Shapiro was born at Bethnal Green Hospital in the East End district of Bethnal Green, London. Her early childhood was spent in a Clapton council house 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 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 sang with her brother Ron occasionally in his youth club skiffle group. She had a deep timbre to her voice, unusual in a girl not yet in her teens: school friends gave her the nickname "Foghorn".
Aged ten, Shapiro was a singer with "Susie and the Hula Hoops," (with her cousin, 60s 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 eventually led her to a young Columbia Records A&R man named John Schroeder, who recorded a demo of Shapiro singing "Birth of the Blues".
In 1961, aged fourteen, she had a UK No. 3 hit with her first single, "Don't Treat Me Like a Child" and two number one hits in the UK, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness". The latter did not top the UK chart until 19 October 1961, by which time Shapiro had reached 15, on 26 September. She had a No. 2 in 1962 with "Tell Me What He Said", achieving her first four single releases in the top three of the UK Singles Chart. Most of her recording sessions were at EMI's studios at Abbey Road in north west London. Her mature voice made her an overnight sensation, as well as the youngest female chart topper in the UK.
Shapiro's final UK Top Ten hit single was with the ballad "Little Miss Lonely", which peaked at No. 8 for two weeks in 1962. Shapiro's recording manager at the time was Norrie Paramor.
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/early spring of 1963, was as one of her supporting acts. During the course of the tour, the Beatles had their first hit single and John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song "Misery" for her, but Shapiro did not record the composition. In 1995, during a This is Your Life 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 (John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison).
In 1962, Shapiro appeared as herself in the Billy Fury film Play It Cool, and played the lead female role in Richard Lester's movie, It's Trad, Dad!, which co-starred another early 60s hitmaker, Craig Douglas. On 31 December 1969, Shapiro appeared on the BBC/ZDF co-production Pop Go The Sixties, singing "Walkin' Back to Happiness".
By the time she was in her late teens, her 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, 50s era. 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 stage musicals, and jazz (being her first love musically).
She 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, where she played one of the main characters until it was taken off air in August 1986.
Between 1984 and 2001, she toured extensively with legendary 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, when she finally bade farewell to show business.
Her autobiography, published in 1993, was entitled 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'
Helen Shapiro has been married since 31 August 1988 to John Judd (real name, John Williams), an actor with numerous roles in British television and cinema.
Tell Me What He Said
Helen Shapiro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He's going with another now
He'll be at the party on Friday night
I'd go there myself, but it wouldn't be right
But if you see him there
Please tell him that I care and that I want him back again
Tell him that and then
Just take him to a side
Tell him how much I cried and I'm begging on my knees
Tell him that and please tell me what he said
If I hurt him I'm sorry
Please tell him that I love him
No matter what the trouble may be
We can talk it over
I've never been so blue
I'll wait right here for you
But then I know I' d like to try
If I should ever die
Tell me what he said
I've lost him but I don't know how
He's going with another now
But if you see him there
Please tell him that I care and that I want him back again
Tell him that and then
Tell me what he said
Just take him to a side
Tell him how much I cried and that I'm beggin' on my knees
Tell him that and please tell me what he said
If I hurt him I'm sorry
Please tell him that I love him
No matter what the trouble may be
We can talk it over
I've never been so blue
I'll wait right here for you
Then I know it might surprise
If I should ever die
Tell me what he said
Tell me what he said
Tell me what he said
The lyrics of Helen Shapiro's song Tell Me What He Said tell the story of heartbreak and regret. The singer has lost her love interest to someone else, and she deeply mourns the loss. She knows he will be attending a party she cannot go to, so she asks a friend to tell him how she feels and that she wants him back. The chorus is an imploration for her friend to reveal what he said in response to her plea.
The song's verses suggest that the singer might be struggling with guilt over potentially hurting her partner. She apologizes for any hurt she might have caused and professes her love for him. It seems that there might have been a communication breakdown in their relationship. However, the chorus's request for her friend to relay what he said implies that the singer is still hopeful that they might reconcile their differences.
The song's overall theme of loss, regret, and hope resonates with anyone who has suffered from a romantic breakup. The melody's upbeat tempo and Helen Shapiro's soulful voice provide a stark contrast to the lyrics' melancholic themes, effectively conveying the singer's conflicting emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
I've lost him but I don't know how
I don't understand why he left me
He's going with another now
He's seeing someone else
He'll be at the party on Friday night
He will attend the party on Friday night
I'd go there myself, but it wouldn't be right
I can't go to the party because it's not appropriate
But if you see him there
If you happen to see him at the party
Please tell him that I care and that I want him back again
Let him know that I still have feelings for him and want to reconcile
Tell him that and then
Inform him of my desires and intentions
Tell me what he said
Please relay back to me any message that he might have said
Just take him to a side
Get him alone for a moment
Tell him how much I cried and I'm begging on my knees
Explain to him the depth of my sadness and how I am desperate for his forgiveness
If I hurt him I'm sorry
If I caused him pain or harm, I apologize
Please tell him that I love him
Let him know that I still love him despite everything
No matter what the trouble may be
Regardless of any issues or conflicts that arose between us
We can talk it over
We can discuss and come to a resolution
I've never been so blue
I've never felt this sad before
I'll wait right here for you
I'll be waiting for him to come back to me
But then I know I'd like to try
But I also realize that trying again might not be successful
If I should ever die
If I were to pass away
Tell me what he said
Please let me know what his last words were to me
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: JEFF BARRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ginkaas
Helen Shapiro is simply one of the greatest female singers of her era, along with Connie Francis and Brenda Lee. Why she wasn't promoted in the U.S. and therefore didn't catch on here is beyond me. She had looks, personality , and talent. Also. great hair!
ginkaas
Sir, I am in complete agreement!
Ken Harte
What a voice for a young girl one of my favorites
Den The cockeyed camper
I bet if she would have had a different manager she would have been bigger and gone further with her Career. What a voice she had or even has. I am looking for some of her recording on cd and I am 62 years of age and never heard of her until 3 weeks ago. What a voice we have missed out on over the years here in the states.
Den The cockeyed camper
@C.O.G. Forevermore That was the first song of hers that I ran across and enjoyed the heck out of it. What a voice. I knew about her and the Beatles and how her manager didn't let her record the song they made for her what a mistake he made.
C.O.G. Forevermore
She had her own show with the Beatles as backup. She was number one in the UK, before the Beatles became popular. Check out Helen Shapiro with Beatles, or look who it is.
ginkaas
I am an American am in full agreement. Helen ranks right up there with Connie Francis and Brenda Lee. Her voice is wonderful. I am 68 and .remember this time period. The U.S.A. was cheated out of a real talent. I came across " You Don't Know" last year and was flabbergasted a 14 year sang this song. A real talent!
frankie hunter
One of the greatest mysteries of pop music was that she never had a hit in USA but was popular all over the world.
Israel Centre
Helen Shapiro is such a legend! She was only 14 when she recorded Walking Back to Happiness🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
raincoatriver
Still my favorite female singer. What a voice.