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.
Walking Back to Happiness
Helen Shapiro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What loneliness can do
Since I've been away
I have loved you more each day
Walking back to happiness, woopah oh yeah yeah
Said goodbye to loneliness, woopah oh yeah yeah
I never knew I'd miss you
Walking back to happiness
I shared with you (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
I'm making up for things we said, woopah oh yeah yeah
And mistakes to which they led, woopah oh yeah yeah
I shouldn't have gone away
So I'm coming back today
Walking back to happiness I threw away (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
Walking back to happiness with you
Said farewell to loneliness I knew
Laid aside foolish pride
Learnt the truth from tears I cried
Spread the news I'm on my way, woopah oh yeah yeah
All my blues have blown away, woopah oh yeah yeah
I'm bringing you love so true
'Cause that's what I owe to you
Walking back to happiness I shared with you (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
Walking back to happiness with you
Said farewell to loneliness I knew
Laid aside foolish pride
Learnt the truth from tears I cried
Spread the news I'm on my way, woopah oh yeah yeah
All my blues have blown away, woopah oh yeah yeah
I'm bringing you love so true
'Cause that's what I owe to you
Walking back to happiness I shared with you (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
Walking back to happiness again
Walking back to happiness again
Walking back to happiness again
"Walking Back to Happiness" is a Helen Shapiro song that speaks of a lover's return to a relationship after a period of separation. The lyrics detail the feelings of loneliness and regret that the singer experienced while away, expressing her love for her partner as she "walks back to happiness" with them. It is a catchy song that blends elements of early rock and roll with pop and is a classic tune that is loved by many.
The song's lyrics detail the feelings of the singer as she makes her way back to her lover after a separation. The line "Funny, but it’s true / What loneliness can do" speaks to the idea that sometimes it takes being away from someone to fully realize just how much we love them. The chorus, with its repeating mantra of "Walking back to happiness," represents a determination to rekindle what was lost and foster a renewed sense of happiness and fulfillment. It is an uplifting tune that speaks to the power of love and the importance of relationships in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Funny, but it's true
Loneliness can make us do strange things, even if they seem silly.
What loneliness can do
Loneliness can cause one to do things they wouldn't normally do.
Since I've been away
Being away has made me realize how much I love you.
I have loved you more each day
My love for you has grown stronger with each passing day.
Walking back to happiness, woopah oh yeah yeah
Returning to you fills me with joy and happiness.
Said goodbye to loneliness, woopah oh yeah yeah
Leaving behind loneliness and sadness to be with you again.
I never knew I'd miss you
I didn't realize how much I needed you until I was away.
Now I know what I must do
I understand that being with you is what makes me happy.
Walking back to happiness
Going back to the love and contentment I feel when I'm with you.
I shared with you (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
The happiness I feel is because of the loving relationship we share.
I'm making up for things we said, woopah oh yeah yeah
I want to put the past behind us and move forward with our relationship.
And mistakes to which they led, woopah oh yeah yeah
I acknowledge the errors we've made and I want to fix them.
I shouldn't have gone away
I regret leaving you and making us both unhappy.
So I'm coming back today
I'm making a change and returning to you to make things right.
Walking back to happiness I threw away (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
I left behind the love and happiness we once had, but I want to make it right and return to that.
Said farewell to loneliness I knew
I'm happy to leave loneliness behind and be with you again.
Laid aside foolish pride
I realize that holding onto pride is not worth losing the love I have for you.
Learnt the truth from tears I cried
I've come to understand how important you are to me, and my tears brought that realization forth.
Spread the news I'm on my way, woopah oh yeah yeah
Letting others know that I'm returning to you, and that I'm happy to do so.
All my blues have blown away, woopah oh yeah yeah
Leaving behind sadness and gloom, and returning to happiness with you.
I'm bringing you love so true
My love for you is pure and true, and I want to show you that.
'Cause that's what I owe to you
You deserve my love and devotion, and that's what I want to give you.
Walking back to happiness I shared with you (yay, yay, yay, yay ba dum be do)
I'm returning to the love and happiness we once shared, and I'm excited to do so.
Walking back to happiness again
I'm returning to a happy and fulfilling life with you by my side.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL HAWKER, JOHN FRANCIS SCHROEDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pickettywitchoriginal
One of my mum favourite songs,she passed away today that’s why I’m here I needed to hear miss Shapiro and remember my mother smiling and dancing like nobody else was there. RIP mam 🌹
@martinamassey5379
Bless you it's hard my own mum passed 3yrs ago on xmass.. I grew up listening to this music my beautiful mum used to sing with a band back in the 50's and it's this music she sung. X
@pickettywitchoriginal
@@martinamassey5379 I’m sorry for your loss,it’s not easy.bittersweet memories 🥰
@martinamassey5379
❤️
@callummcdonald5625
❤️
@rubygreta1
Interesting story. She had five top 10 hits from 1961 to 1962 in the UK, including two #1's. By 1963 her career was pretty much over. She was an old-fashioned singer who was steamrolled by The Beatles, Stones, and others. Could not make the transition.
@apachemoonshine2355
They dont make songs like this now adays. Brilliant song
@davidoverholt251
If you were young and lucky enough to hear Helen's voice back in the early 60's, you would never forget her!
@davidoverholt251
Still playing this voice into my 70's, and bless Helen that she still can sing these days! PTL for her great voice!
@Starrman69
Ahhh, I was such a young lad back in '61...loved this song and her voice!