Folder 303

Europe

2LP 198 7 94001 1 on the sleeve and 198-79 4002 1 / 198-79 4003 1 on the labels: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the European 2616375.

Catalogue: 198-7 94001 1, 198-79 4002 1, 198-79 4003 1
Label: EMI
Released: 1990
Confidence: Likely
Why this grade
European EMI double pack, part IX of The First Ten Years, on two 45 RPM records. The back sleeve carries 2LP 198 7 94001 1 over CDP 538-7 94001 2 and LC 0542, with barcode 0 77779 40011 9; the labels read 198-79 4002 1 A / 198-79 4002 1 B (Can I Play With Madness disc) and 198-79 4003 1 A / 198-79 4003 1 B (The Evil That Men Do disc), every side marked 45 RPM, BIEM / GEMA and MADE IN EEC. Of the four vinyl rows on the master only 2616375 carries 198-7 94001 1, 198-79 4002 1, 198-79 4003 1, and it is also the only one listed at 45 RPM. The UK row 419183 is IRN 9, IRN 91, IRN 92 at 33 1/3, a number that appears nowhere on this copy; the Italian row 7061923 is 2-52 7940011; the South Korean IRN 9 row 26064163 is an unofficial pressing listed with no label, which the EMI-boxed labels and the 198-79 numbers rule out. GEMA beside BIEM points to a German-licensed European issue but does not by itself prove where it was pressed. Three of the four run-outs read cleanly as 7940021-A1, 7940021-B1 and 7940031-B1; the fourth (The Evil That Men Do, side A) shows 794003 then -A with the characters after the 3 and after the A only partly legible. The grade stops at Probable rather than Confirmed because no release JSON for 2616375 is cached, so the run-outs could not be compared with the matrix Discogs records for it: catalogue number and country markers match one row, and nothing release-specific was cross-checked. The version list is never complete, so an uncatalogued European variant can't be ruled out.
Reference: Discogs 2616375
Median sale: DKK 212
Sale range: DKK 104-447
On sale now: 5, from DKK 142
Last sold: 29 September 2026

What the record says

Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.

198-79 4002 1 A: 7940021-A1; 198-79 4002 1 B: 7940021-B1; 198-79 4003 1 A: 794003?-A? (characters after 3 and after A only partly legible); 198-79 4003 1 B: 7940031-B1

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 14 of them

Front sleeve: IRON MAIDEN / CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS artwork, with The First Ten Years roundel bottom left reading THE FIRST TEN YEARS CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS THE EVIL THAT MEN DO UP THE IRONS

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Back sleeve: The Evil That Men Do artwork with THE EVIL THAT MEN DO down the right edge, catalogue block and barcode top right, EMI box bottom right

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Back sleeve catalogue block at native resolution: 2LP 198 7 94001 1 (boxed), CDP 538-7 94001 2, LC 0542, barcode 0 77779 40011 9

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IMG_7036.jpeg, IMG_7034.jpeg

Gatefold inside left: Side One: CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS* Side Two: BLACK BART BLUES MASSACRE, lyrics, Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin Birch, Sleeve illustration: Derek Riggs Photography: Ross Halfin Packaging: The Complete Works, From the forthcoming album SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON, EMI box, and a printed roundel PLAYING WITH MADNESS MONSTERS OF ROCK, DONINGTON 20TH AUGUST ONLY UK APPEARANCE WORLD TOUR '88

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Gatefold inside right: band photograph, THE EVIL THAT MEN DO PROWLER '88 CHARLOTTE THE HARLOT '88 LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART IX, PRODUCED, ENGINEERED & MIXED BY MARTIN BIRCH, ILLUSTRATION: DEREK RIGGS PHOTOGRAPHY: ROSS HALFIN DESIGN: THE COMPLETE WORKS, EMI box, printed roundel SEVENTH TOUR OF A SEVENTH TOUR / DONINGTON PARK

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Record one, side A label: A CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS (Smith / Dickinson / Harris) 3:30 Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch., 45 RPM, boxed BIEM / GEMA, 198-79 4002 1 A, LC 0542, EMI box, (P) 1988 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd., rim text ending MADE IN EEC.

