Folder 140
Europe
Europe, plain deadwax again, and the one stamper pair that two different releases both claim. 2405971-A2 / 2405971-B3 is recorded for the EMI cut and for the French pressing, so the labels rather than the run-out are what settle this copy.
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 eight frames, and read off the record by eye as well. Side one is stamped 2405971-A2, side two 2405971-B3 - short, evenly machine-stamped, with clear deadwax either side. No Sterling Sound wording, no △13445 Sheffield triangle and no ST-…-Dmm string appears on either side in any frame, and the reading off the record found none either.
This pair is the one place on this shelf where a plain Europe run-out is genuinely ambiguous: Discogs records 2405971-A2 / 2405971-B3 for the EMI cut and for the French pressing alike. The run-out narrows the copy to those two and then stops; the labels take it from there.
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 — copy 132 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 3) | 2405971-B1 — copy 132 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 4) | 2405971-A1 — copy 132 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 4) | 2405971-B1 1 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 5) | 2405971-A2 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 5) | 2405971-B2 — copy 138 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 6) | 2405971-A2 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 6) | 2405971-B3 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 7) | 2405971-A3 — copy 138 |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 7) | 2405971-B3 — this copy |
| ✗ | 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 — 10 of them
Front cover: single sleeve, IRON MAIDEN / SOMEWHERE IN TIME
IMG_2854
Rear cover: the international artwork with the tracklist and the EMI block at the foot
IMG_2855, IMG_2857
Inner sleeve: printed, lyrics and credits on one face and the Arizona band photograph on the other
IMG_2859, IMG_2860
Label, side one: 1C 062-24 0597 1 · GEMA · STEMRA · DMM™ · SIDE 1 · LC 0542
IMG_2861, IMG_2863
Label, side one, perimeter: MADE IN EEC. · STEREO 33⅓ RPM · ALL RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER…
IMG_2870
Label, side two: SIDE 2 · LC 0542 · STEMRA · the German rights notice around the rim
IMG_2862, IMG_2866
Run-out, side one, stamped: 2405971-A2
IMG_2870, IMG_2871
Run-out, side two, stamped: 2405971-B3
IMG_2865, IMG_2866
Run-out, both sides: clear deadwax either side of the stamped string in every frame - no Sterling wording, no Sheffield triangle
IMG_2864, IMG_2867, IMG_2868, IMG_2869
Both run-outs, off the record itself, quoted as written: Side A - 2405971 - A2 / Side B - 2405971 - B3
read by eye by the owner; filed in this folder as runout - eye.txt
The photographs
IMG_2854.jpg1 of 18READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Single sleeve, printed in Holland - the international artwork, rubbed along the opening edge.
- 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.
What distinguishes this pressing
- Both run-outs plain.
2405971-A2and2405971-B3with no Sterling wording and no Sheffield△13445mark on either side, which rules out three of the four Europe releases sharing this catalogue number. MADE IN EEC.with GEMA and STEMRA on the labels, which is what separates this copy from the French release recording the same stamper pair. Here the deadwax narrows and the labels decide - the reverse of folders 132, 138 and 139.- A third stamper pair on the same release. Folder 132 is
A1/B1, folder 138 isA3/B2, this one isA2/B3. Three copies of 32480940 on the shelf, no two off the same stampers. - The barcode decides nothing.
5 099924 059718is carried by every Europe entry sharing this catalogue number, so it confirms a commercial release and separates 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, but by a different route from its neighbours - and the difference is the point.
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. |
Both run-outs here are short and plain, so the first three rows go. That normally finishes a Europe copy. It does not finish this one, because the French release sharing catalogue 24 0597 1 records 2405971-A2 / 2405971-B3 as its own fourth run-out variant - the same pair, digit for digit:
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 32480940 - EMI DMM | Matches. Its variant 6 is recorded as 2405971-A2 / 2405971-B3, and the labels read MADE IN EEC. with GEMA and STEMRA. |
| 2198387 - France | Ruled out on the labels, not the deadwax. Its variant 4 is the same 2405971-A2 / 2405971-B3, so the run-out cannot separate them; Discogs records its labels as Made in France by EMI Pathé Marconi S.A. with SACEM/SACD/SDRM/SGDL, and these read MADE IN EEC. with GEMA and STEMRA and a German rights notice. |
It is a useful reminder that a matrix is a property of a stamper, not of a release, and that two pressings can be cut from the same metal in different countries.
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. The same as for 132 and 138: one raking-light frame per side carrying the full run-out circle, rather than the eight partial arcs here, so that “no Sterling mark was seen” becomes “no Sterling mark is there”.