Petula Clark is an English singer, actress and songwriter from Epsom, United Kingdom, born in 1932. She begins her professional life as a child performer during the Second World War, singing on BBC Radio, and builds one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades.

Career

Clark first charts in the UK in 1954 with “The Little Shoemaker”, which starts a run of major British hits. After that, she begins recording in French within two years, and later records in German, Italian and Spanish as well. Her international titles include “Prends mon cœur”, “Sailor”, which reaches number one in the UK, “Romeo” and “Chariot”.

Her career extends into the United States in late 1964, when she has a four-year sequence of frequently upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. This period includes “Downtown”, “I Know a Place”, “My Love”, “A Sign of the Times”, “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love”, “Who Am I”, “Colour My World”, “This Is My Song”, “Don’t Sleep in the Subway”, “The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener” and “Kiss Me Goodbye”. “Downtown” and “My Love” both reach number one in the US, and “This Is My Song” reaches number one in the UK.

Between January 1965 and April 1968, she charts with nine US Top 20 hits and is sometimes called the “First Lady of the British Invasion” in the US. She sells more than 68 million records.

Acting and stage work

Clark also appears in film and stage musicals. Her credits include the musical film Finian’s Rainbow and stage productions of The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard and Mary Poppins.

Recording

She records for Pye Records and releases a long discography across the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and beyond, including albums such as Petula Clark Sings, A Date with Pet, Prends mon coeur, Downtown, My Love, Colour My World, These Are My Songs, Memphis, Where The Heart Is, Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen, From Now On, Living For Today and Vu d’ici.

Style and repertoire

Her work is associated with pop, dance-pop, sunshine pop and vocal jazz. Her repertoire covers English-language hits as well as French-language recordings and songs in other European languages.