Waiting on a friend - Rolling Stones

I don't have many Rolling Stones singles which may seem strange for a collector such as me, but the fact is, I only like a few of their songs, and the ones I want to have are often too expensive to warrant me buying them. For some reason any Rolling Stones single commands a high price. Therefore I was quite surprised to find this one for one measly euro.

'Waiting on a friend' reached number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but only managed number 50 in the UK singles chart and number 9 in the Dutch Top 40. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6950
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'Waiting on a friend' / 'Little t+a'

Emotional rescue - The Rolling Stones

The Bee Gees did it, Prince would also do it, and Mick Jagger tried his hand at it too: singing in falsetto. The song is notable as one of the earliest songs by the group to show the growing rift between Jagger and Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is believed to have disliked the disco-like direction in which Jagger was trying to take the band, although this may have been exaggerated by the media.

Jagger said the song was about "a girl who's in some sort of manhood problems", not that she was going crazy but she's "just a little bit screwed up and he wants to be the one to help her out". The song became a fairly big hit for the Stones, peaking at number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6551
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 1 December 2021
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Emotional rescue' / 'Down in the hole'

Undercover of the night - Rolling Stones

'Undercover of the night' was largely composed by Mick Jagger. Keith Richards even commented: 'Mick had this one all mapped out, I just played on it'. The lyric sees Jagger explore the then-ongoing political corruption in Central and South America. According to him, the song was 'heavily influenced by William Burroughs' 'Cities of the red night'.'

The single was promoted with a music video which included some violent scenes, causing it to be censored or even banned in several territories. It didn't hinder its commercial success: 'Undercover of the night' reached number 11 in the UK singles chart, number 9 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4801
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Undercover of the night' / 'All the way down'

Miss you - The Rolling Stones

'Miss you' is the only Rolling Stones single in my collection. That's not to say they didn't make any good music: I am certainly looking for one or two more - but that's about it.

The song was mostly written by singer Mick Jagger, although Keith Richards is also credited for the composition. Mick Jagger and Ron Wood insist that the song wasn't conceived as a disco song, while Keith Richards said just the opposite. In any case, it did turn out as a bit of a disco track. The single was released in the summer of 1978 and reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 902
Found: All that music, Leiden, June 23, 1989
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Miss you' / 'Far away eyes'