Folder 35
Ecuador
303-0156 - an Ecuadorian catalogue number bearing no relation to the EMI numbering used almost everywhere else in this collection.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed but not legible. The deadwax is heavily worn and only fragments resolve at native resolution. This matters because the only entry recording an actual run-out is the standard issue, and its value is the one this copy's deadwax would have to be compared against.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 8762057. Green: in my collection (1 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A) | 11557-EMI 12 — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B) | 11558-EM 12 |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 11 of them
Label: ESTEREO, LADO A, S-11557-EMI-12, (EMD-1006-A)
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Label: FABRICADO POR IFESA - GUAYAQUIL - ECUADOR with the IFESA device
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Label: Spanish sub-titles beside the English ones - (Chico de la luna), (Sueños infinitos), (Puedo jugar con pesadillas), (El mal que los hombres hacen)
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Label: Mezclado por: Martin Birch, (19:50), dop
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Label, other side: (EMD 1006-B), 303-0156, ℗1989, EMI Records, Ltd. (ING.), (19:25) -- the side B S- number is cut off in every frame of this label
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Label: 303-0156 and EMI Records, Ltd (ING)
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Rear sleeve: Prohibida su exportación. Venta autorizada solo en Ecuador
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Rear sleeve: industria fonográfica ecuatoriana and the fonorama device
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Rear sleeve: EMI ESTEREO 303-0156
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Company inner sleeve printed IFESA
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No promotional marking on either label or on the sleeve
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The photographs
image00222.jpg1 of 19READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - standard artwork, Ecuadorian rear with the export prohibition and the Fonorama distributor credit.
- Inner sleeve - an IFESA company sleeve, not a printed lyric bag.
- Labels - yellow with black text and an orange IFESA device. Not the eye/Eddie artwork.
- Vinyl - black, and visibly worn: the deadwax carries heavy scuffing.
What distinguishes this pressing
303-0156- an Ecuadorian catalogue number bearing no relation to the EMI numbering used almost everywhere else in this collection.FABRICADO POR IFESA - GUAYAQUIL - ECUADORprinted on the label, which establishes the country from the record itself.℗1989- a year later than the album, and the second-latest date in this collection after the Russian pressing.- Spanish sub-titles in parentheses beside the English titles, a treatment shared here only with Mexico (folder 27) and Uruguay (folder 8).
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
Settled by the owner on 2026-09-19 -- the closing paragraph of this section says so, and the grade above follows it. What comes first is the photographic case exactly as it stood before that, present tense and all: where it says this copy stops at Narrowed, it means the photographs stop there, which is still true and is why the candidates are still listed.
Narrowed to two. Ecuador and 303-0156 are certain: the label names IFESA in Guayaquil as manufacturer and the rear sleeve restricts sale to Ecuador. The master holds exactly two Ecuadorian vinyl entries and they are near-identical - same catalogue number, same IFESA and Fonorama credits, same note about the Spanish titles. What Discogs records as separating them is the run-out:
The two entries do not record the same field. An earlier version of this entry missed that and built its whole argument on the difference between them:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | What Discogs records | Read from | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8762057 | 11557-EMI 12 / 11558-EM 12 | the run-out | Cannot be excluded. This copy's deadwax is unreadable, so there is nothing to compare it against. |
| 14362142 - Promo | S-11557-EMI-12 / S-11558-EMI-12 | the label | Fits, and closely. This copy's side A label reads S-11557-EMI-12, character for character. |
So the label evidence, such as it is, points at the promotional entry - while nothing visible on this record marks it as a promo, and Discogs describes no promotional marking for that entry either, only the format descriptor. The two facts pull in opposite directions and neither is strong enough to win.
What would settle it: a raking-light photograph of the deadwax, clean enough to read the number etched there. That is the field the standard issue is recorded on, and it is the one this copy cannot currently show.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.
Pinned by the owner, 2026-09-19. Everything above is what the photographs support on their own, and it is left standing unedited. On top of it the owner identifies this copy as the standard issue, Discogs 8762057, and the folder is graded on that. It is an owner's judgement, not a new detail in the frames: withdraw it and the case reverts to the narrowing above.