Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics grew up in a town called Sunderland in the north east of England. Two of his long-term friends were Derek Craggs and Denise Bell. Derek went to school with Dave and they both played guitar so he and Dave mixed in the same circles in Sunderland and Denise was Derek’s girlfriend. In the 1970s Derek and Denise got married and Dave Stewart was Derek’s best man.
Derek and Denise got involved in Scientology sometime in the 1970s whilst Dave went off to London to seek fame and fortune. The Scientology scene in Sunderland at that time was just a few people studying books in someone’s house but it eventually became Sunderland Org. Derek became ED (Executive Director) and Denise was his Deputy (D/ED).
Sometime in the early 1980s Dave Stewart came back to Sunderland for a visit. By that time Derek and Denise had both attested to the state of Clear and when Dave got in touch with them they persuaded him to have some Dianetics auditing. After the auditing he wrote a short note thanking them and went back to London. They pinned the note onto a wall in Div 6 of the org so that new people could see that the famous Dave Stewart had been audited at their org. However they lost contact with Dave after that.
Then in 1989 Derek and Denise split up and both left staff. Denise became a full-time FSM (Field Staff Member). She needed to make money by bringing people into Scientology so she decided to go straight for the big prize – Dave Stewart. Even though he was now rich and famous and was living his dreams she decided he couldn’t be truly happy because he wasn’t a Scientologist so she found out he was doing a gig somewhere in Europe and she went there to try to get to see him in person.
She actually did get past his security and he agreed to talk to her. She spent a few hours trying to “find his ruin” and persuade him that Scientology was what he needed but he wasn’t interested.
That was the last contact either Derek or Denise had with him as far as I know.
In 2016 Dave Stewart wrote his autobiography: “Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This”. In the book he talks about growing up in Sunderland, about his friends and all aspects of his life and lists numerous people in the Acknowledgements section but he doesn’t mention either Derek or Denise.
He also doesn’t hold back in talking about sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll and anything else that came into his life but he doesn’t mention Scientology. At one point he briefly mentions that someone who turned up to a party at his house was a Krishna follower. The mere fact that he was a Krishna devotee was sufficient for a brief mention in the book yet there is no mention of two people he grew up with and at whose marriage he performed best man duties. Nor any mention of the auditing he had or the hours of discussion about Scientology that Denise subjected him to.
I used to know Derek and Denise and they’re not bad people so I can only assume that it is the toxic word “Scientology” that is being avoided here.