Happy 77th birthday today to the lovely chanteuse Petula Clark CBE, stalwart of that genre known as "MOR"*, and to date the best-selling British female solo recording artist ever!
In a career that began as a child star (alongside Julie Andrews) in 1942, our Pet successfully made the transition to an adult performer, with numerous radio, film and later TV performances. But her greatest commercial success came in the 1960s, when she married and relocated to France. In an unprecedented "dual career", Pet became a wildly successful performer of the beloved French chanson while establishing what became a long and successful English-language singing career in the UK (and later, the US).
She carved her place in history with hit songs like Sailor, Romeo, My Friend the Sea, and of course the mega-hit for which she is most remembered, Downtown. Further collaboration with the composers Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent - including one of my faves Don't Sleep in the Subway - established her success on both sides of the Atlantic and she landed her own show on US TV (and starred in that godawful film Finian's Rainbow).
More recently, Petula Clark has concentrated mainly on the stage, starring in both Sunset Boulevard and Blood Brothers, and continues to tour extensively today.
I love Pet - and we were mightily pissed off to have missed her appearance at Brighton Pride back in 2002. We were there and watched the parade, but decided not to go to Preston Park as a thunderstorm had turned the grass into a quagmire so instead headed back to the pub. It was only later that we discovered that the great lady had braved the elements and appeared on stage after all...
Many happy returns, Pet!
I'm a Woman (with Peggy Lee):
Petula Clark official website
[*MOR = middle of the road, in music]
LOVE HER!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWho wouldn't? Jx
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