Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

as possessing "the maturity and sensibilities of someone far beyond their teen years", Shapiro recorded two 1961 UK chart toppers, " You Don't Know" and "

Walkin' Back to Happiness "Walkin' Back to Happiness" is a 1961 single by Helen Shapiro. The song was written by John Schroeder and Mike Hawker. With backing orchestrations by Norrie Paramor, the song was released in the United Kingdom on the Columbia (EMI) Colum ...

", when she was just fourteen years old. Shapiro first achieved prominence in 1961 when her debut single, " Don't Treat Me Like a Child", reached No. 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. After the two million-sellers, her success continued in 1962 with further hits including "

Tell Me What He Said "Tell Me What He Said" is a 1960 pop song written by Jeff Barry. The song was first recorded by American singer Ginny Arnell, as the B-side of her single "Look Who's Talkin'".

" and film appearances in '' Play It Cool'' and '' It's Trad, Dad!''. In 1963, Shapiro toured with the Beatles as her supporting act. Since the 1970s, she has branched out as a performer in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and

; she appeared in the West End and toured extensively with the British jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.

Early life

Shapiro was born at Bethnal Green Hospital in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

district of

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

, London. Her early childhood was spent in a Clapton council flat in the London Borough of Hackney, where she attended Northwold Primary School and Clapton Park Comprehensive School until Christmas 1961. She is the granddaughter of

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

immigrants; her parents, who were piece-workers in the garment industry, attended Lea Bridge Road Synagogue. The family moved from Clapton to the Victoria Park area of Hackney, on the Parkside Estate, when she was nine. "It was, and remains, a beautiful place," she said in a 2006 interview. Although too poor to own a record player, Shapiro's parents encouraged music in their home (she had to borrow a neighbour's player to hear her first single). Shapiro played banjolele as a child and occasionally sang with her brother Ron in the

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United Stat ...

group of his youth club. She had a deep timbre to her voice, unusual in a girl not yet in her teens; school friends nicknamed her "Foghorn". At the age of ten, Shapiro was a singer with "Susie and the Hula Hoops" (together with her cousin, 1960s singer Susan Singer), a school band which included Marc Bolan (then using his real name of Mark Feld) as guitarist. At 13, she started singing lessons at The Maurice Burman School of Modern Pop Singing, based in London's Baker Street, after the school produced singing star Alma Cogan. "I had always wanted to be a singer. I had no desire to slavishly follow Alma's style, but chose the school merely because of Alma's success", she said in a 1962 interview. Burman's connections included John Schroeder, a young songwriter and A&R man at EMI's

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, who recorded a demo of Shapiro singing "Birth of the Blues" and, motivated by her singing, signed her to the label.

Early career

In February 1961, aged fourteen, Shapiro released her first single, " Don't Treat Me Like a Child". The song was recorded at EMI Recording Studios, Abbey Road with a nine-piece band under the direction of

Martin Slavin Martin Slavin (19 February 1922 – 25 May 1988) was a British composer and music director. Biography Slavin was born in London. He served in the army as a Band Sergeant, and after demobilization formed his own seven piece band, working ...

. After Helen's appearance on the ITV music programme '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'', the record took off and reached No. 3 in the

in May 1961. According to

, Shapiro's rich and mature voice made her "an extraordinary new phenomenon on the British pop scene." Her next single, the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

" You Don't Know", topped the chart in August. The follow-up, "

", was written by John Schroeder and

Mike Hawker Mike Hawker (born June 25, 1956) was a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 28th District from 2003 to 2017. He served as Chair of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee. He ...

and featured backing orchestrations by Norrie Paramor. The single quickly reached the top of the chart with far greater sales than her last in October 1961, by which time Shapiro had turned 15. She had initially been reluctant to record the song as she considered it old-fashioned and corny. Both of Shapiro's No. 1 singles sold over a million copies, earning her two gold discs. Her mature voice made her an overnight sensation, as well as the youngest female chart topper in the UK. Shapiro's next single release, "

Tell Me What He Said "Tell Me What He Said" is a 1960 pop song written by Jeff Barry. The song was first recorded by American singer Ginny Arnell, as the B-side of her single "Look Who's Talkin'".

", peaked at No. 2, achieving her first four single releases in the top three of the

. Her success led to film roles; she appeared as herself in the Billy Fury film '' Play It Cool'' and played the lead female role in Richard Lester's '' It's Trad, Dad!''.Her final UK Top Ten hit single was with the ballad " Little Miss Lonely", which peaked at No. 8 for two weeks in 1962. Before she was sixteen years old, Shapiro had been voted Britain's "Top Female Singer". The Beatles' first national tour of Britain, in the late winter and early spring of 1963, was as one of her supporting acts. During the course of the tour,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

wrote the song " Misery" for her; but Shapiro's producer, Norrie Paramor, turned it down, and she did not record the composition. In 1995, during an episode of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' highlighting her life and career, Shapiro revealed, "It was actually turned down on my behalf before I ever heard it, actually. I never got to hear it or give an opinion. It's a shame, really." Shapiro lip-synched her then-current single, "Look Who It Is", on the British television programme '' Ready Steady Go!'' with three of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

(

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

). On 31 December 1969, Shapiro appeared in the BBC- ZDF co-production, '' Pop Go The Sixties'', singing "Walkin' Back to Happiness". By the time she was in her late teens, Shapiro's career as a pop singer was on the wane. With the new wave of beat music and newer female singers such as Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw and Lulu, Shapiro appeared old-fashioned and emblematic of the pre-Beatles era of the 1950s. As her pop career declined, Shapiro turned to cabaret appearances, touring the workingmen's clubs of the north-east of England. Her final cabaret show took place at Peterlee's Senate Club on 6 May 1972, where she announced she was giving up touring as she was "travel-weary" and had had enough of "living out of a suitcase". Later, after a change of mind, she branched out as a performer in

and

, one of her musical interests.

Later career

Shapiro played the role of Nancy in Lionel Bart's musical '' Oliver!'' in London's West End and appeared in a British television soap opera, ''

Albion Market ''Albion Market'' was a British soap opera, set in a covered market in Salford, in the northwest of England. It was intended as a companion to fellow ITV soap '' Coronation Street'', starting at 7:00 pm on Fridays and 7.15 pm on Sundays. Howe ...

'', where she played one of the main characters until it was taken off air in August 1986. Shapiro also played the part of Sally Bowles in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'' and starred in '' Seesaw'' to great critical acclaim. Between 1984 and 2001, she toured extensively with the British jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band, whilst still performing her own jazz and pop concerts. Her one-woman show, ''Simply Shapiro'', ran from 1999 to the end of 2002. Her autobiography, published in 1993, is titled ''Walking Back to Happiness''. She appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's ''The Reunion'' in August 2012. In March 2013 she appeared on BBC Radio 3's ''Good Morning Sunday''. Since 2015, she has played in a trio called Hebron with Chrissy Rodgers and Simon Elman. They are promoted via Shapiro's ministry umbrella, Manna Music.

Personal life

In 1982, Shapiro met John Judd (real name John Williams), an actor with numerous roles in British television and cinema. They were married on 31 August 1988. In 1987, she became a Messianic Jew. She temporarily retired from show business in 2002.

Discography

In popular culture

In the "Rock Notes" sketch on '' Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'', Eric Idle jokingly refers to "Helen Shapiro" as the last of many names with which a particular rock band reinvents itself after every break-up: "That last name, their favourite, had to be dropped following an injunction, and they split up again."

References

External links

45-rpm webpage
*
Helen Shapiro
official site
Helen’s profile on Ready Steady Girls
* ttps://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303544604576433814108614294 WSJ.com: Helen Shapiro, Once Bigger Than the Beatles. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Helen 1946 births Living people English film actresses English women singers English contraltos Jewish English musicians English people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish singers Messianic Jews People from Bethnal Green English child singers English television actresses Jewish jazz musicians Jewish non-fiction writers Jewish women writers English Jewish writers Columbia Graphophone Company artists