Folder 22
Japan
Japan, with obi. Promo: labels overprinted 見本 (非売品), sample not for sale.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed, the first in this collection: side A reads 1006 - A 1S 1, matching the EMD - 1006 - A 1S1 Discogs records for this release.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 3020098. Green: in my collection (1 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (A side) | EMD - 1006 - A 1S1 — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (B side) | EMD - 1006 - B 1S1 |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 10 of them
Obi strip: RP28-5610 · ¥2,800 · ロック · アイアン・メイデン 第七の予言
IMG_0729
Label: RP28-5610 / (EMD 1006A)
IMG_0740, IMG_0747
Label, boxed: 見本 (非売品) - sample, not for sale
IMG_0747
Label: 4/24発売 - on sale 24 April
IMG_0747
Label: IRON MAIDEN, EMI in box, 33⅓ RPM, OTHER SIDE / THIS SIDE track split with writer credits
IMG_0740
Run-out groove, side A, etched: 1006 - A 1S 1
IMG_0747
Run-out groove, side B, etched: 1006 - B 1S (trailing character not resolvable in this frame)
IMG_0742
Rear sleeve: TOSHIBA EMI and barcode T4988006622449
IMG_0732
Rear sleeve, Japanese rental-prohibition notice: このレコードを権利者の許諾なく賃貸業に使用することを禁じます。
IMG_0732
Insert sticker: Aurex
IMG_0733
The photographs
IMG_0729.jpg1 of 16READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Obi strip - present, the
666design. Carries the catalogue number, the yen price and the Japanese title第七の予言. - Outer sleeve - single, standard artwork, Japanese rear with Toshiba EMI credits and barcode.
- Inserts - several: a full-colour picture/lyric sheet, Japanese-language sheets, and an
Aurexsticker. Discogs records this release as coming with “a full color Japanese & English picture/lyric insert and another Japanese insert & a '666' obi-strip.” - Labels - the EMI globe design, overprinted with a boxed
見本 (非売品): the Japanese promotional marking, literally sample, not for sale. - Vinyl - black. The eye/Eddie label artwork is the standard design, not a picture disc.
What distinguishes this pressing
見本 (非売品)on the label - the Japanese promo marking. Discogs describes this release simply as “Pormo print on labels” [sic], and this is that print.RP28-5610- the Toshiba EMI catalogue number, carried alongside the retained UKEMD 1006A.- An obi strip, which no other copy in this collection has. It is the single most collectable component of a Japanese pressing and the first thing lost.
- Japanese-market rear sleeve with a rental-prohibition notice, a legal requirement in Japan and absent everywhere else here.
- One of only two copies in this collection with its run-out photographed, with folder 23.
- Discogs notes this was “the last IM album with a specific Japanese vinyl release edition”, pressed in small numbers as Japan moved to CD.
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Moonchild
- A2Infinite Dreams
- A3Can I Play With Madness
- A4The Evil That Men Do
Side B
- B1Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
- B2The Prophecy
- B3The Clairvoyant
- B4Only The Good Die Young
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, synth · Steve Harris - bass, string synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York. Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Sleeve illustration, concept and design by Derek Riggs (with Rod Smallwood). Inner-sleeve photograph by Ross Halfin. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 576952, 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. Japan and catalogue RP28-5610 are certain from the obi and labels. Discogs lists three 1988 Japanese vinyl editions, and the evidence separates them:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 3020098 - Promo | Matches. Discogs describes it as carrying promo print on the labels; this copy carries the boxed 見本 (非売品). |
| 2829960 - Limited Edition | The commercial first pressing. Its labels carry no promotional marking. See folder 23, which is that release. |
| 9262697 - standard issue | Issued with the regular obi, not the 666 design, and no promo print. |
The run-out corroborates rather than decides: 1006 - A 1S 1 matches the EMD - 1006 - A 1S1 Discogs records against 3020098, but folder 23 carries the same etching, so the two Japanese copies share stampers and the matrix cannot separate them. The promotional overprint is what does.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.
Worth checking rather than settling: Discogs notes that some promos came with two promo stickers and a five-page monochrome booklet. Whether this copy has them affects completeness, not identity.