Glenda Collins – Nostalgia Central

English pop singer Glenda Collins was born in Stoke Newington (London) on 16 December 1943.

At the age of 14, she entered – and won – a Carroll Levis talent contest and subsequently appeared in his show at the Empire in London’s Finsbury Park. She made her television debut in Cool For Cats and landed a recording contract with Decca.

After her three singles with them – Crazy Guy (1960), Oh How I Miss You Tonight (1961), and Head over Heels in Love (1961) – failed to chart, she was dropped by the label.

She subsequently recorded eight singles with independent record producer Joe Meek – I Lost My Heart at the Fairground (1963), If You’ve Got to Pick a Baby (1963), Baby It Hurts (1964), Lollipop (1964), Johnny Loves Me (1965), Thou Shalt Not Steal (1965), Something I’ve Got to Tell You (1966) and It’s Hard to Believe It (1966).

The singles often featured house bands, The Tornados and The Outlaws (including guitarist Ritchie Blackmore) on the tracks, which were issued via His Master’s Voice and Pye.

Collins was the only female singer Meek regularly worked with, and his suicide in 1967 effectively ended her recording career.

She retired at the end of the 1960s following a few years on the cabaret circuit.

She briefly came out of retirement in 1999 to record a version of Avenues and Alleyways (the theme from The Protectors) for a compilation album of cult TV themes, and released an album of new tracks – Second Chance – in December 2022.