Folder 29
France
A boxed SACEM / SACD / SDRM mark. The other French pressing in the master prints BIEM - SACEM - SDRM on a single line. This is a difference of typesetting that Discogs treats as release-defining.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed. Side A carries a stamped M9 358773 2 with Sterling and a hand-etched VERY DIRECT METAL; side B carries a stamped M9 358774 with Sterling, 7902581-B and a hand-etched IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT…. All three French candidates share these, so the matrix confirms the family and not the copy.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 6407065. Green: in my collection (0 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Side 1) | [Stamped] M9 358773 2 [Hand etched] 7902581 A "VERYDIRECTMETAL" Sterling |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Side 2) | [Stamped] M9 358774 [Hand etched] 7902581-B "IFYOUDON'TLIKEITBOLLOCKS" Sterling |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 13 of them
Label: 7902581
IMG_0854
Label: a boxed rights-society mark, stacked rather than set on one line. SACEM, SACD and SDRM are legible; a further line is present but not resolvable at this magnification, and Discogs records the full mark as SACEM SACD SDRM SGDL
IMG_0854
Label: Direct Metal Mastering roundel
IMG_0854
Label rim: … MANUFACTURED IN THE U.K. BY EMI [RECORDS LIMITED]
IMG_0854
Label: ℗ 1988 Original sound recordings made by EMI Records Ltd., © 1988 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd.
IMG_0854
Run-out, side A, stamped M9 358773 2, etched Sterling
IMG_0863, IMG_0864
Run-out, side B, stamped M9 358774, etched Sterling
IMG_0856, IMG_0857
Run-out, side B, hand etched: 7902581-B
IMG_0858
Run-out, hand etched: IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT…
IMG_0859, IMG_0860, IMG_0861
Run-out, hand etched: VERY DIRECT METAL
IMG_0865, IMG_0866, IMG_0867
Insert: Eddie poster
IMG_0852
Insert: blue double-sided lyric and credit sheet
IMG_0853
Rear sleeve barcode and price code
IMG_0848
The photographs
IMG_0846.jpg1 of 22READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - standard artwork.
- Inserts - a printed inner sleeve carrying lyrics and credits, plus an Eddie poster.
- Labels - the eye/Eddie artwork, with the French rights societies set in a box and a DMM roundel.
- Vinyl - black.
What distinguishes this pressing
- A boxed
SACEM / SACD / SDRMmark. The other French pressing in the master printsBIEM - SACEM - SDRMon a single line. This is a difference of typesetting that Discogs treats as release-defining. - Label rim text reading
MANUFACTURED IN THE U.K.- on a French release. Discogs records exactly this rim text for this pressing. Sterlingand the two hand-etched messages in the run-out, mastered at Sterling Sound in New York.- Stamped
M9 358773andM9 358774. Discogs credits Pathé Marconi EMI, Chatou as this release's presser under exactly those two numbers, so they identify the French plant. An earlier draft of this entry read them as UK metalwork; that was speculation and the cache contradicts it. - A label rim reading
MANUFACTURED IN THE U.K.on a record pressed in France. Why the two disagree is not established by these photographs and is not guessed at here.
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. France is certain from the rights societies on the label. The master lists three French vinyl entries:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 6407065 | Matches on both of the features Discogs names. Its notes read “Different label design (rim text and rights societies) than the very similar versions”, and record the rim text as “Manufactured in the UK by EMI Records Limited” with a SACEM SACD SDRM SGDL rights mark. This copy carries both. |
| 1762213 | Rights society recorded as BIEM - SACEM - SDRM on a line. This copy's mark is a stacked box. |
| 22368532 | A test pressing - “échantillon” - with plain labels. This copy has fully printed commercial labels. |
The run-out is identical across all three and is recorded here as corroboration only. What decides it is the label design, which is the very thing Discogs uses to tell these apart.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.