Folder 139
Europe
Europe, and the hybrid: Sterling on one side only. Side A carries the full Sterling Sound string with the Sheffield triangle; side B is the bare stamped 2405971-B1. Of the four releases sharing this catalogue number, exactly one is cut that way round.
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 sixteen frames, and read off the record by eye as well. The two sides could hardly look less alike. Side one is the full Sterling cut, etched with a pantograph and running most of the way round: △13445, B-24515-z1, ST-1-12524-Z1-Dmm, ItWereSoLoud, the spaced 240 597 1-A-0, and Sterling Sound. Side two is a single short machine-stamped 2405971-B1 with empty deadwax either side of it.
The owner's reading records side A's Sheffield triangle as /34 45, which is the three strokes of a △ and the digits inside it read as characters, and notes that the ST of ST-1-12524 could be SJ. Discogs records ST, and the photographs are consistent with it.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 32576838. Green: in my collection (1 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Side A runout) | △13445 B-24515-z1 ST-1-12524-Z1-Dmm ItWereSoLoud 240 597 1-A-0 Sterling Sound 2 1-3 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B runout) | 240597 1 - B1 — this copy |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 11 of them
Front cover: single sleeve, IRON MAIDEN / SOMEWHERE IN TIME
IMG_2828
Rear cover: the international artwork with the tracklist and the EMI block at the foot
IMG_2829, IMG_2831
Inner sleeve: printed, lyrics and credits on one face and the Arizona band photograph on the other
IMG_2833, IMG_2834
Label, side one: 1C 062-24 0597 1 · GEMA · STEMRA · DMM™ · SIDE 1 · LC 0542 · STEREO 33⅓ RPM
IMG_2835, IMG_2836
Label, perimeter: the German rights notice ALLE URHEBER- UND LEISTUNGSSCHUTZRECHTE VORBEHALTEN… and its English half ALL RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER AND OF THE OWNER OF THE WORK REPRODUCED RESERVED. UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, HIRING…
IMG_2838, IMG_2849
Label, side two: 1C 062-24 0597 1 · GEMA · STEMRA · SIDE 2 · LC 0542
IMG_2837
Run-out, side one, etched: 240 597 1-A-0 in the spaced Sterling form, with ST-1-12524-Z1-Dmm above it
IMG_2849, IMG_2851
Run-out, side one, etched, further round: ItWereSoLoud · Sterling Sound · B-24515 · the △13445 triangle
IMG_2845, IMG_2846, IMG_2847, IMG_2848, IMG_2850, IMG_2852, IMG_2853
Run-out, side two, stamped: 2405971-B1, short and alone in the deadwax
IMG_2838, IMG_2839
Run-out, side two: clear deadwax either side of the stamped string - no Sterling wording, no triangle, in any frame
IMG_2840, IMG_2841, IMG_2842, IMG_2843, IMG_2844
Both run-outs, off the record itself, quoted as written: Side A - B-24515-21 ST-1-12524-Z1-DMM ITWERESOLOUD 240 597 1-A-0 STERLING SOUND /34 45 / Side B - 2405971-B1, with the note on side a : ST could be SJ
read by eye by the owner; filed in this folder as runout - eye.txt
The photographs
IMG_2828.jpg1 of 26READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Single sleeve, printed in Holland - the international artwork, edge wear along the opening.
- Printed inner sleeve - lyrics, credits and the Iron Maiden F.C. address on one face, the Arizona band photograph on the other.
- Labels - the international dark Eddie artwork in yellow text,
SIDE 1andSIDE 2the right way round. - Vinyl - black, both sides. The two deadwaxes look like different records: side one is densely pantograph-etched most of the way round, side two carries ten stamped characters and nothing else.
What distinguishes this pressing
- Sterling on side A and nothing on side B. The full
△13445 … ST-1-12524-Z1-Dmm … 240 597 1-A-0 … Sterling Soundstring on one side, the bare2405971-B1on the other - the exact asymmetry Discogs records for 32576838. 240 597 1-A-0, spaced, which is the Sterling form of the number; the EMI-cut sides on this shelf run the digits together as2405971-A….MADE IN EEC.with GEMA and STEMRA on the labels, which rules out the French release carrying the same catalogue number.- The same sleeve, inner and labels as folders 132, 138 and 140. Everything outside the deadwax is shared across all four, which is why nothing outside the deadwax identifies any 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 it takes both sides to get there.
The sleeve, the inner and the labels are identical across four Europe releases and tell you only that the copy is one of them. The fifth release sharing catalogue 24 0597 1 is French - 2198387 - and it goes out on the labels rather than the deadwax: Discogs records those as Made in France by EMI Pathé Marconi S.A. with SACEM/SACD/SDRM/SGDL, where these read MADE IN EEC. with GEMA and STEMRA.
What separates the four is the deadwax, and only the deadwax:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | What separates it |
|---|---|
| 761023 - Sterling DMM | Sterling and Sheffield identifiers on both sides. |
| 32576838 - Sterling / EMI | Sterling and Sheffield on side A only; side B is the short 240597 1 - B1. |
| 32576808 - EMI / Sterling | Sterling and Sheffield on side B only; side A is the short 240597 1 - A1. |
| 32480940 - EMI DMM | Neither side carries them. Cut at EMI, no Sterling or Sheffield identifiers at all. |
Side A here is the full Sterling string; side B is the bare stamped 2405971-B1, which is the string Discogs records for 32576838's side B as 240597 1 - B1. Read the table a row at a time and every other candidate matches this copy on exactly one side: 761023 on A, 32480940 on B, 32576808 on neither in the right place. Only the pair settles it.
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 is not settled. Two characters. The owner's reading marks ST in ST-1-12524 as possibly SJ; Discogs records ST, and the photographs agree without being decisive on that one glyph. Neither reading changes the grade, since the Sterling attribution rests on the whole string rather than that prefix.