Folder 310

UK

Labels numbered IRN 31 and IRN 32, the inside gatefold IRN 31 and IRN 32, and IRN 3 with 79 3979 1 on the back: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the UK 381973, whose notes place them in exactly those spots.

Catalogue: IRN 3, IRN 31, IRN 32, 79 3979 1
Label: EMI
Released: 1990
Confidence: Confirmed
Why this grade
UK EMI double pack, part III of The First Ten Years, in a gatefold sleeve. The back sleeve carries IRN 3 over barcode 0 077779 397815 and a boxed 79 3979 1, the inside gatefold IRN 31 on the left panel and IRN 32 top right, and the labels IRN 31 / IRN 31A / IRN 31B and IRN 32 / IRN 32A / IRN 32B. Of the vinyl rows on the master only the UK 381973 carries IRN 3, IRN 31, IRN 32, 79 3979 1; the European 2616386 is 198-7 93978 1, 198-7 93979 1, 198-7 93980 1 at 45 RPM with Made in EEC printed on labels per its notes, the Italian 5293756 is 2-52 7939781, 52 7939791, 52 7939801 with Made in Italy and SIAE per its notes, the Colombian 2241657 is 456000003 at 45 RPM, and 2543040 is a one-disc unofficial picture disc. None of those numbers, no Made in line and no rights society appear on this copy. The barcode is shared with 2616386 and 5293756 and settles nothing. The discriminator is the run-out: all four sides were photographed and read IRN 31 A-1-1-2, IRN 31 B-1-1-1, IRN 32 A-1-1-2 and IRN 32 B-1-1-2, with a stamped D photographed four times, once in sequence with each side's shots. Release 381973's Matrix / Runout identifiers (fetched from the Discogs API on 2026-11-07; the JSON is not cached in the repo) list Variant 3 as IRN 31 A - 1 - 1 - 2 D, IRN 31 B - 1 - 1 - 1 D, IRN 32 A - 1 - 1 - 2 D, IRN 32 B - 1 - 1 - 2 D -- exactly this set, side for side. Variant 2 has the same numbers without the D; Variant 4 differs on sides 1A and 2A (1 - 1 - 1). The European row records 7939791-A1 style matrices and the Italian 7939791-A-21-2-90, so no other candidate shares these run-outs. One small hand-scratched mark under side 2A's matrix is not legible and is not recorded by Discogs. The country is UK by catalogue family: no Made in line or rights society is printed on the sleeve or labels. The version list is never complete, so an uncatalogued UK variant cannot be ruled out.
Reference: Discogs 381973
Median sale: DKK 282
Sale range: DKK 89-558
On sale now: 14, from DKK 45
Last sold: 5 November 2026

What the record says

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

IRN 31 A: IRN 31 A-1-1-2 (stamped); IRN 31 B: IRN 31 B-1-1-1 (stamped); IRN 32 A: IRN 32 A-1-1-2 (stamped), with a small illegible hand-scratched mark beneath it; IRN 32 B: IRN 32 B-1-1-2 (stamped). A stamped D was photographed four times, one frame in sequence with each side's shots; the frame taken with side 1B shows the IRN 31B label beside it, the other three frames do not name the side

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 20 of them

Front sleeve: Purgatory artwork (the cracked red-faced Eddie with horns) under the IRON MAIDEN logo and red Purgatory script, The First Ten Years roundel bottom left; no separate Limited Edition or IRN 3 sticker visible on the front

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Front roundel at native resolution: THE FIRST TEN YEARS / 1980 / 1990 / EDDIE / PURGATORY / MAIDEN JAPAN / III / 666 / UP THE IRONS

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Back sleeve: Maiden Japan artwork (Eddie with a sword) under the IRON MAIDEN logo, MAIDEN JAPAN and two kanji bottom right, EMI box and a two-line red copyright block bottom left ending © 1990 EMI RECORDS LTD; no Made in line or printer code legible

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Back sleeve catalogue block: IRN 3 above barcode 0 077779 397815, and 79 3979 1 in a box beneath

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Inside gatefold, left panel: Purgatory c/w GENGHIS KHAN FROM THE ALBUM KILLERS EMC 3357, the Killers cover, EMI box, PRODUCED BY MARTIN BIRCH; bottom left IRN 31 over A PURGATORY Produced by MARTIN BIRCH, B GENGHIS KHAN Produced by MARTIN BIRCH

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Inside gatefold, right panel: IRN 32 top right over A RUNNING FREE REMEMBER TOMORROW Produced and Mixed by IRON MAIDEN and DOUG HALL, B KILLERS INNOCENT EXILE LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART III Produced by N. McBRAIN, Illustrations: DEREK RIGGS Packaging: THE COMPLETE WORKS; All tracks recorded live at the Kosei Nenkin Hall, Nagoya, on May 23 1981. Mixed at Nimbus 9, Toronto., IRON MAIDEN F.C.: Send s.a.e. to Unit 10, 15, Lotts Rd., London SW10, THIS RECORD IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE HEAD BANGERS, EARTHDOGS AND METAL MERCHANTS AROUND THE WORLD.