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Record one, side A run-out, native crop: 7940021-A1 etched, under the label rim SENDUNG! MADE IN EEC.

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Record one, side B label: B 1. BLACK BART BLUES (Harris / Dickinson) 6:39 2. MASSACRE (Lynott / Gorham / Downey) 2:51, 45 RPM, boxed BIEM / GEMA, 198-79 4002 1 B, LC 0542, EMI box, rim text ending MADE IN EEC.

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Record one, side B run-out, native crop: 7940021-B1 etched, the final B1 fainter than the rest

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Record two, side A label: A THE EVIL THAT MEN DO (Smith / Dickinson / Harris) 4:32 Produced by Martin Birch. Engineered and mixed by Martin Birch., 45 RPM, boxed BIEM / GEMA, 198-79 4003 1 A, LC 0542, EMI box, rim text ending MADE IN EEC

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Record two, side A run-out, native crop: 794003 then -A etched; the character after the 3 and anything after the A are only partly legible in this frame

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Record two, side B label: B 1. PROWLER '88 (Harris) 4:05 2. CHARLOTTE THE HARLOT '88 (Murray) 4:08 3. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART IX 10:45 Trk. 3: Written and produced by N. McBrain., 45 RPM, boxed BIEM / GEMA, 198-79 4003 1 B, LC 0542, EMI box, (P) 1988 Except Trk 3 (P) 1990, rim text ending MADE IN EEC.

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Record two, side B run-out, native crop: 7940031-B1 etched

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The photographs

IMG_7033.jpg1 of 14READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

Gatefold double pack sleeve with Can I Play With Madness on the front and The Evil That Men Do on the back, The First Ten Years roundel printed bottom left on the front. The inside spread reproduces the two original single sleeves' backs, each with its own printed tour roundel.
Two black vinyl 12" records at 45 RPM, one per single, each with the dark Eddie-under-the-streetlamp labels, red Iron Maiden logo, EMI box and boxed BIEM / GEMA rights marks.
No inner sleeves, inserts or hype stickers are visible in the photographs.

What distinguishes this pressing

2LP 198 7 94001 1 on the sleeve and 198-79 4002 1 / 198-79 4003 1 on the labels: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the European 2616375.
45 RPM on all four labels, which matches 2616375's listed format; the UK 419183 and the South Korean 26064163 are listed at 33 1/3.
No IRN 9 / IRN 91 / IRN 92 anywhere on sleeve or labels, which is what the UK 419183 carries, and no 2-52 7940011, which is the Italian 7061923.
EMI-boxed labels and MADE IN EEC against the unofficial South Korean row 26064163, listed with no label.
Etched run-outs 7940021-A1 / 7940021-B1 / 7940031-B1, plus a partly legible 794003?-A?, recorded here for comparison once 2616375's matrix fields are to hand.

Seven tracks, two sides, and the recording credits

Side A

ACan I Play With Madness
B1Black Bart Blues
B2Massacre

Side B

CThe Evil That Men Do
D1Prowler '88
D2Charlotte The Harlot '88
D3Listen With Nicko! Part IX

Can I Play With Madness, Black Bart Blues, Massacre, The Evil That Men Do, Prowler '88 and Charlotte The Harlot '88 produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Listen With Nicko! Part IX produced by Nicko McBrain. Illustration by Derek Riggs; photography by Ross Halfin; packaging design by The Complete Works. Pressed by EMI Swindon. Phonographic copyright EMI Records Ltd.

Credits are sourced from Discogs release 383868, the UK CD IRN 9, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing; the UK double 12" is release 419183 (IRN 9). Where this copy's own packaging carries the producer, publisher or copyright lines, they are quoted in the evidence 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

One European row fits and nothing contradicts it, but the run-outs were never compared with what Discogs records for 2616375 because that release's JSON is not cached. Fetching release 2616375 and checking its Matrix / Runout fields against 7940021-A1, 7940021-B1 and 7940031-B1 is what would lift this from Probable to Confirmed; a sharper raking-light shot of The Evil That Men Do side A run-out would complete the fourth reading. Standing caveat: the method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.