Introduction
In 2005, Cheryl took part in the UK ITV series ‘Have I Been Here Before?’ hosted by Phillip Schofield. In this series celebrities have a past life regression session with Hypnotherapist Andrea Foulkes. Their past life experiences are then investigated by Jules Hudson, a historian and archaeologist, to see if these accounts can be verified.
Cheryl Baker (born Rita Maria Crudgington) is a British Singer and Television presenter. She part of the pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and went on to have chart success until 1988. Baker is the vice-president of the stillbirth charity Abigail’s Footsteps.
Past Life Regression
Speaking before the regression she said, “I find regression a really fascinating subject. So I have come along today to see if it is real and if it is, if I was indeed around in a previous life”.
Cheryl was regressed to a life as a young man called Joe Kelly. He is 17 and works as a carpenter making chairs for Mr Green in a warehouse on Curtain Road in Shoreditch in 1856. He lives in Hackney. Both Hackney and Shoreditch are now part of the East End of London.
She sees Joe marrying Mary at St James the Less church. He is very happy and he says Mary is lovely. Later, aged 45, Mary is ill with Tuberculosis (TB). They have had three children, two girls and a boy. He also talks about going to the pub and playing cards (Brag – an early form of Poker) at the Rose and Crown, Green Street.
Finally, he talks about himself being unwell and in bed. He feels like he has a big ball in his throat and can’t swallow anymore. He feels he has had a fine life and feels content, but has had enough.
Immediately after the session Cheryl says, “The past life, Joe, came from the area I was born, or near to. I was born in Bethnal Green. And there were carpentry places in Bethnal Green. I am going to take away a lot of my scepticism and chuck it in the bin because I didn’t think this sort thing would happen to me. And I am going to be a lot more open minded”.
Investigation
This time Jules Hudson has a lot of information to work on and is able to find a Joseph Kelly born in December 1838 in Bethnal Green. He confirms that Shoreditch was the centre of the London furniture trade at the time. Jules also finds a drawing of the church in which he was married dating from 1844. The card game brag was also popular among the working classes in the 1800s.
He is also able to confirm that there was, and still is, a Curtain Road in Shoreditch in Victorian times and in that 1875 there was a chair maker there. He does seem to have been able to verify much of the information Cheryl gave in her regression.
Reflection
Thinking about her past life regression experience, Cheryl says, “I don’t know. I mean the trouble is I am a sceptic. In my life I am a sceptic you know. If I don’t see concrete evidence about something then I don’t disregard it, I don’t think it’s wrong, but I do wonder… Because I come from East London, so this might be memories that my mum told me about. It might be things that I have read. It might be historical facts that I have gone through at school”.
She goes on to say about a dream she had, “I have evidence of my own to believe that there is an afterlife because my dad came to me and it was a physical thing and it really happened. After he passed away, about six weeks after he passed away. I danced with him and I know I did even though I was lying in bed”.