Petula Clark is one of the famous British artists of the second half of the XNUMXth century. Describing the type of her activity, a woman can be called both a singer, a songwriter, and an actress. For many years of work, she managed to try herself in different professions and achieve success in each of them.
Petula Clark: The Early Years
Ewell is the hometown of the famous singer. Here she was born on November 15, 1932 in a family of young doctors. Petulla is a pseudonym that was coined by her dad. Real name is Sally.
Young Sally saw the war and often recalled it in her interviews. At that time, she lived with her grandparents and, as she herself said, often watched how the battles took place (air operations could be seen from the village where the girl lived).
Interestingly, children at that time were often invited to record messages for the BBC station. They were broadcast to the front so that the soldiers could hear the news from children's lips. Sally joined in. The recording process was carried out in the basement of one of the theaters.
As the woman recalls, once during the session, the bombing began. The children were safe, but the recording had to be stopped. In order to somehow fill the time and calm the people around, little Sally went to the center of the circle and began to sing. Her voice put a lot of people at ease. Thus, she performed in front of an audience for the first time.
The beginning of the career of the singer Petula Clark
Interestingly, by the will of fate, since childhood, Petula has appeared on radio stations and television. This happened by chance, but predetermined her future career. It all started in 1944, when the girl performed in the theater. There, Maurice Alvey noticed her and took the 12-year-old actress for a role in his production.
This was immediately followed by a number of performances and films. Such work brought up in the girl a love for the stage. She began to dream of becoming a professional artist. However, she could not yet understand what she likes more - acting in films or singing.
Until 1949, growing up, Clark starred in films, played in theatrical productions, participated in various television shows and programs. In 1949, she met Alan Freeman (he was an aspiring producer). With him, the girl recorded full-fledged compositions for the first time.
The first real song is considered by many to be Put Your Shoes On, Lucy, which was created at the EMI studio. However, the label did not want to release the song and was not interested in signing a full-fledged cooperation agreement. Seeing this, Freeman persuaded his father to create his own label.
This is how Polygon Records was born, which was originally created specifically to produce Clarke. At the same time, the main expenses of the label were covered by the performer.
Establishing as a singer...
Nevertheless, a number of famous singles were released in the first half of the 1950s. An excellent example is The Little Shoemaker, which became the first real international hit. It topped the charts in the UK, Australia and the US. In America, she became famous only 13 years after the release. This happened when American music lovers started buying records from all over the world and accidentally heard Petula's single.
In 1957, a trip to France took place. The girl managed to perform at the largest concert evening "Olympia", as well as conclude a lucrative contract with the Vogue Records label. There was also a pleasant acquaintance with Claude Wolff. Thanks to him, she agreed to sign a contract with the label, and it was he who became her husband in the future.
At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, the artist decided to focus on Europe. The label invited her to record compositions in different languages. From that moment on, the artist began to experiment with English, French, German and Belgian. Depending on the language of performance, the songs became very popular. An even greater number of listeners learned about the singer. The girl began to actively invite on tour in different regions. She has gained a solid fan base across Europe.
Development of Petula Clark's creativity
By 1964, Clarke's music had become unprofitable. In order to somehow solve the problem, Tony Hatch, an author and composer, came to her house. He told her about new ideas for future songs, but none of the suggestions inspired the girl. Then Hatch showed her the work he had come up with on the trip. It was a demo version of Downtown. Despite the fact that both musicians liked the final version of the song, they did not realize what success awaited her.
The composition was performed in several languages and became a XNUMX% hit in a number of countries - in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, etc. The record was sold in millions of copies around the world. It was heard even in the most remote corners of the planet.
But that was only the beginning. Following the first hit, she released 15 more. Most of the songs occupied leading positions in the world charts and received important awards (including the Grammy Award). A stormy concert activity began. The new star was invited to various television programs. She did a great job on TV. After that, Sally was called to become the host of many television shows, mostly American.
In the 1970s, the woman actively toured the world. She also participated in various advertising campaigns (including for Coca-Cola). In the 1980s, there was a long break in his career. It was due to the fact that Clarke was too busy with her family.
Since 1980, she returned to music, but stopped acting in films. New compositions were periodically released, the singer actively went on tour in Europe and the USA.
Petula Clark today
In March 2019, she took to the theater stage (for the first time in two decades) to play in a production about Mary Poppins. The artist regularly takes part in public events to this day. In the 2000s, she also tried herself as an artist, but in 2008 her work was destroyed during a fire at the university.
