Walking back to God

Sixties pop sensation Helen Shapiro – famous for her massive hit Walking Back To Happiness – now makes God her number one. She tours the country holding outreach concerts with new music trio Hebron. Unusually, they set Bible texts to folk, jazz and blues tunes with a distinctly Jewish flavour. Brought up in a Jewish home Helen, 69 is also known for her recognition of Jesus as Messiah.

What was it like for a Jewish girl growing up in so-called ‘Christian’ Britain in the 60s?

I was brought up in an area of London with a large Jewish community. We knew we were different from the Christians or non-Jews. We had different foods, holidays and places of worship. In my primary school, there were so many Jewish children, we had separate assemblies and RE lessons. My first introduction to Jesus was when I was six. In the school playground, another little girl ran up to me, screaming, ‘you killed Jesus Christ!’ I was upset and confused. I’d never killed anybody. I’d never even heard of this person! That was my first encounter with anti-Semitism.

How did you end up acknowledging Jesus as Messiah?

At 14, still at school, I had my first hit record. That led me into show business, travelling the world, singing at famous venues, recording at Abbey Road and having more hits – including Walking Back To Happiness. I was carried along by all the fame. I didn’t give much thought to spiritual things until the late 60s, the ‘hippy’ era. I became interested in spiritualism, Buddhism and all kinds of psychic phenomena. I mixed a little bit of this with a little bit of that. You’d call it New Age these days. Those ideas seemed to fill a void in my life, until I turned 40. I woke up one morning and found I no longer believed in them. My beliefs had vanished overnight. For the first time in my life, I had nothing to believe in. I found the whole thing very depressing. My jazz and pop career was going well. I was in a relationship with John, now my husband. I was successful on the outside, but inside I was empty. My musical director, Bob, was a Christian, but I felt unable to consider his beliefs because I am Jewish. In the midst of my emptiness, Bob handed me a book which, surprisingly, carried the picture of a menorah, a seven-branched lampstand that’s iconic in Judaism. The book was Betrayed by Stan Telchin. The whole title said, ‘How would you feel if your daughter told you she believed in Jesus? This Jewish businessman felt…Betrayed!’ I couldn’t ignore it. I read it in a couple of hours. Stan Telchin was a pillar of the Jewish community in Washington DC, when his daughter announced she’d accepted Jesus as Messiah. Stan set out to prove her wrong. He spent months talking to rabbis and pastors, reading the Old and New Testaments, church history, Jewish history – you name it. He ended up becoming a believer in Jesus. Most fascinating of all were the Old Testament prophecies he listed about the Messiah. I knew and loved the "hit" stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and Daniel. And I knew the Jewish people had been promised the Messiah. But I never knew about these specific prophecies. I bought a Bible and found these prophecies existed. I knew I had to read the New Testament for myself. I found it to be the most Jewish collection of books I’d ever read, outside of the Old Testament. It was written by Jewish men about the most famous Jew of all – Jesus, Yeshua. By the time I’d finished John’s Gospel, I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus was the fulfilment of all the prophecies and, indeed, is the Messiah. I gave him my life in August 1987 and have never looked back.

How should Christians relate to Jewish people in their neighbourhood?

Prayer is the most important thing. When talking to Jewish people, don’t use terms like Christ. That’s an emotive word full of meaning for Jews, because we’ve been called things like ‘Christ killers’. Use the word Messiah instead. Present the New Testament as a Jewish book, not as something alien to Jewish people. Sensitivity is the key.

What does your work involve these days?

I no longer work in the mainstream music industry. I came out of that business in 2002, to concentrate on gospel outreach evenings. Two friends – Simon Elman and Chrissy Rodgers – and I, have recently formed the trio Hebron. As well as being an important city – the burial place for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the word ‘hebron’ itself is Hebrew for ‘fellowship’ or ‘friendship’. We’ve just released our first CD, For Such A Time As This. We have a very acoustic sound. We all take turns singing lead vocals. I play tenor and baritone ukuleles and tenor guitar. We also use guitar, banjo and bass.

Your parents encouraged you in music. What advice would you offer to young people seeking a pop career today?

I don’t know if I have any kind of authority to give anyone any kind of advice. I think there must be much more pressure on young people starting out in the business today than I experienced. But just be careful. There are a lot of sharks out there. There were sharks back then, in the 60s, but it’s far worse now. Keep your family and friends around you. Keep your feet on the ground.

Any other hopes and dreams you’ve yet to fulfil?

I would just like to continue to serve the Lord by reaching out to the lost and letting him use me, however he chooses. My greatest prayer is to see the rest of my family saved.

More information about Helen’s evangelistic work and samples of Hebron’s music can be found at www.mannamusic.co.uk