Folder 38
Russia
GALA RECORDS, INC. on the label, the Russian licensee.
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-3…, consistent with the - 3 U - 1 - suffix Discogs records for this release and not with the UK reissue's EMD-1006-B-2-1-1-.
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 - — copy 31 |
| ✗ | 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 — 7 of them
Label: GALA RECORDS, INC. with its device
image00161, image00162, image00165
Label: FA 3247 and EMD 1006, EMI logo, 33⅓ RPM
image00162, image00163
Label: ℗ 1988 Original recordings made by EMI Records Ltd, © 1988 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd.
image00162
Run-out, side B, etched: EMD-1006-B-3…
image00162, image00163
Rear sleeve: ⊙ FA 3247, TC-FA 3247, CD: TC-FA 3247
image00174
Insert: blue double-sided lyric and credit sheet
image00169
A separate paper item carrying a Cyrillic rubber stamp
image00157
The photographs
image00157.jpg1 of 20READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - the EMI Fame sleeve, printed for the UK market and used here for a Russian licensed pressing.
- Insert - a blue printed lyric sheet.
- Labels - plain silver-grey with black text, crediting Gala Records, Inc. Not the eye/Eddie artwork.
- Vinyl - black.
- Loose paper item - a sheet carrying a Cyrillic rubber stamp, photographed with the record. Its text is not resolved here and no claim is made about what it says.
What distinguishes this pressing
GALA RECORDS, INC.on the label, the Russian licensee.- A side B run-out ending
-3…, against the UK reissue's-B-2-. - A second copy of the same release as folder 31, so the collection holds the Russian pressing twice.
- A UK-printed Fame sleeve around a Russian-pressed record, which is why its rear 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, on the same two details that settled folder 31.
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, with a side B run-out ending - 3 U - 1 -. |
| 3696589 - UK, 1991 | Same catalogue number, but its labels credit EMI with no Gala line and its side B run-out is EMD-1006-B-2-1-1-. That is folder 36 in this collection. |
The comparison is side B against side B, and that matters. A -3U- suffix is not territory-specific: the UK reissue carries EMD-1006-A-3U-1-1- on its side A, and the UK original has a variant with -B-3U- too. What separates these two is that on side B the Russian pressing reads -3U- where the UK reissue reads -2-1-1-. The Gala Records credit printed on the label is the primary discriminator here; the run-out corroborates it.
The collection now holds both sides of this pair, which is the useful part: the UK reissue and the Russian one sit next to each other under one catalogue number and are told apart by a label credit and one character in the deadwax.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs.