Hidden Cats on Iron Maiden Album Covers - post other albums with hidden messages!

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So apparently there's cats on every maiden album cover (cat with a halo seems a recurring theme plus hundreds of other hidden messages)

An egyptian eye is above Eddie's left shoulder. (Powerslave) On the side walk between Eddie's legs is a cat with a halo. A cat is seen in a window on the Killers album cover, and a cat with a halo is in the crowd on the Run To The Hills cover

These are some of the hidden messages within the Somewhere In Time artwork. Some of them are well hidden, others are not. The easiest way to see all of the hidden messages is too look at the vinyl version of the album as the CD is much smaller and cuts lots of the detail from the art. This article was adapted from the Iron Maiden FAQ by Tore Aursand

Ruskin Arms reference (old pub they started playing at)
Clock says 23:58 (2 Minutes To Midnight)
West Ham 7 Arsenal 3 - soccer score, showing their favorite team West Ham
well in the lead. Incidentally, West Ham are THE IRONS
Aces High bar, complete with a spitfire flying above
The Rainbow bar (another old club they frequented in the early days)
Live After Death, Blade Runner on the movie theater
The movie theater is the Philip K. Dick cinema, who is the author of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", on which the movie Blade Runner is based.
Marquee Club (another old club they frequented in the old days)
Phantom Opera House
"Bollocks again and again" under "Phantom Opera House". This might be a reference to the hidden "Bollocks" message on the Powerslave cover ('Bollokz is written on the wall in the bottom right of the Powerslave cover)
Ancient Mariner Seafood Restaurant
Herbert Ails on the overpass (probably a reference to Frank Herbert, author of DUNE, who wouldn't allow Maiden to use it as a song title)
"Tonight GYPSY'S KISS", under the 23:58 sign (hard to see) - reference to Steve Harris' very first band
Hammerjacks - a reference to one of the band's favorite bars in the US,
Hammerjacks Night Club in Baltimore, MD. The Night Club closed on Jan 1 94.The concert hall is still open, however.
Long Beach Arena
Nicko is dressed in old-time flight goggles (reference to him being a pilot).
Nicko is also wearing a shirt saying: "Iron What?"
On the back cover there is Icarus falling from the Sun with burning wings in the top right corner, in front of the Bradbury Hotel. This of course refers to "The Flight Of Icarus."
The "Bradbury Hotels International" sign - is this possibly a reference to the popular futuristic author Ray Bradbury (author of such classics as "The Martian Chronicles", "Ice Nine", etc.)?
If you look closely, you can see the shadow of the reaper on the back cover in front of the pyramids.
The pyramids refer to the sleeve of "Powerslave"
All the Japanese around the covers could be connected to "Maiden Japan" and IRON MAIDEN's other performances there.
"Maggies revenge" on the back cover refers to Margaret Thatcher. She and the British government had a dispute with IRON MAIDEN back in 1980/1981 with the "Sanctuary" and "Women In Uniform" singles, depicting her as dead on the ground (killed by Eddie, of course) and hiding behind a wall observing Eddie picking up chicks, respectively.
The street Eddie is standing on is Acacia Avenue, a reference of course to "Charlotte the Harlot" and "22 Acacia Avenue", the Charlotte series.(You can see this above the IRON MAIDEN poster on the extreme right side)
In one of the windows on Acacia Avenue, you can see a girl (supposedly Charlotte the Harlot herself) sitting in a chair.
Bruce Dickinson is holding a brain, ala PIECE OF MIND.
Tehe's bar is where they got the guys to sing backup vocals in the sing-along part in "Heaven Can Wait."
Batman standing under Tehe's bar sign
Tardis from Dr. Who is above the Rainbow Club sign
Asimov Foundation Building in background
Tyrell Corp. right above the causeway (replicant manufacturer in Blade Runner)
Cat with halo, which seems to pop up all over the place
Eye of Horus above Webster sign to left of Eddie's gun
One of Eddie's eyes is actually a 'laser'. This probably comes from the "2 Minutes To Midnight single"
There is a litter box right under Eddie's left leg attached to the lamppost. This is exactly the same as the litter box attached to the light post on the IRON MAIDEN debut album, to the left of Eddie next to the wall.
There is a metal plate that connects Eddie's nose to the top of his head. If you look at the wall to the right of sign that has the football score on it, you will see that little metal plate with two screws that Eddie always has on his head (since the PIECE OF MIND era at least, when he was lobotimized. The screw isthere now to keep his head all together in one piece! - Eddie Got his brain back at the end of the Visions Of The Beast DVD).
There are also these neon signs, one of which says something in Hebrew, the other one in Russian. The Hebrew bit probably means "God" (?), the Russian bit is pronounced KEPHIR and means "yoghurt". This is (or rather was) a rather common sign on the buildings indicating a milk-store in Russia.
There are three people climbing down behind of Eddie at the Websters Bar as in the end of the 2 Minutes to Midnight video
Theres a Sanctuary music shop under the Phantom Opera House Bar
This is a very boring painting - backwards message just behind Eddie's right leg

