“I was singing for the troops when I was only a kid of course during the Second World War and I just enjoyed singing right from the start— and it’s pretty well the same thing now. I sing because I like to sing. I don’t sing to make a living, although I guess I do!”
Petula Clark is here, to open season two of this program. The star, who for seven decades has captivated audiences the world over in live concerts and on records in five different languages, has a passion for music and for the stage that remain undiminished. What drives her love, her need for music? How has she been coping with month after month of darkened theaters? She and Daniel also dig into some of the fundamental questions about music-- how do different people hear it? How can one teach it? Ever skeptical of nostalgia, Petula speaks of her deep fondness for some of the people who played a role in her life who are no longer around-- Ella Fitzgerald, her longtime friend, and Fred Astaire, with whom she starred in Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow. Petula's love for her contemporary colleague Amy Winehouse is powerful and moving. For any lover of music or culture in the 20th century, this is a must-hear conversation.
Petula Sally Olwen Clark was born in West Ewell Surrey, England on November 15, 1932. Petula made her first broadcast as a singer for the BBC Radio Overseas Service in October 1942, and became an overnight star on BBC National Radio in December 1942 at the age of 10. After many radio shows for the BBC during World War 2, Petula made her film debut in "Medal for the General" in 1945. Notable films include the classic Powell/Pressburger film "I know where I'm going" (1945), London Town (USA "My heart goes crazy") (1946), Vice Versa (directed by Peter Ustinov) (1948), and the classic Huggett trio of family films which were to be the forerunner of television soap operas in the UK (1948-9). Her first leading role was in "Don't ever leave me" (1949), and "The Card" (USA "The Promoter") with Alec Guinness and Glynis Johns (1952). As well as her film work, Petula was a regular on BBC radio and television and British stage variety shows, and from 1957 in France and other European territories. She acted in comedy radio shows such as "Life of Bliss" and radio series with her pianist and musical director Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson. Petula was a recording star in the UK from 1949, with "The little shoemaker"(1954) being her first top 10 hit (also hitting #1 in Australia) and "With all my heart" which took her to France where by 1962 she became their top female singer with such big selling hits as "Chariot", "Coeur blessé" and "Ya ya twist", securing her the prestigious Grand Prix National du Disques Francais. Her hits in four languages included "Monsieur" selling a million copies sung in German! Her song "Sailor" became her first of 2 #1 hits in the UK. As well as her CBE presented by Queen Elizabeth in 1998, in 2012 Petula was awarded the honour of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in Paris, for her distinguished career in France. In 2013 at the age of 80 Petula was back with a new Top 30 album success in the UK ("Lost in you" Sony Records), and her new recording of "Cut copy me" became a remixed dance top 40 hit all over Europe. The song was also voted by the prestigious "Time" magazine into their Top 10 songs of 2013.