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Record one, side A label: A PURGATORY S. Harris Produced by MARTIN BIRCH ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD 3.19, IRN 31 / IRN 31A, 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: a ℗ line, THE COPYRIGHT IN THIS SOUND RECORDING IS OWNED BY EMI RECORDS LTD © 1990 EMI RECORDS LTD; no rights society or Made in line

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Record one, side B label: B GENGHIS KHAN S. Harris Produced by MARTIN BIRCH ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD 3.07, IRN 31 / IRN 31B, EMI box and the same EMI Records Ltd copyright lines

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Record one, side B run-out: IRN 31 B- then 31 B-1-1-1 stamped, the last character a 1

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Record one run-out: a stamped D beside the label edge showing IRN 31 / IRN 31B, taken with the side B shots

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Record one, side A run-out: IRN 31 A- stamped, then at native resolution 31 A-1-1-2, the last character a clear 2

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

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Record two, side A label: A RUNNING FREE REMEMBER TOMORROW Steve Harris/Paul Di'anno Produced and Mixed by IRON MAIDEN and DOUG HALL ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD, IRN 32 / IRN 32A, EMI box

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Record two, side B label: B KILLERS INNOCENT EXILE 3.14 Steve Harris Produced and Mixed by IRON MAIDEN and DOUG HALL ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART III, IRN 32 / IRN 32B, EMI box

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Record two, side B label copyright block: ℗ 1981 Except track 3 ℗ 1990 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd © 1990 EMI Records Ltd; side B run-out IRN 32 B stamped beneath it

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

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

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Record two, side A run-out: IRN 32 A- stamped, then at native resolution 32 A-1-1-2, the last character a 2, with a small hand-scratched mark beneath the matrix that is not legible

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Record two run-out: a stamped D beneath a copyright block reading ℗ 1981 THE COPYRIGHT IN ... IS OWNED BY EMI RECORDS ... © 1990 EMI RECORDS LTD, photographed in sequence with the side A shots

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The photographs

IMG_7174.jpg1 of 23READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

Gatefold double pack sleeve with Purgatory on the front and Maiden Japan on the back, The First Ten Years roundel bottom left of the front. No separate Limited Edition sticker; the notes of release 381973 put IRN 3 on a sticker as well as the spine and back, so this copy has lost it or never had it. Light wear at the corners and edges, a few specks on the black inside panels.
Two black vinyl 12" records, one per single, each with the grey Eddie-under-the-streetlamp labels, pink Iron Maiden logo and red EMI box. Some light scuffs and hairlines in the run-out areas.
No voucher, insert, inner sleeve or extra sticker is visible in the photographs.

What distinguishes this pressing

Labels numbered IRN 31 and IRN 32, the inside gatefold IRN 31 and IRN 32, and IRN 3 with 79 3979 1 on the back: the only vinyl row on the master carrying those numbers is the UK 381973, whose notes place them in exactly those spots.
Run-outs IRN 31 A-1-1-2, IRN 31 B-1-1-1, IRN 32 A-1-1-2, IRN 32 B-1-1-2 with a stamped D: side for side, Variant 3 of 381973 as Discogs records it. The European 2616386 records 7939791-A1 style matrices and the Italian 5293756 7939791-A-21-2-90.
No Made in EEC, no Made in Italy and no SIAE on the labels or sleeve, which the European and Italian rows carry per their notes; no 45 RPM marking either. The barcode 0 077779 397815 is shared with both and only corroborates.

Seven tracks, two sides, and the recording credits

Side A

APurgatory
BGenghis Khan

Side B

C1Running Free
C2Remember Tomorrow
D1Killers
D2Innocent Exile
D3Listen With Nicko! Part III

Purgatory and Genghis Khan produced by Martin Birch. Running Free, Remember Tomorrow, Killers and Innocent Exile produced by Doug Hall and Iron Maiden, recorded live at the Kosei Nenkin Hall, Nagoya, on 23 May 1981 and mixed at Nimbus 9, Toronto. Listen With Nicko! Part III produced by Nicko McBrain. Illustration by Derek Riggs; group photograph by Hiro Ohno; live shots by Rod Smallwood; packaging design by The Complete Works. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd. Pressed by EMI Swindon.

Credits are sourced from Discogs release 383574, the UK CD IRN 3, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing; the UK double 12" is release 381973 (IRN 3). 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 381973 by catalogue number and run-out together, and to Discogs' Variant 3 of it by the four-side run-out set plus the stamped D. The only open detail is the small hand-scratched mark under side 2A's matrix, which Discogs does not record; a raking-light shot would make it legible. Release 381973'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.