Folder 143
Greece
Greece, the 1987 repress, and the language is what dates it. EMIAL's Athens address on the rear and A/A 13304 on the labels put it in the Columbia, Athens pressings; the song titles being in English rather than transliterated Greek is what separates it from the 1986 original.
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 EMC 3512 A, side two EMC 3512 B - the UK catalogue number and a side letter, and nothing else. Discogs lists that pair as 12943739's second run-out variant. The note “Runouts are stamped” belongs to the 1986 pressing and its test pressing, not to this release, so it is quoted here as a description of the Greek family rather than of the copy - and these are stamped.
The deadwax is the weakest of the three things pointing at this release, because the 1986 original carries the same EMC 3512 A / EMC 3512 B and the same MT 13304. Only the language of the titles separates those two, which is why it is stated first in the grade rather than treated as colour.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 12943739. Green: in my collection (4 of 4). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A, Variant 1) | E MC 3512 A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B, Variant 1) | EMC 3512-B — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A, Variant 2) | EMC 3512 A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B, Variant 2) | EMC 3512 B — this copy |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 15 of them
Front cover: single sleeve, IRON MAIDEN / SOMEWHERE IN TIME
IMG_2935
Rear cover, tracklist in English: SIDE 1. CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME · WASTED YEARS · SEA OF MADNESS · HEAVEN CAN WAIT · SIDE 2. THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER · STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND · DEJA-VU · ALEXANDER THE GREAT
IMG_2936, IMG_2937
Rear cover: PLAYING TIME 51:18 MINUTES · PRODUCED, ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY MARTIN BIRCH
IMG_2936
Rear cover, top right: STEREO · 062-2405971
IMG_2936, IMG_2937
Rear cover, foot: EMIAL S.A. · 127 HERACLIOU STR. RIZOPOLIS ATHENS · 12 MAKENZY KING STR. THESSALONIKI · Made and Printed in Greece by EMI GREECE
IMG_2939
Rear cover, foot right: MT 13304
IMG_2936
Inner sleeve, printed, corner: 062-2405971 · MT 13304
IMG_2942, IMG_2943
Label, side one: STEREO · 062-2405971 · EMC 3512-A · A/A 13304 · AEPI · SIDE 1
IMG_2948
Label, side one, perimeter: MADE IN GREECE BY EMI, with the Greek rights notice and its English half …COPYING OR BROADCASTING AND DISTRIBUTING OF THIS RECORD PROHIBITED
IMG_2948
Label, side one, tracklist in English: 1. CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME (Harris) 7:22 · 2. WASTED YEARS (Smith) 5:06 · 3. SEA OF MADNESS (Smith) 5:42 · 4. HEAVEN CAN WAIT (Harris) 7:24
IMG_2948
Label, side one: Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin "Masa" Birch · All titles published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd · ℗ 1986 Original Sound Rec. made by EMI Rec. Ltd. · © 1986 IRON MAIDEN (HOLDINGS) Ltd. · ℗ 1986 EMI Rec. Ltd.
IMG_2948
Label, side two: 062-2405971 · EMC 3512-B · A/A 13304 · AEPI · SIDE 2
IMG_2947, IMG_2949, IMG_2950
Run-out, side one, stamped: EMC 3512 A
IMG_2951, IMG_2952, IMG_2953
Run-out, side two, stamped: EMC 3512 B
IMG_2954, IMG_2955, IMG_2956
Both run-outs, off the record itself, quoted as written: Side A - EMC 3512 A / Side B - EMC 3512 B
read by eye by the owner; filed in this folder as runout - eye.txt
The photographs
IMG_2935.jpg1 of 22READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Single sleeve, the international artwork with EMIAL's Athens and Thessaloniki addresses set into the foot of the rear and
MT 13304beside them. - Printed inner sleeve - the starfield and yellow triangle, carrying
062-2405971andMT 13304in its corner. - Labels - the international dark Eddie artwork in yellow text, with
A/A 13304,AEPIandMADE IN GREECE BY EMIaround the rim. - Vinyl - black, both sides.
What distinguishes this pressing
- English song titles on the rear and on both labels, where the 1986 Greek pressing has them transliterated into Greek. That single change is what dates this copy to the 1987 repress.
MADE IN GREECE BY EMIon the label rim, which rules out the 1990 Fabelsound repress - documented as having had “by EMI” erased - and the other 1990 reissue, which has no EMI on the rim at all.A/A 13304on the labels andMT 13304on the rear and the inner sleeve - Columbia, Athens' master-tape number, the same figure in two notations.AEPI, the Greek rights society, in place of the GEMA and STEMRA a Europe copy carries.- Run-outs reading
EMC 3512 A/EMC 3512 B, the UK catalogue number stamped short - not the2405971 AF/BFof the 1990 reissue.
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. Greece is stated outright - Made and Printed in Greece by EMI GREECE on the rear, MADE IN GREECE BY EMI around the label rim - so there is no inference from EMIAL S.A. to make. Five Greek entries carry catalogue 062-2405971:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 12943739 - Repress, 1987 | Matches. Discogs: “Second greek pressing from 1987. The song titles on back cover and record labels were changed to written in English.” They are, in both places. Its identifiers MT 13304 (back cover) and A/A 13304 (labels) are both present, and its variant 2 run-outs are EMC 3512 A / EMC 3512 B, which is what is stamped here. |
| 1690743 - 1986 | Ruled out on the language alone, and it is the closest call here. Discogs: “The song titles on back cover and record labels are transliterated into Greek.” This copy's are English. Everything else - MT 13304, A/A 13304, AEPI, EMC 3512 A/B - it shares with the repress. |
| 37955307 - Test Pressing, 1986 | Ruled out on the same language point. Discogs records its notes as word for word 1690743's, transliterated Greek titles included, and says nothing further about how a test pressing of it differs - so the language is the whole of the case against it here, and no claim is made about its labels. |
| 13335682 - Reissue, 1990 | Ruled out on the deadwax and the rim. Its run-outs are 2405971 AF / 2405971 BF; these read EMC 3512 A / B. Discogs also records “no EMI on rim of labels” and no printed company on the back sleeve, where this one has both. |
| 4327274 - Repress, 1990 | Ruled out on the rim and the plant. Discogs: “Erased ‘by EMI’ on labels… because this pressing is made by Fabelsound, and not Columbia, Athens/EMI factory.” These labels say MADE IN GREECE BY EMI. Its run-outs are 2405971 A-F / B-F, and it came with no printed inner sleeve; this copy has one. |
The first two rows are the whole difficulty. The 1986 pressing and the 1987 repress are the same record from the same plant with the same numbers in the same places, and the only thing that tells them apart is which alphabet the song titles are set in. Both the rear cover and both labels were read at native resolution for exactly that reason.
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.
Nothing material is open. The language is legible in four independent places - the rear tracklist, the rear side headings, and both labels - and A/A 13304 and MT 13304 are each in focus in more than one frame.