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Post by sayne on Jul 26, 2008 19:52:15 GMT -5
In the Helen Shapiro video on YouTube of "Look Who It Is", she playfully slapped George's hand away and he reacted with a much more violent fake hit in her face. I was taken a bit back by it, and I'm pretty liberal. Yeah, it was all in good fun and the producer probably told George to do it, but in today's context, it seemed a bit . . . wrong.
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Jul 26, 2008 20:40:16 GMT -5
In the Helen Shapiro video on YouTube of "Look Who It Is", she playfully slapped George's hand away and he reacted with a much more violent fake hit in her face. I was taken a bit back by it, and I'm pretty liberal. Yeah, it was all in good fun and the producer probably told George to do it, but in today's context, it seemed a bit . . . wrong. I did, too. Caught me way off guard...
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Post by OldFred on Jul 26, 2008 21:33:50 GMT -5
Here it is, Senior Winces.
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Post by mikev on Jul 26, 2008 21:51:50 GMT -5
Ah yes...the first video clue ever in the Paul is dead fiasco.
Actually up to now...I had never ever seen that video, nor have I ever seen or heard of Helen Shapiro before. And by breakfast tomorrow, I'll probably forget her. She's no Lulu.
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Joseph McCabe
Very Clean
A rebel to his last breath ...
Posts: 912
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Jul 26, 2008 22:24:46 GMT -5
Yeah, it was all in good fun and the producer probably told George to do it, but in today's context, it seemed a bit . . . wrong. Yes, knowing that he was directed to it (almost for sure), I didn't wince too much ... but it did look bad. BUT I did wince at John Lennon pulling the "spastic" face again. He did it so much during the mania days, it almost became his trademark. Imagine doing it these days ... he'd be pilloried!
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Jul 26, 2008 23:46:01 GMT -5
Yeah, it was all in good fun and the producer probably told George to do it, but in today's context, it seemed a bit . . . wrong. Yes, knowing that he was directed to it (almost for sure), I didn't wince too much ... but it did look bad. BUT I did wince at John Lennon pulling the "spastic" face again. He did it so much during the mania days, it almost became his trademark. Imagine doing it these days ... he'd be pilloried! Good point. I've often thought that, too.
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Post by sayne on Jul 27, 2008 1:54:38 GMT -5
Here it is, Senior Winces. Aside from the bad pun, it's "Senor", not "Senior." And, if you got those wrong, then "Winces" probably isn't misspelled intentionally.
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Post by vectisfabber on Jul 27, 2008 4:47:02 GMT -5
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Post by vectisfabber on Jul 27, 2008 4:48:24 GMT -5
Helen Shapiro had a number of hits as a child star (one of those adolescent singers with a huge voice) in the immediate pre-Beatles era. She still performs on the cabaret circuit as a smoky-voiced jazz chanteuse.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jul 27, 2008 5:53:41 GMT -5
Jeez, it was just in fun, folks. Means nothing.
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Post by OldFred on Jul 27, 2008 8:05:23 GMT -5
Here it is, Senior Winces. Aside from the bad pun, it's "Senor", not "Senior." And, if you got those wrong, then "Winces" probably isn't misspelled intentionally. I myself being Hispanic, It was a misspelling. Winces was a pun which alluded to the Ed Sullivan connection, oh VERY senior member of this group, being 3 years older than Mick Jagger.
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Post by OldFred on Jul 27, 2008 8:09:19 GMT -5
Helen Shapiro was a major star in the early 60's and The Beatles toured as her opening act in 1963. Because of the group's growing popularity, the billing was switched with Shapiro opening for The Beatles, which embarrassed the Fabs but Shapiro took it in good spirits.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 27, 2008 16:31:01 GMT -5
Yeah, that scene is disquieting. I am not sure she knew George was doing that as she flinches. I am sure that her slapping George's hand was rehearsed(it is in the lyrics, afterall) but George's response seems to be "Little George" trying to be funny.
I thought that John Lennon was totally hilarious. He had great comedy timing. Let's face it, this skit was dorky and John makes the best of it.
I was offended when Ms. Shapiro disdainfully commands Ringo to turn to the camera. Watch how she briefly frowns and dismissively waves her hand at Ringo to turn. Ringo steals the scene by putting his head on her shoulder.
Helen Shapiro is homely and I hate her voice. She should thank the deity of her choice that The Beatles agreed to appear in this skit. It is a crappy song and Helen Shapiro sucks!
