Informational booklet from Punch’s Hotel in Doncaster, England, 6 x 8, two pages. Signed on the front cover in blue ballpoint “John Lennon” and “Paul McCartney,” and in pencil, “George Harrison” and “Ringo Starr.” Originally offered at Christie’s as Lot #199 on September 29, 2004. Research from Christie’s indicates that the signatures were acquired in Doncaster after the Beatles performed at the Gaumont Cinema on February 5, 1963, during the Helen Shapiro tour. The Beatles finished the tour in the following month, when “Please, Please Me” took the number-one position on the charts. Shapiro headlined the Beatles’ first national tour of England, and Shapiro and the group enjoyed each other’s company. Though only 16, Shapiro 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 follow-up to “Please Please Me,” and they, in turn, wrote “Misery” for her. EMI, not yet sensing the Beatles’ magic—the lads had yet to cut their first LP—declined to allow Shapiro to record a Lennon-McCartney tune. She therefore lost the historic opportunity to become the first artist to cover a Lennon-McCartney song, at the verge of the Beatles’ international success. Scattered light creasing (trivially affecting a portion of Lennon and Harrison’s signatures), and a bit of mild foxing and soiling, otherwise fine condition. COA Roger Epperson/REAL and R&R COA.
