Petula clarke biography

British actress and singer (born )

Musical artist

Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November ) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 years.

Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio. In , she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "Prends mon cœur", "Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo", and "Chariot". Hits in German, Italian and Spanish followed. In late , Clark's success extended to the United States with a five-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. These include her signature song "Downtown" (US number one), "I Know a Place", "My Love" (US number one), "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin; a UK number one), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". Between January and April , Clark charted with nine US top 20 hits in the US, where she was called "the First Lady of the British Invasion". Her international chart success was unequalled in recording history. In she was the recipient of the MIDEM international award for the highest worldwide sales by a female artist. This followed on from her MIDEM award for most sales in Europe by a European artist.

Clark has sold more than 70 million records. She also enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a musical, and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard and Mary Poppins, for which she received BAFTA nominations.

Bi

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Petula Clark, singer and actress, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews during a TV Times magazine awards ceremony at the ATV Studios in Borehamwood, having been voted 'Most Popular Female Singer on TV'.

Petula, who established herself as a child actress and performer during the Second World War, became a recording artist in the s. The enormous success of the single Downtown in led to an international career, with a series of popular upbeat hits, such as Colour My World and Don't Sleep in the Subway.

Through the late s and early s, Petula toured across the US and Europe, made several television specials and revived her acting career, starring in such films as Finian's Rainbow and Goodbye Mr Chips.

Petula Clark was a subject of This Is Your Life on three occasions – previously surprised by Eamonn Andrews in February at the BBC Television Theatre, and surprised again by Michael Aspel in March at the Adelphi Theatre in London – the only subject to receive the tribute three times.

© Photo by Laurence Labat

Clark, Petula (originally, Owen, Sally), English singer and actress; b. Epsom, Surrey, Nov. 15, Clark had a lengthy and varied career, beginning in radio and extending to TV, films, and recordings, all before she became an adult. A star in the U.K. in the s and in Europe in the s, she attained stardom in the U.S. in the s with a series of pop-rock recordings, including “Downtown,” “I Know a Place,” “My Love,” “I Couldn’t Live without Your Love,” “This is My Song,” and “Don’t Sleep in the Subway.” In the s and s she starred in stage musicals.

Clark was encouraged by her parents to become a singer and was performing publicly by the age of seven. In she successfully auditioned at the BBC and became a radio performer, also frequently singing for the troops during World War II. Signed to a film contract, she appeared in at least 23 films between and From July to November she appeared on Cabaret, an early TV program. In EMI’s Columbia label released her first single, “Put Your Shoes on Lucy,” after which she signed to Polygon Records (later renamed Nixa, then Pye). From November to July she had her own TV series, Pet’s Parlour, on the BBC.

Clark scored her first U.K. hit with “The Little Shoemaker” (music by Rudi Revil, French lyrics by Avril Lamarque, English lyrics by Geoffrey Parsons and John Turner), which reached the charts in June and peaked in the Top Ten in July. In September she launched another TV series, Pet’s Parade, which ran until February Her recording of “Suddenly There’s a Valley” (music and lyrics by Chuck Meyer and Biff Jones) peaked in the Top Ten in January

In , at age 24, Clark stopped using her father as her manager and moved away from home into her own apartment. “With All My Heart” (music by Pete De Angelis, lyrics by De Angelis and Bob Marcucci) peaked in the Top Ten in September, followed by “Alone” (music by Morton Craft, lyrics by Selma Craft) in December. In November she performed a conce