February 2: The Beatles and . . . Helen Shapiro

The Beatles began their first British tour on this date in 1963 as the opening act for Helen Shapiro. Shapiro had her first hit single in 1961 at age 14, and had been voted Britain’s “Top Female Singer” by the time the Beatles emerged. During the tour, the Beatles had their first hit single (“Love Me Do”) and Lennon and McCartney wrote “Misery” for her, but it was “actually turned down on my behalf before I ever heard it,” Shapiro later reported. “I never got to hear it or give an opinion. It’s a shame, really.” Her pop career quickly declined in her late teen years, though she remained a cabaret, stage, and jazz singer for more than 40 years. Over the past two decades her music reflected her turn to Christianity and/or messianic Judaism. For a video of Helen Shapiro lip-synching her hit song, “Look Who It Is,” to John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, look below.

“I got on great with them and John was like a brother to me. Very protective.” —Helen Shapiro