Notes and Quotes: "Don't Treat Me Like a Child"
John Schroeder: As time went on, Norrie and I found ourselves with a big problem. We could not find a song strong enough of suitable for Helen's debut single. The word had gone out to all the music publishers and we were soon inundated with songs but a song for someone so young was just not written. Lyrical content was the big problem.
At one of our weekly meetings when we reviewed our artists individually, Norrie said, "I am desperately worried about Helen Shapiro. We are now six months into her contract without a record. If we are not careful we will lose her. / I know we have not found a song for her or come anywhere near, even though we have heard hundreds of songs. How about you, John? Couldn't you write something for her? You know her better than anybody."
I replied, "Well I have never really written anything..., but I will certainly give it some thought."
Norrie answered, "You will never know unless you try. The opportunity is there for you."
"Thanks, Norrie. I will certainly have a good think about it," I answered with a considerable amount of uncertainty.
I did did give the matter a great deal of thought but never really believed I would be able to come up with anything. What I did have was Helen's voice and phrasing firmly logged in my head and I felt it and heard it very strongly day and night. Sometimes it drove me crazy as it was a little like having a headache but a nice one!
I was always messing about on the piano and then one night inspirationally out of nowhere the melody line and "hook" suddenly came to me. Although there was no lyric or title at this stage I could clearly see and hear Helen singing it. Sensibly I had continued with my music lessons at the Ivor Mairants School of Music in Denmark Street which Norrie also agreed was commendable. In view of my job I considered it to be very important so just for the hell of it I decided to play my masterpiece to Eric Gilder, my teacher, to get his opinion on what I had conceived. To my surprise he thought it was pretty good, primarily because it was obviously inspired. He said inspiration was a natural phenomenon not giving any real clue as to how, when, why, or where it occurs. Some have it and some don't. He suggested changing a couple of chords and pointed out that it would need the right lyric. Giving that some thought and not being a lyric writer as such myself, I decided to play it to Mike Hawker, my lodger at the time since he was a journalist and good with words.
I knew exactly what I wanted to hear but could I present Norrie with a finished song that had all the ingredients and potential of being a hit song? That was what I had to do. I felt I needed Lady Luck to do more than just smile on me!
My Lyrical Lodger
A short while before Norrie had asked me to think of something for Helen Shapiro, Mike Hawker had joined the promotion department of E.M./I Records having been working as a freelance journalist for Jazz News, Jazz Monthly, and Melody Maker.
We became friends since we found we had mutual interests. Mike had decided to take up my offer of staying with me as a lodger until his newly acquired apartment was ready to move into.
I told Mike the story of the discovery of Helen Shapiro and that Norrie and I had found it impossible to find the right song for her first record. The problem was that not one at the time was writing songs for someone of her age because / there just wasn't anyone of her age apart from Brenda Lee perhaps. I then played him the acetate of the audition I had done with her in the studio at E.M.I. Although the song was 'Birth of the Blues' he was of course initially as amazed as I was. I thin played him on the piano the melodic piece of inspiration that had come to me. In fact I played it to him several times and I have to admit I was getting quite excited about it. Mike was non committal but felt it had potential. He also felt that Helen being a teenager, something to do with rebellion lyrically might be a good idea!
Mike moved from E.M. I. to work for Larry Parnes, but he took the tune with him because it stayed in his head which was a good thing. Incredibly inspiration once again played its part and he came up with the idea and title of 'Don't Treat Me Like a Child' whilst returning home on a train from visiting his parents. He told me the hammer-blow chords (his quote) that I had written into the last line of each verse reminded him of someone banging their fist on a table in frustration or anger! (Schroeder 2009, 59-61)