Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las, Red Bird Label, 1965, value £65

THE Shangri-Las are predominantly famous for Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) and Leader of the Pack, writes MICHAEL BROOKS. Despite the three girl image on this album cover, the band consisted of two pairs of sisters Mary-Ann and Margie Ganser and Betty and Mary Weiss. They were named after a restaurant in the borough of Queens, New York. They had a successful chart career of songs of teenage melodrama, misunderstood adolescents, rebel boyfriends, disapproving parents, foreboding threats of pregnancy and inevitably tragic death. Lead singer Mary Weiss often said: "teenage years are the most confusing time in peoples lives". Leader Of The Pack was their biggest hit and has appeared in the UK charts on three different occasions. It was banned for a short time on its initial release because of all the fighting between mods and rockers that took place in various seaside resorts that summer. A young Billy Joel played the piano on the song and said: "because I wasn't in the musicians union I was never paid"; he also played on their other big hit Remember (Walkin' In The Sand).

The girls continued to chart with songs of what we refer to as teen angst; listen to Give Him A Great Big Kiss, Out On The Streets, Give Us Your Blessing, and Past, Present, and Future featuring a musical orchestration of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata; a controversial song at the time.

Amy Winehouse has always cited The Shangri-Las not only as role models but as an influence. She often included lyrics from Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) into her live performances of her song Back To Black. Apparently, Amy intended to record a number of their songs for a forthcoming album; the song I Can Never Go Home Anymore was top of her list. Lana Del Rey was heavily influenced by them, so was Bette Midler. The opening words on her album The Divine Miss M were "Is she really going out with him?"

I will leave the final words to Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour who described their music as "painted aural pictures". Together with their collection of Greatest Hits Album, girls between the ages of 16 to 66 will love these songs. For the rest of us, they are simply great albums about growing up as a teenager. Not just essential collectables but absolute must haves. You will never grow old listening to songs like these.