Rubber ball - Marty Wilde

Today Marty Wilde celebrates his 73rd birthday. That in itself is a great achievement, but even more so when you start to realise that 55 years after starting his career with a string of top 10 hits in the UK, he is still performing across that country.

'Rubber ball', released in January 1961, was his last top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 in the UK singles chart. I was quite stunned to find this mint copy yesterday, in the stall of a dealer who was selling everything for just 1 euro. Normally one is expected to pay much more for old gems like this.

My collection: 7" single no. 5316
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rubber ball' / 'Like makin' love'