When The Beatles undertook their first national tour back in that bleak midwinter of 1963 they were already the kings of Merseyside... but Helen Shapiro was the star turn. Within just a few days Please Please Me started its great rise up the charts and their lives were to change forever. By the end of the year Britain was besotted and within a short time the heart of America had been captured too. Legends devotes a special section to the six UK tours of the world's most famous band and is proud to include Helen's memories. She gives us an insight into the touring world of The Beatles just as they were taking off. But which Beatle made her laugh the most - and which Beatle did she secretly fancy? Fortunately, Helen is kind enough to tell us! The Fab Four took on four busy tours during that momentous year of 1963, plus another in the autumn of 1964 and what turned out to be their final UK tour in December 1965. If I could be given a chance to witness some things I missed out on, then seeing The Beatles at the Cavern would be high on the list. Another would be watching the Fabs in action on these early tours before the screaming got out of control. Legends aims to capture the excitement of those early shows when you could still hear The Beatles as well as see them. In this East Anglian Daily Times photograph, taken from the pages of Legends, the boys seem to be enjoying meeting the children before their performance at the Ipswich Gaumont on Wednesday May 22, 1963, during their tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers. I am now working on a book about the six UK tours The Beatles undertook between the beginning of 1963 and the end of 1965. I am trying to track down musicians who toured with them and fans who have an interesting story to tell. Also police who were on duty - journalists who covered the shows and staff from the venues and the hotels where The Beatles stayed. So little has been recorded on the early tours (the national Press only discovered them by the time of their fourth at the end of 1963) that any added information is invaluable. Do you know someone who was at one of the shows, or who maybe worked at one of the cinemas? You may even have a friend who was in one of the other bands? There are precious few photos from this tour - so any find would be wonderful. Please see my Contact page and let me know if you - or someone you know - has a special memory to share. The star of the show on their first tour, which began on February 2, 1963, was Helen Shapiro. And here's a little tip for you: Google in "Helen Shapiro" and "Beatles" on youtube and check out some cute footage of Helen singing her hit Look Who It Is to The Beatles on Ready Steady Go. The picture of Helen waltzing with John in Legends was taken during a break in filming that day.