Folder 308

UK

Labels numbered IRN 21 and IRN 22, the inside gatefold IRN 21 top left and IRN 22 top right, and IRN 2 on the back: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the UK 649307, whose notes place them in exactly those spots.

Catalogue: IRN 2, IRN 21, IRN 22
Label: EMI
Released: 1990
Confidence: Confirmed
Why this grade
UK EMI double pack, part II of The First Ten Years, without the front Limited Edition sticker. The back sleeve carries IRN 2 over barcode 5 099920 372361, the inside gatefold IRN 21 top left and IRN 22 top right, and the labels IRN 21 / IRN 21A / IRN 21B and IRN 22 / IRN 22A / IRN 22B -- exactly where the notes of release 649307 place those numbers. Of the vinyl rows on the master only 649307 carries IRN 2, IRN 21, IRN 22; the European row 854264 is 198 20 3723 6, 198-20 3724 6, 198-20 3725 6 with Made in EEC printed on labels per its notes, and the European test pressing 13056915 is 20 3724 6, 20 3725 6; none of those numbers, no Made in EEC and no GEMA / STEMRA appear on these labels. The barcode is shared with 854264 and settles nothing. The discriminator is the run-out: all four sides were photographed and read IRN 21A-2-1-1, IRN 21-B-2-1-1, IRN 22A-2-1- plus a hand-scratched group, and IRN 22B-2-1-2, with a stamped D photographed three times. Release 649307's Matrix / Runout identifiers (fetched from the Discogs API on 2026-11-07; the JSON is not cached in the repo) list IRN 21 A - 2 - 1 - 1 on every variant, IRN 21 B - 2 - 1 - 1 D and IRN 22 A - 2 - 1 - 5 D on Variant 3, and IRN 22 B - 2 - 1 - 2 on Variant 1, while 854264 records 2037246-A1 style matrices and 13056915 203724 6 / 203725 6. So every side's run-out matches an entry recorded for 649307 and for no other candidate. Two things stay open and are said plainly: the four-side combination is not one of the three variants Discogs lists (three sides agree with Variant 3, side 2B with Variant 1, which is what one gets when the two records of a pack came off different stampers), and the hand-scratched group on side 2A is read X, a looped character that is 8 or 2, and 5 -- the 5 is a separate top stroke over a bowl opening left, with no second bowl for a 3. The country is UK by catalogue family: no Made in line or rights society is printed anywhere on the copy. The version list is never complete, so an uncatalogued UK variant cannot be ruled out.
Reference: Discogs 649307
Median sale: DKK 276
Sale range: DKK 97-637
On sale now: 21, from DKK 213
Last sold: 16 October 2026

What the record says

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

IRN 21 A: IRN 21A-2-1-1 (stamped); IRN 21 B: IRN 21-B-2-1-1 (stamped); IRN 22 A: IRN 22A-2-1- (stamped) followed by a hand-scratched group read X?5, the middle character 8 or 2; IRN 22 B: IRN 22B-2-1-2 (stamped). A stamped D was photographed on three frames taken with sides 1A, 2A and 2B; the frames do not name the side, and no D was photographed for the fourth side

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 23 of them

Front sleeve: Women In Uniform artwork (Eddie between two women and a soldier under a streetlamp) with the IRON MAIDEN logo top right and The First Ten Years roundel top left; no Limited Edition sticker or roundel anywhere on the front

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Front roundel at native resolution: THE FIRST TEN YEARS / 1980 / 1990 / EDDIE / WOMEN IN UNIFORM / TWILIGHT ZONE / II / 666 / UP THE IRONS

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Back sleeve: Twilight Zone artwork under the IRON MAIDEN logo, barcode top right, EMI box bottom left, print block bottom right

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Back sleeve catalogue block: IRN 2 in red above barcode 5 099920 372361

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Back sleeve print block at native resolution: Illustrations: DEREK RIGGS / Packaging : THE COMPLETE WORKS / (P) 1980 except * (P) 1981 † (P) 1990 / The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd / (C) EMI Records Ltd; no Made in line or printer code

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Inside gatefold, left panel: IRN 21 top left over A WOMEN IN UNIFORM Produced by TONY PLATT, B 1 INVASION Produced by TONY PLATT; the reproduced 1980 back with "IRON MAIDEN" THE ALBUM: EMC 3330, UK TOUR DATES: NOV. 1980, IRON MAIDEN FAN CLUB: S.A.E TO 12, CHAPLIN RD., LONDON NW2., EMI box and SPECIAL THANKS TO VIC "CRAZY BALDHEAD" VELLA

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Inside gatefold, right panel, with the fold visible at the left edge: IRN 22 top right over A *TWILIGHT ZONE Produced by IRON MAIDEN Engineered by NIGEL HEWITT, B *WRATHCHILD Produced & Engineered by MARTIN BIRCH; band photo, DOUBLE A-SIDE TWILIGHT ZONE WRATHCHILD* and *WRATHCHILD IS TAKEN FROM THE NEW ALBUM KILLERS EMC 3357