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Post by mikev on Jul 27, 2008 20:10:50 GMT -5
As I said before....never heard of her...don't care...all that stuff.
I do like Lulu, Petula Clark and all the other British female pop stars of the mid sixties. That dated Austin Powerish sound that reeks of 1966.
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Post by Snookeroo on Jul 27, 2008 20:39:55 GMT -5
I can't believe there's so much debate over this innocent little clip. I'd never seen it and I loved it for the Beatles involvment. Where the heck was Paulie?
The thing with George didn't faze me a bit. In fact, I think it's cool that they picked George to do this bit which was very obviously set-up. And John's grin for the camera was just John being John. I think he would get away with it today just fine.
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Post by sayne on Jul 27, 2008 21:33:32 GMT -5
I can't believe there's so much debate over this innocent little clip . . . You think these are "debates"? You shoulda been here when we debated "Wilma vs Betty," "Josie and the Pussycats vs the Banana Splits," and "Underdog vs Mighty Mouse" ! ;D
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Post by melody on Jul 28, 2008 1:07:01 GMT -5
Where the heck was Paulie? She probably made a move on Paulie, was rebuffed, and this was her reverge. Left him standing at the end of the line, totally ignored.... ;D Otherwise, the clip didn't make me flinch.
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Post by OldFred on Jul 28, 2008 6:15:39 GMT -5
I find the clip a bit of fun. For an American fan, it's interesting to see The Beatles in a pre-Ed Sullivan TV appearance, larking about in this 1963 British TV appearance. I'd love to see the entire show and see what they performed on the same program.
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Post by joeyself on Jul 28, 2008 8:01:58 GMT -5
Yesterday at 8:39pm, Snookeroo wrote: Three verses just needed three Beatles, I guess; Paul had an appearance in another segment as per this site (which answers Fred's question): www.tv.com/ready-steady-go!/show/11175/episode_guide.html First aired: 10/4/1963 --The Beatles (1st RSG! appearance) - "Twist and Shout," "I'll Get You" & "She Loves You" --Dusty Springfield interviews the Beatles (individually) --Helen Shapiro - "Look Who It Is" (with cameos by John, Ringo and George). --Paul McCartney judges a mime contest ("Mime Time"): Four girls lip-synch to Brenda Lee's "Let's Jump the Broomstick."
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Post by OldFred on Jul 28, 2008 8:16:56 GMT -5
Here's some interesting info on Helen Shapiro from this site: www.answers.com/topic/helen-shapiroHelen Shapiro is remembered today by younger pop culture buffs as the slightly awkward actress/singer in Richard Lester's 1962 debut feature film, It's Trad, Dad. From 1961 until 1963, however, Shapiro was England's teenage pop music queen, at one point selling 40,000 copies daily of her biggest single, "Walking Back to Happiness," during a 19-week chart run. A deceptively young 14 when she was discovered, Shapiro had a rich, expressive voice properly sounding like the property of someone twice as old, and she matured into a seasoned professional very quickly.
She grew up in London's East End and was performing with a ukulele at age nine as part of a school group -- supposedly called Susie & the Hula Hoops, whose members included a young Mark Feld (aka Marc Bolan) -- that used to sing their own versions of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly songs. She subsequently sang with her brother Ron Shapiro's trad jazz turned skiffle outfit at local clubs before enrolling in classes at Maurice Burman's music school in London. Burman was so taken with Helen Shapiro's voice that he waived the tuition to keep her as a student. He later brought her to the attention of Norrie Paramor, then one of EMI's top pop producers (responsible for signing Cliff Richard & the Shadows). Shapiro's voice was so mature that Paramor refused to believe from the evidence on a tape that it belonged to a 14-year-old until she came to his office and belted out "St. Louis Blues." She cut her first single, "Please Don't Treat Me Like a Child," a few weeks later and broke onto the British charts in 1961.
That record was an extraordinary effort for a 14-year-old. Shapiro's voice showed the maturity and sensibilities of someone far beyond their teen years; her depth of emotion, coupled with the richness of her singing, made her an extraordinary new phenomenon on the British pop scene. She surprised everyone once again with her second single, a slow ballad called "You Don't Know," which managed to appeal to listeners across several age groups and hit number one in England. This was followed by the greatest recording of her career, "Walking Back to Happiness," which scaled the top of the charts with far greater total sales. Ironically, she'd never wanted to cut it; she felt it sounded hopelessly corny and old-fashioned, but her singing invested the song with such depth that it transcended any limitations in the writing.
