — copy 140 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 6) | 2405971-B3 — copy 140 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 7) | 2405971-A3 — copy 138 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 7) | 2405971-B3 — copy 140 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 8) | 2405971-A3 21 VO1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 8) | 2405971-B3 21 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 9) | 2405971-A1 1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 9) | 2405971-B1 2 |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 18 of them
Front cover: single sleeve, IRON MAIDEN / SOMEWHERE IN TIME
IMG_2655
Rear cover, catalogue block: ⊙ 064 · boxed 24 0597 1
IMG_2657
Rear cover, second line: France: · PM 26… (last digit under a shop sticker) · boxed …597 1 · R B
IMG_2657
Rear cover, barcode: 5 099924 059718
IMG_2657
Rear cover, boxed beneath the barcode: 24 0597 4 - the cassette number carried alongside
IMG_2657
Rear cover, foot: DMM is a trademark of TELDEC
IMG_2658
Rear cover, foot: EMI Records Ltd. · HAYES MIDDLESEX ENGLAND · Country of manufacture of record as stated on record label
IMG_2658
Rear cover, foot: Marketed, manufactured and distributed by EMI / Printed in Holland by EMI Services Benelux B.V., Uden / En France: distribution exclusive EMI Pathé Marconi S.A.
IMG_2658
Inner sleeve, lyric side, upper right: 24 0597 1
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Inner sleeve, lyric side: ℗ 1986 Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd · © 1986 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd. · Lyrics reproduced by kind permission of Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
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Inner sleeve, reverse: the band on the Arizona roadside, yellow-framed
IMG_2659
Label, side one: 1C 062-24 0597 1 · GEMA · STEMRA · DMM™ · SIDE 1 · LC 0542
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Label, side one, perimeter: STEREO 33⅓ RPM and MADE IN EEC.
IMG_2663
Label, side one, tracklist: 1. CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME (Steve Harris) 7:23 · 2. WASTED YEARS (Adrian Smith) 5:05 · 3. SEA OF MADNESS (Adrian Smith) 5:41 · 4. HEAVEN CAN WAIT (Steve Harris) 7:21
IMG_2663
Label, side two: 1C 062-24 0597 1 · GEMA · STEMRA · DMM™ · SIDE 2 · LC 0542 · MADE IN EEC.
IMG_2664
Run-out, side one: 2405971-A1, stamped, with clear deadwax either side of it
IMG_2665, IMG_2668, IMG_2670
Run-out, side two: 2405971-B1, stamped, with clear deadwax either side of it
IMG_2666, IMG_2667, IMG_2669
Both run-outs, off the record itself, quoted as written: Side A - 2405971 - A1 / Side B - 2405971 - B1, and nothing else recorded on either side
read by eye by the owner; filed in this folder as runout - eye.txt
The photographs
IMG_2655.jpg1 of 16READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Single sleeve, printed in Holland - rubbed along the opening, with a split starting at the bottom right corner.
- Printed inner sleeve - lyrics, credits and the Iron Maiden F.C. address on one face, the Arizona band photograph on the other. It carries
24 0597 1, the third of this release's three catalogue numbers. - Labels - the international dark Eddie artwork in yellow text,
SIDE 1andSIDE 2the right way round. - Vinyl - black, both sides.
- Two shop stickers on the rear: a small yellow one with a handwritten
9sitting over the French price code, and a white one carrying a printed number and two hand-written prices, the higher struck through in red. Retail history, not part of the release.
What distinguishes this pressing
- Both run-outs plain.
2405971-A1and2405971-B1with no Sterling Sound and no Sheffield△13445mark on either side - the one thing that separates the four same-catalogue Europe releases from each other. MADE IN EEC.with GEMA and STEMRA on the labels, notMade in Francewith SACEM, which is what rules out the French release carrying the same number.- Three catalogue numbers, one per component:
064 24 0597 1on the sleeve,1C 062-24 0597 1on the labels,24 0597 1on the inner sleeve. Discogs records exactly that split for this release. R Bon the back cover beside the FrenchPM 26…price code.- The barcode decides nothing.
5 099924 059718is carried by every Europe entry sharing this catalogue number, so it confirms a commercial release and discriminates between none of them.
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Caught Somewhere In Time
- A2Wasted Years
- A3Sea Of Madness
- A4Heaven Can Wait
Side B
- B1The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
- B2Stranger In A Strange Land
- B3Deja-Vu
- B4Alexander The Great
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar, guitar synthesizer · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, guitar synthesizer · Steve Harris - bass, bass synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Bass, bass synth and drums recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau; guitars, vocals and guitar synth recorded at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum; mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York. Sleeve illustration by Derek Riggs; sleeve concept by Derek Riggs and Rod Smallwood. Inner sleeve photograph by Aaron Rapoport. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 1701390, 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.
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, and worth following the reasoning, because the deciding detail is a thing that is not there.
Country, catalogue number and sleeve are certain from the rear block, the labels and the printer's line. That narrows the master to four Europe entries plus one French one. The French one goes on the labels. The four that remain are, on Discogs' own account, the same record cut four ways:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 32480940 - EMI DMM | Matches. “Mastered using Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) technology at EMI. No Sterling or Sheffield identifiers.” Its recorded run-outs include 2405971-A1 / 2405971-B1, which is what this copy carries. |
| 761023 - Sterling DMM | Ruled out. Both its run-outs carry the long Sterling strings (△13445 … Sterling Sound, ItWereSoLoud). Neither side here does. |
| 32576838 - Sterling / EMI | Ruled out on side A, which Discogs records as the full Sterling string; side A here is the short 2405971-A1. Its side B (240597 1 - B1) does match. |
| 32576808 - EMI / Sterling | Ruled out on side B, which Discogs records as the full Sterling string; side B here is the short 2405971-B1. Its side A (240597 1 - A1) does match. |
Read those last two rows carefully: each of them matches this copy on one side. Only the pair of plain run-outs settles it, which is exactly why the absence had to be established on both sides rather than assumed from one.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs. The version list is incomplete by construction, so a single surviving candidate is a best match, not a proof of uniqueness.
What would close the last gap. One raking-light frame per side carrying the full run-out circle end to end, rather than the six partial arcs here. Those six between them cover the stamped string and a wide span of empty deadwax on each side, and both run-outs were read off the record by eye with nothing more found - but a complete circle is what would turn “nothing was seen” into “nothing is there”.