Folder 31
Russia
GALA RECORDS, INC. on the label - the Russian licensee. The UK Fame reissue that shares the FA 3247 catalogue number credits EMI instead.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed. Side B reads EMD-1006-B-3U-1- in Latin characters, matching the - 3 U - 1 - suffix Discogs records for this release's stamper variants. The UK Fame reissue carries EMD-1006-B-2-1-1- instead, so the suffix decides between them.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 2294848. Green: in my collection (1 of 4). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Side A) | EMD - 1006 - A - 3 U - 1 - |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Side B) | ЕМД - 1006 - B - 3 U - 1 - — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Side A) | EMD - 1006 - A - 3 U - 1 - "VERY DIRECT METAL" STERLING D |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Side B) | EMD - 1006 - B - 3 U - 1 - "IF YOU DONT LIKE IT BOLLOCKS" D |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 9 of them
Label: GALA RECORDS, INC.
IMG_0896, IMG_0898, IMG_0901
Label: FA 3247 and EMD 1006
IMG_0898, IMG_0907
Label: Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin Birch, © 1988 Original sound recordings made by EMI Records Ltd, © 1988 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd.
IMG_0907
Run-out, side B, etched: EMD-1006-B-3U-1-
IMG_0903, IMG_0904, IMG_0905, IMG_0906
Rear sleeve: ⊙ FA 3247, TC-FA 3247, CD UK: CD-FA 3247, CD: CDP 7 90258 2
IMG_0891
Rear sleeve: Fame logo and Distributed by EMI Records [Int.] Hayes, Middx.
IMG_0892
Rear sleeve: DMM mark and EMI logo
IMG_0893
Insert: Eddie poster
IMG_0894
Insert: blue double-sided lyric and credit sheet
IMG_0895
The photographs
IMG_0887.jpg1 of 23READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - the EMI Fame budget-reissue sleeve, printed for the UK market and used here for a Russian licensed pressing.
- Inserts - an Eddie poster and a blue printed lyric sheet.
- Labels - plain silver-grey with black text, crediting Gala Records, Inc. Not the eye/Eddie artwork.
- Vinyl - black.
What distinguishes this pressing
GALA RECORDS, INC.on the label - the Russian licensee. The UK Fame reissue that shares theFA 3247catalogue number credits EMI instead.- A run-out suffix of
-3U-1-against the UK reissue's-2-1-1-. - A 1993 pressing - by four years the latest record in this collection, and the only one from the post-Soviet licensing period.
- A silver text label, unlike any other copy here.
- A UK-printed Fame sleeve around a Russian-pressed record, which is why the rear sleeve gives only British catalogue numbers.
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. The catalogue number FA 3247 is EMI's Fame budget line and is shared by two vinyl entries in the master. Two independent details separate them:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 2294848 - Russia, 1993 | Matches. Discogs lists its labels as Fame / FA 3247 and Gala Records, Inc. / EMD 1006, and records a side B run-out ending - 3 U - 1 -. This copy carries the Gala Records credit and that suffix. |
| 3696589 - UK, 1991 | Same catalogue number, but its labels credit EMI with no Gala Records line, and its side B run-out is EMD-1006-B-2-1-1-. |
On the alphabet: Discogs lists several stamper variants for this release, one of which writes side B in Cyrillic as ЕМД. This copy's side B is in Latin characters - EMD - which matches the Latin variants Discogs also records. An earlier draft of this entry called the etching consistent with either alphabet, which it is not: Cyrillic Д and Latin D are plainly different letters, and the crop shows a D. Nothing in the identification rests on this; it turns on the -3U-1- suffix, which the UK reissue does not share.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.