This was to be the last time Shapiro would top the charts. Her next record, "Tell Me What He Said" (written by Jeff Barry) was held out of the top spot by the Shadows' "Wonderful Land." In April of 1962, Shapiro made her movie debut in Lester's It's Trad, Dad, but her single of "Let's Talk About Love" (featured in the movie) never broke the Top 20. Shapiro next turned back to the songwriting team of John Schroeder and Mike Hawker, who had written "Walking Back to Happiness" and "You Don't Know," for what proved to be her last Top Ten record, "Little Miss Lonely." She made the charts once more with "Keep Away From Other Girls," the first song by Burt Bacharach to make the British Top 40. During this period, Shapiro also got the opportunity to record Neil Sedaka's "Little Devil," and the two later became friends when Sedaka toured England.
Listening to Shapiro's records nearly 40 years later, it's amazing to think that her hit-making career lasted only two years. She was equally at home belting out "The Birth of the Blues," imparting a surprisingly blues-influenced feeling to "A Teenager in Love," or oozing pre-feminist defiance in "Walking Back to Happiness," and by rights should have been able to find a niche on the charts well into the middle and late '60s. The incongruity of a 15-year-old who might usually be spending her time in high school doing a song like "Walking Back to Happiness" was lost in the more innocent era in which she worked.
Shapiro wasn't remotely as soul-influenced as Dusty Springfield (though Shapiro's Helen in Nashville album from 1963 does sort of anticipate Dusty in Memphis), or a raspy shouter like Lulu, and there wasn't much of the cool teenager in her in the style of Sandie Shaw or the wounded teen softness of Lesley Gore. Rather, Shapiro was much more of a female pop/rock crooner, almost a distaff Bobby Darin with a style all her own, and should have been able to cut a path for herself well into the '60s in the music marketplace.
It wasn't to be, however. After appearing in her second movie, Play It Cool, which starred Billy Fury, Shapiro faded from the charts, although she didn't disappear from the British musical consciousness. She still headlined tours in the United Kingdom and in early 1963, she made the acquaintance of a support act that had been newly signed to EMI: the Beatles. She headlined the Beatles' first national tour of England and Shapiro and the group enjoyed each other's company. At 16, she was much more the seasoned professional than the older Liverpool quartet, who loved her voice and her unassuming manner. She sang with them on the bus, advised them to make "From Me to You" their next record after "Please Please Me," and they, in turn, wrote "Misery" for her. Astonishingly, EMI -- not yet sensing the golden touch that the Beatles (who had yet to cut their first LP) would soon reveal -- declined to give Shapiro the chance to record a Lennon-McCartney tune, costing her the chance to become the first artist to cover a Lennon-McCartney song just at the point when the Beatles were about to sweep all before them in the pop charts.
There's no telling what Shapiro, with her rich intonation, could have done with that downbeat little diamond in the rough in the early Lennon-McCartney song bag. Shapiro had another chance at an even more promising song later in 1963 when she went to cut an album in Nashville. In a session backed by the likes of Grady Martin and Boots Randolph, she cut the very first recording of "It's My Party." And again, EMI failed to get behind the single, sitting on its release until a virtual unknown named Lesley Gore got her rendition out first on Mercury and topped the U.S. charts. Shapiro's career at EMI ended in 1963 and her periodic attempts to resume recording at Pye, DJM, and Arista over the next decade failed to generate any chart action.
Shapiro has busied herself over the years very successfully as an actress, appearing as Nancy in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver and appearing on British soap operas as well. She has remained an attraction on the cabaret circuit over the decades and was well-known enough as a pop culture figure to justify the release of a best-of CD in Japan in the early '90s. She also cut albums devoted to the music of Duke Ellington and Johnny Mercer. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music GuideSo, I guess we can thank Helen Shapiro for suggesting The Beatles release 'From Me To You' as their third single. ;D
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Post by OldFred on Jul 28, 2008 8:25:54 GMT -5
Here are The Beatles from the same show:
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Post by ReturnToPepperland on Jul 28, 2008 9:22:46 GMT -5
It loooks worse than it was because of the angle of the camera.
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Post by mikev on Jul 28, 2008 11:20:04 GMT -5
Wow I thought she was about 40 in the video.
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