http://www.umnet.com/pic/diy/screensaver/aef667ba-a6a3.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mlr9O0o7dq8/S9N2j29EALI/AAAAAAAABuI/cYeMDMzWuMk/s1600/killers.jpg
http://www.ironmaidenwallpaper.com/files/single_iron_maiden_run_to_the_hills.jpg
http://covers.a-go.in/max/iron_maiden_-_1986_somewhere_in_time.jpg

Anymore cats on maiden covers?
What other albums contain hidden messages?

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 20:15 (thirteen years ago)

can see all the cats except for the run to the hills one. Can anyone see it?
Any on the other albums not mentioned here? Always thought it was an urban myth

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 21:09 (thirteen years ago)

can see all the cats except for the run to the hills one. Can anyone see it?

I think it's right above the flames on the far-right side, almost off the edge?

pplains, Tuesday, 21 February 2012 21:12 (thirteen years ago)

im not sure. Anyone got the actual vinyl they could check?

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 21:21 (thirteen years ago)

I thought skot would've posted here

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 08:29 (thirteen years ago)

I think it's right above the flames on the far-right side, almost off the edge?

― pplains, Tuesday, February 21, 2012 1:12 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

yeah, this must be what ppl are referring to. i've got a copy (7"), and it doesn't look much like a cat to me.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/single_iron_maiden_run_to_the_hills.jpg

Little GTFO (contenderizer), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 08:51 (thirteen years ago)

Fleetwood Mac had a thing about Penguins on their album covers.

(how long did it last?)

Mark G, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 10:07 (thirteen years ago)

Not hidden as such but you have to look closely to see it , there's a photo of L. Ron Hubbard on the cover of the Incredible String Band's "Earthspan":

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MyU-cuO4miA/Tx76qsF185I/AAAAAAAAT0I/fSUqde4DAhk/s1600/cover.jpg

... it's on the wall behind Licorice in the photo where's she's playing piano... I'm not expecting you to be able to see it from the image above and it would be obv. impossible to see on a CD cover.

Charles Kennedy Jumped Up, He Called 'Oh No'. (Tom D.), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 11:46 (thirteen years ago)

I used to have a large wall poster of the Powerslave album cover, it was even better for spotting stuff than the album. There's all sorts of things hidden in the Hieroglyphics on the pyramid. A hieroglyph of Mickey Mouse springs to mind. When walking home from school we used to go into the shop that sold them and pore over over them endlessly. Well, those and the posters of Linda Lusardi and Maria Whitaker.

ringworm, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 12:16 (thirteen years ago)

I can't see any of these cats, except for the one pointed out by Contenderizer. Where are the others?

Tuomas, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 12:44 (thirteen years ago)

window top right of Killers
on the pavement
http://www.nuclearblast.de/static/articles/122/122279.jpg/1000x1000.jpg

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 12:56 (thirteen years ago)

next to the pillar below pizza hut inbetween dudes ankles

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 12:57 (thirteen years ago)

Window top right looks just grey to me, but there appears to be a cat on the roof, next to the chimney?

I don't see any cats on the pavenment in Powerslave, just humans. Where's the cat?

Tuomas, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:00 (thirteen years ago)

yeah youre right its a chimney not a window. look closer at big images in powerslave..

pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:11 (thirteen years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/8cyFA.jpg

carl agatha, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:37 (thirteen years ago)

Somewhere in Time cat easiest one to find.

pplains, Wednesday, 22 February 2012 14:22 (thirteen years ago)


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