The F104 Starfighter-helmet worn by Udo Jürgens at an altitude of 10.000 meters and at supersonic speed, circa 1970

This helmet was worn by Udo Jürgens on a widely reported flight he undertook on his 36th birthday, 30th September 1970.

Udo Jürgens fulfills his biggest birthday wish, whilst also becoming the fastest singer in the world.

On a rainy and chilly day in 1970, Udo Jürgens celebrated his birthday in Jever, Germany, flying in an F104, the fastest plane in the German Luftwaffe.

Sporting his charming smile, Jürgens arrived in a velvet suit and silk button-down. Not quite the outfit meant for sound barrier breaking speeds, Udo changed into a red jumpsuit uniform, complete with helmet and oxygen mask. Together with Colonel Schumacher, Commander of the Weapons School 10, and Press Officer Colonel Knappe, Udo marched to meet his pilot Major Mohr at his aircraft - Alpha. After a final equipment check by pilot Major Mohr, Udo sat down in his speed machine. Strapped in, Udo mentions that in this equipment he won’t be able to sing over the deafening engine noise. On the runway, the Starfighters roared and shot flames several meters long, an amazing and impressive sight. One by one the Starfighters lifted off, shooting into the gloomy clouds. As they rose through the dark rain clouds, they danced, raced, neck to neck, deafening yet graceful. Udo in his Starfighter, Alpha, danced alongside the other two planes, sometimes leaving less than a meter in between each fighter. In this bombastic dance, Udo's plane climbs through the thick clouds, faster and faster. With Udo in the lead, the planes race their way into the sky at almost 200 meters per second. After about a minute, the planes shoot through the clouds and are suddenly surrounded by a blue, sunny sky. At this speed, and at an altitude of almost 11 kilometers, the starfighters break the sound barrier. With a deafening boom, Udo Jürgens became the fastest singer in the world. The birthday boy and his pilot break away from the other planes, dancing, twirling, pirouetting in the sky, the grand finale to the birthday flight. As Alpha finishes its solo and rejoins the other two planes in formation, the starfighters slowly descend into the dark and gloomy clouds, making their way back to familiar ground. Sixty minutes later, Udo, slightly out of breath, comments with a light smile, ‘Maybe flying is more exhausting than singing.’ His biggest birthday wish had finally come true. The helmet, emblazoned with 'Udo' and the starfighter symbol, is a monument to the singer's beloved thirty-sixth birthday and sense of adventure.