The following article appeared in "The Jewish Telegraph" in February 2008.
Singer Barbara Dickson is so determined to trace her Jewish roots that she has asked the BBC if she can appear on its genealogical show, Who Do You Think You Are?
Scotland-born Barbara found out that she was halachically Jewish around 20 years ago, through a cousin of her mother.
She told the Jewish Telegraph: “My mum, Ruth, was born in Liverpool and she had no idea at all that she was Jewish.
“It was only when a cousin of mine, Willie Hedges, discovered that my mum’s grandmother had come to England that we found out.”
Barbara believes her great-grandmother came to England from Lvov in the mid-19th century. Lvov was then located in Poland, but is now in the Ukraine.
She said: “We believe her name was Wolki (pronounced Wooky) and that her family had planned to go to America to escape the pogroms.
“But we think that they were dumped in Liverpool, like a lot of Jewish refugees were.”
The makers of Who Do You Think You Are told Barbara that they were full for the next series.
Barbara explained that as a child, her mother was the image of Anne Frank.
She said: “My mother had dark hair and dark eyes and I remember her telling me that she was at Liverpool Lime Street station when she was young and a Jewish boy came up to her and tried to start a conversation, thinking she was Jewish — which she later found out she was.”
Barbara, 60, was brought up as a practising Catholic and admits that she is a regular churchgoer, as are her three children.
However, she added: “I am really proud to be Jewish. I think it is great that we have multiculturalism in our family — we all love the diversity of it.
“When we found out we were Jewish, the penny dropped with the women in our family. We are all strong women, fairly educated and family-orientated."
Born in Dunfermline in Scotland, Barbara now lives in rural Lincolnshire with actor (sic) husband Oliver Cookson.
But she admitted: “I’ve never actually been into a synagogue, although I have been to a few dinner-dances for barmitzvahs.”
Her music has taken her all over the world, although she has never been to Jerusalem.
Barbara said: “We went to Eilat in the early 1990s for a family holiday, but I would absolutely love to go to Jerusalem.
“It has such historical relevance for Jews and Catholics, too.”
Being in showbusiness, she has always found herself among Jews and points out that when she meets someone Jewish, “I always tell them about my Jewish roots”.
And after being given advice from her Jewish accountant, Barbara contacted Jerusalem’s Diaspora Museum in a bid to find more out about her mother’s maternal family.
However, they never replied, although Barbara’s mother recently saw a programme on Lvov.
Barbara added: “We always thought it was a little village, but I know now it is a beautiful city. I would like to go there.”
Having been in showbusiness since 1970, Barbara is fondly known for her 1985 duet I Know Him So Well with Elaine Paige.
It was her first UK number one and sold more than a million copies.
Barbara cringed: “I guess that song is in a lot of people’s consciousness when my name is mentioned. But I have left all that power-ballad and big hair life well behind!”
Barbara - who has recorded 24 albums and released 38 singles in the UK - has starred in numerous shows, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita and appeared on television, including Taggart and Band of Gold, written by Leeds’ Jewish playwright Kay Mellor.
But singing remains her passion and her tour starts in two weeks, visiting Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Sunday, February 3 and the following evening at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall.
She added: “I absolutely love Manchester - it is a great city - and I visit Liverpool virtually every year.”
