Petula Clark facts: Age, songs, films and European success of the 'Downtown' singer

24 January 2025, 12:04

The life and times of the 'Downtown' superstar.

From child star to elder stateswoman of pop, few musicians have had the longevity of Petula Clark.

She made her first waves during World War II and is still working into the 2020s.

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To many, she's best known as the singer of 'Downtown', one of the all-time great 1960s singles.

There were other hit tracks, especially in Europe, and Pet also starred in a number of massive movies, as well as enjoying significant success on the stage.

Here's all the must-known facts about Petula Clark.

When was Petula Clark born and what is her real name?

Petula Clark was born November 15, 1932 in Ewell, Surrey.

Her real name was Sally, and it was her dad Leslie who came up with the stage name Petula, supposedly combining two of his exes names (Pet, and Ulla), a gag that surely delighted her mum Doris.

Where did Petula Clark grow up?

Both Doris and Leslie were nurses at Long Grove Hospital in Epsom, but they apparently raised Petula in Abercanaid, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.

She also apparently spent time living just outside of London during the war.

How did Petula Clark get into the entertainment business?

Petula Clark started off young. Very young.

She would have been around seven when she gave her first live performance, at the Colliers' Arms in Abercanaid.

"Merthyr was the first time I sang in front of strangers," Petula told WalesOnline on her return seven decades later

"It influenced me because I'm Welsh and music is here. I talk about it on stage everywhere I perform."

A year later, she was part of a team of children who recorded messages for family in the armed forces, taped by the BBC at the underground Criterion Theatre

And she made her first appearance on radio when she sang 'Mighty Lak a Rose' for her uncle serving in Iraq, which was broadcast for the BBC Empire Service on October 17, 1942.

A couple of months on, she was rubbing shoulders with Vera Lynn and Michael Redgrave at the Queensbury All-Services Club.

Petula was a ray of light during these dark times, and racked up the wartime concert appearances, with her keen ear for an impression earning her the title of Radio's Merry Mimic.

As TV grew in importance, she went from starring on other people's shows to having her own Petula Clark, Pet's Parlour and The Petula Clark Show on BBC TV.

She made her first appearance in an acting role, rather than just being herself, when she appeared on Guest in the House in 1957.

How did Petula Clark break through with 'Downtown'?

Petula Clark Downtown. original version

Petula Clark's first single came in June 1949 on the prestigious Columbia label, but 'House in the Sky' backed with 'Put Your Shoes on Lucy' wasn't a hit.

In fact, it wasn't till 1954 when she scored a top ten place with 'The Little Shoemaker', and followed it up with singles like Majorca, Suddenly There's A Valley, With All My Heart, Alone and 'Baby Lover'.

While it's her best-known song to this day, her first number one single wasn't actually 'Downtown'. She topped the chart three years earlier with 'Sailor', a song that sold a quarter of million copies.

More hits followed, including the number three single 'Romeo', before Petula recorded 'Downtown' on October 16, 1964 at Pye Studios in Marble Arch.

Pye Records loved it and it went on sale the following month.

It raced up the charts, going to number two in the UK and number one in the US.

What are Petula Clark's biggest songs?

Petula Clark - 'Sailor' - (Cliff!, 16/02/1961)

We've already mentioned quite a few, but here's a pretty decent list of Petula Clark's biggest and best songs from across her career.

• The Little Shoemaker
• Majorca
• Suddenly There's a Valley
• With All My Heart
• Alone
• Baby Lover
• Sailor
• Something's Missing
• Romeo
• My Friend the Sea
• Ya Ya Twist
• Casanova
• Downtown
• I Know a Place
• You're the One
• My Love
• A Sign of the Times
• I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
• This Is My Song
• Don't Sleep in the Subway
• The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener
• The Wedding Song (There Is Love)

How did Petula Clark become such a massive success in Europe?

Petula Clark was a major star in both the UK and US, which wasn't too unusual for top British talent in the Invasion era.

But where Pet really stood out was as a superstar on mainland Europe.

Her continental success had its roots near the start of her career, when she appeared at the Paris Olympia in 1957, earning a deal with Vogue Records.

Sul mio carro

She not only played tours in France, Belgium and elsewhere, but took the time to record songs in German, French, Italian and Spanish too, endearing herself to her European audience.

What's striking is that while some of her European hits were translations of her English-language hits, many were only hits in their French, German, Italian or Spanish language versions.

It didn't hurt that she also wrote the soundtrack for 1964 French movie A Couteaux Tirés (Daggers Drawn), and appeared in the film in a cameo.

To this day, Clark splits her time between Switzerland, France and the UK.

What films did Petula Clark star in?

As well as a pop stardom, Petula Clark ran a parallel career on the big screen.

And it wasn't just cameo roles or empty vehicles for a musician, either.

Her first major role came in Medal for the General in 1944 and other highlights in a packed filmography included London Town, Vice Versa and The Gay Dog, among many others.

Special attention should go to a starring role opposite Fred Astaire in Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, where she starred with Peter O'Toole.

There was a bit of a break from the movies for Clark after those massive performances, but she led 1980's Never Never Land. The following year she appeared in French mini-series Sans famille.

What were Petula Clark's biggest on stage roles?

If it wasn't enough to conquer both the international pop charts and global cinema, Petula Clark also someohow found the time to have a pretty decent theatre career, too.

She appeared in the stage musicals versions of The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard and Mary Poppins.

Petula also wrote the music for 1989 musical Someone Like You, which had lyrics by Dee Shipman and a book by Robin Midgley and Fay Weldon.

Clark has continued to record and perform to this day and one of her most recent performances was singing. 'I'm Still Here' from Follies on the Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends concert in 2023.

Was Petula Clark married and does she have any children?

Petula Clark had a high-profile early relationship with Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson. Despite rumours that they might wed, they split up but remained friends and even continued to work with one another.

It was when Clark was signed by Vogue Records in France that she met publicist Claude Wolff.

They married in June 1961 and had three children: daughters Barbara and Kate and a son Patrick.

While they remained married, Clark revealed in 2013 that their relationship was no longer a romantic one. Wolff died on March 20, 2024.