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Record one, side A label: A WOMEN IN UNIFORM G. Macainsh Produced by TONY PLATT 3.05, IRN 21 / IRN 21A, EMI box, rim ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UNAUTHORISED COPYING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND BROADCASTING OF THIS DISC FORBIDDEN

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Record one, side A label copyright block at native resolution: (P) 1980 THE COPYRIGHT IN THIS SOUND RECORDING IS OWNED BY EMI RECORDS LTD (C) 1990 EMI RECORDS LTD ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD; no rights society or Made in line

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Record one, side A run-out: IRN 21A-2 stamped beneath the copyright block

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Record one, side A run-out continued: 21A-2- then 2-1-1 stamped

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Record one run-out: a stamped D, photographed in sequence with the side A shots

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Record one, side B label: B INVASION Harris Produced by TONY PLATT, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Harris Produced by TONY PLATT Mixed by STEVE HARRIS and DOUG HALL Total: 9.50, IRN 21 / IRN 21B, (P) 1980 and the same EMI Records Ltd / Zomba lines, EMI box

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Record one, side B run-out: IRN 21- then 21-B- stamped

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Record one, side B run-out continued: B-2-1- then 2-1-1 stamped

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Record two, side A label: A TWILIGHT ZONE Murray/Harris Produced by IRON MAIDEN Engineered by NIGEL HEWITT 2.33, IRN 22 / IRN 22A, EMI box

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Record two, side A run-out: IRN 22A- stamped

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Record two, side A run-out continued at native resolution: 22A-2-1- stamped, then a hand-scratched group: X, a looped character reading 8 or 2, and a final character drawn as a top stroke over a bowl opening left, read 5

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Record two, side B label: B WRATHCHILD Harris Produced & Engineered by MARTIN BIRCH, LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART II Total: 11.03, IRN 22 / IRN 22B, (P) 1981 EXCEPT SIDE TWO TRACK TWO (P) 1990 THE COPYRIGHT IN THIS SOUND RECORDING IS OWNED BY EMI RECORDS LTD (C) 1990 EMI RECORDS LTD ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD, EMI box

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Record two, side B run-out: IRN 22B-2- stamped

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Record two, side B run-out continued: 22B-2-1-2 then 2-1-2 stamped -- the last character a clear 2

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Record two run-out: a stamped D beneath the Eddie figure, photographed in sequence with the side B shots

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The photographs

IMG_7116.jpg1 of 28READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

Gatefold double pack sleeve with Women In Uniform on the front and Twilight Zone on the back, The First Ten Years roundel top left. No Limited Edition sticker on the front; the notes of release 649307 put IRN 2 on a sticker, so this copy has lost it or never had it. Light scuffing and specks on the black inside panels, small wear at the corners.
Two black vinyl 12" records, one per single, each with the grey Eddie-under-the-streetlamp labels, red Iron Maiden logo and orange EMI box.
No voucher, insert, inner sleeve or extra sticker is visible in the photographs.

What distinguishes this pressing

Labels numbered IRN 21 and IRN 22, the inside gatefold IRN 21 top left and IRN 22 top right, and IRN 2 on the back: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the UK 649307, whose notes place them in exactly those spots.
Run-outs IRN 21A-2-1-1, IRN 21-B-2-1-1, IRN 22A-2-1- with a scratched X?5, and IRN 22B-2-1-2: each matches a Matrix / Runout entry recorded for 649307, while the European 854264 records 2037246-A1 style matrices and the test pressing 13056915 203724 6 / 203725 6.
No Made in EEC and no GEMA / STEMRA on the labels, both of which the European 854264 carries per Discogs. The barcode 5 099920 372361 is shared with 854264 and only corroborates.

Six tracks, two sides, and the recording credits

Side A

A1Women In Uniform
B1Invasion
B2Phantom Of The Opera

Side B

C1Twilight Zone
D1Wrathchild
D2Listen With Nicko! Part II

Women In Uniform, Invasion and Phantom Of The Opera produced by Tony Platt; Phantom Of The Opera recorded live at the Marquee, London, on 4 July 1980 and mixed by Doug Hall and Steve Harris. Twilight Zone produced by Iron Maiden, engineered by Nigel Hewitt. Wrathchild produced and engineered by Martin Birch. Illustration by Derek Riggs; packaging design by The Complete Works. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd. Pressed by EMI Swindon.

Credits are sourced from Discogs release 382790, the UK CD IRN 2, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing; the UK double 12" is release 649307 (IRN 2). 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

Pinned down to 649307 by catalogue number and run-out together. What is still up in the air is which of Discogs' listed run-out variants this is: none of them, as a set -- three sides match Variant 3, and side 2B's IRN 22B-2-1-2 matches Variant 1. A raking-light shot of side 2A's scratched group would settle whether its last character is the 5 of Variant 3, and its middle character, which Discogs does not record at all. Release 649307's JSON was fetched for this entry but is not cached in the repo; caching it would let the comparison be re-run. Standing caveat: the method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.