Folder 34
Europe
064 on the rear sleeve, where three of the candidates' Discogs entries state 038 in so many words.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed. Both sides carry 7902581-A-01 and 7902581-B-01 with Sterling and the two hand-etched messages. Every candidate in this family shares that string, so it confirms the family and cannot separate the copies.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 368980. Green: in my collection (0 of 4). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 1) | 7902581-A-01 "VERY DIRECT METAL" Sterling 1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 1) | 7902581-B-01 "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT BOLLOCKS" Sterling 2 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 2) | 7902581-A-01 "VERY DIRECT METAL" Sterling 1 |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 2) | 7902581-B-01 "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT BOLLOCKS" Sterling 1 |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 9 of them
Label: 064-79 0258 1, GEMA/STEMRA, LC 0542, DMM
image00250, image00251
Label: track times printed
image00250
Label rim, German: ALLE URHEBER- UND LEISTUNGSSCHUTZRECHTE VORBEHALTEN. KEIN VERLEIH!…
image00250
Rear sleeve: ⊙ 064 and boxed 7 90258 1
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Rear sleeve: France: PM 264
image00254
Rear sleeve: boxed 7 90258 4 and 7 90258 2, and DMM is a trademark of TELDEC
image00254
Run-out, etched: 7902581-A-01 / 7902581-B-01, Sterling
image00243, image00245
Run-out, hand etched: VERY DIRECT METAL and IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT BOLLOCKS
image00241, image00247
Insert: Eddie poster and blue double-sided lyric sheet
image00256, image00257
The photographs
image00241.jpg1 of 16READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - standard artwork.
- Inserts - an Eddie poster and a blue printed lyric sheet.
- Labels - the eye/Eddie artwork, fully printed, with German rim text.
- Vinyl - black.
What distinguishes this pressing
064on the rear sleeve, where three of the candidates' Discogs entries state038in so many words.France: PM 264, where the two later repressings carryPM 211.- Fully printed labels, which is what excludes the promotional copy in this family: Discogs caches that one as
Promo, White Label. - A second copy of the same release as folder 30, so the collection now holds the original European DMM issue twice.
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, by the same test that settled folder 30. Note carefully how that test works: Discogs does not record a back-cover code for 368980, so nothing here matches 064 positively. What excludes the others is that their own entries state 038 on the back cover in so many words, and this sleeve reads 064. The price code is the value that matches positively.
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Rear code | Price code | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 368980 | - | PM 264 | Matches. The original European issue, April 1988. |
| 4025140 | 038 | - | Discogs: “038 code on back cover and 064 code on label”. This copy's back cover reads 064. |
| 11104240 | 038 | PM 211 | Excluded twice over. |
| 25979638 | 038 | PM 211 | Excluded twice over. |
| 18637525 | - | PM 264 | Cached as Promo, White Label and stamped “Unverk. Musterplatte” on both cover faces. This copy's labels are the fully printed eye/Eddie design and neither face carries a stamp. |
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.