Clark
Family name
A scribe or clerk, the occupation from which the name derives
Meaning	Clerk, scribe, secretary
Region of origin	England
Language(s) of origin	Old English
Related names	Clarke, Clerk
Footnotes: Frequency Comparisons[1]

Clark is an English surname in the English language, ultimately derived from the Latin clericus meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated or a old man with a moustache. Clark evolved from "clerk". First records of the name are found in 12th century England. The name has many variants.^[2]

Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom.^[1]

According to the 1990 United States Census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.^[3]

Clark is also an occasional given name, as in the case of Clark Gable.

Probably the most famouse person named Clark is Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman

List of people with surname Clark[link]

People with the surname Clark include:

• Abraham Clark (1725–1794), American politician and Revolutionary War figure
• Alan Clark (1928–1999), British Conservative politician and author, son of Kenneth Clark
• Allen George Clark (1898–1962), British businessman
• Andy Clark (musician), British musician
• Anne Clark (born 1960), poet-songwriter
• Benjamin S. W. Clark (1829–1912), New York politician
• Billy J. Clark (1778–1866), New York physician and politician
• Bob Clark (Benjamin "Bob" Clark) (1941–2007), American director
• Brian Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
• Carmel Clark (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
• Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
• Charles Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Chris Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Christian Clark (born 1979), Australian actor
• Claudine Clark, R&B singer and performer of the 1962 hit record "Party Lights"
• Colin Clark (disambiguation)
• Corrie Clark (born 1982), American breaststroke swimmer
• Dallas Clark, American football player
• Daniel Clark (Canadian politician and actor), Canadian actor
• Daniel Kinnear Clark (1822–1896), British railway mechanical engineer
• Darius Clark (1798–1871), New York physician and politician
• Dave Clark (musician) (born 1942), drummer of The Dave Clark Five
• David Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Davis Wasgatt Clark (1812–1871), American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
• Dick Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Dick Clark (1929–2012), entertainer and producer, host of Pyramid and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
• Douglas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Duncan Clark (1910–2007), an American public health specialist
• Duncan Clark (athlete) (1915–2003), Scottish hammer thrower
• Dwight Clark, American football player
• Ernest Clark (1912–1994), British actor
• Eugene Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Frank Clark (footballer), English football player
  • Frank M. Clark (1915–2003), American Congressman
• Gavin Brown Clark (1846–1930), MP for Caithness
• George Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Gerry Clark (1927–1999), New Zealand sailor and ornithologist
• Ginger Clark (1879–1943), American baseball pitcher
• Glenn Clark (born 1969), Canadian coach of Toronto Rock
• Helen Clark (born 1950), Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008
• Hilda Clark (1872–1932), American Coca-Cola advertising spokesperson
• Hilda Margery Clarke (born 1926), English painter and curator
• Horace Clark, 1830s New York politician
• Horace F. Clark (1815–1873), US Congressman from New York
• Hugh Massey Clark (1886–1956), New York philatelist
• Hulda Regehr Clark, alternative medicine practitioner
• Isabella Clark, wife of Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald
• Jack Clark (disambiguation), several people
• James Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jeff Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joe Clark (born 1939), former Prime Minister of Canada
• John Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jonas Gilman Clark (1815–1900), American businessman and the founder of Clark University
• Joseph Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joshua Clark, (born 1980), American writer
• Karen Clark (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
• Katy Clark (born 1967), British politician and trade union official
• Kenneth Clark (psychologist) (1914–2005), African American psychologist who testified in Brown v. Board of Education
• Kenneth Clark (1902–1983), British art historian; creator of the series Civilisation
• Leslie J. Clark (1924–2003), British engineer and founder of Parvalux
• Louis Clark, musician and conductor with the Orchestra (former members of ELO and ELO Part II)
• Manning Clark (1915–1991), Australian historian
• Marcus R. Clark (born 1956), Louisiana Supreme Court justice
• Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984), American Army General in WW2 (Italy) and the Korean War
• Nancy B. Clark, person of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts
• Ocky Clark (born 1960), American middle distance runner
• Orville Clark (1801–1862), New York politician
• Otey Clark (born 1915), American baseball pitcher
• Ramsey Clark (born 1927), U.S. Attorney General and activist
• Ranza Clark (born 1961), Canadian middle distance runner
• Roger Clark, British rally driver
• Ryan Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Samuel Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Samuel Delbert Clark (1910–2003), Canadian sociologist
• Sherman Clark (1899–1980), American Olympic rower and Rear Admiral
• Simon Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Steve Clark (1960–1991), British guitarist for Def Leppard
• Stuart Clark (born 1975), Australian cricketer
• Theresa Maria Clark (c. 1890 – 1953), person of New York
• Thomas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Tom Clark (journalist), Canadian television journalist
• Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Tracy Clark, fictional character from The CW primetime drama 90210
• Wendel Clark (born 1966), retired Canadian ice hockey player
• Wesley K. Clark (born 1944), American Army General in the Vietnam War and Kosovo
• Wilfrid Le Gros Clark (1895–1971), British palaeanthropologist
• Will Clark (born 1964), American baseball player
• William Clark (disambiguation), several people

See also[link]

• The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit
• Clark (taxonomic authority)
• Clarke
• Clerke (disambiguation)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Clark(e) Surname DNA Project

This page or section lists people with the surname Clark. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Martina Topley-Bird
Performing at Fri-Son, Fribourg, Switzerland (photo 6 November 2008)
Background information
Birth name	Martina Gillian Topley
Born	(1975-05-07) 7 May 1975 (age 37) St. Pancras, London, England
Genres	Pop, trip hop
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, ukulele
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Independiente Honest Jon's
Associated acts	Tricky Massive Attack
Website	Official website

Performing at Rough Trade East, Brick Lane, London
(photo July 2010)

Martina Topley-Bird (born 7 May 1975, St. Pancras, London) is an English vocalist and songwriter who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, Maxinquaye (a printing error credited her as "Martine"). She worked with him on his follow-up albums and, in 2003, released her own solo album, Quixotic.

Biography[link]

The daughter of a well known advertising executive, Drayton Bird,Topley-Bird was educated at Clifton College where she sang in the choir.^[1] It was while she was a teenager at the school that she met trip hop pioneer Tricky, with whom she worked on his first album Maxinquaye.^[2] She continued her collaboration with Tricky on his follow-up albums Nearly God, Pre-Millennium Tension and Angels with Dirty Faces.

Following a falling-out of their professional and personal relationship in 1998, she began pursuing a solo career. It was not until 2003 that she released her debut album, Quixotic (Independiente Records), mainly produced by Topley-Bird and production team AMP9 (Alex McGowan, Steve Crittall, Nick Bird) at Space Eko Recording Studios London. Upon its release, it received positive reviews from critics and was a finalist for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize. The song "Sandpaper Kisses" from the album was featured in the video game, Fahrenheit (released in North America as Indigo Prophecy).

The album finally saw a limited release in the United States in July 2004 when the Palm Pictures label released a re-designed and re-sequenced version with a new title (Anything), a trimmed-down tracklisting and all-new cover art.

The following year she appeared on the Starbucks compilation album, Sweetheart 2005: Love Songs, which features contemporary musicians covering classic love songs. She sang "I Only Have Eyes for You", a song originally by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin.

Her second solo album, The Blue God, was released in May 2008. The track "Carnies" was released as the first single on 3 March 2008^[3] and reached No.20 on the UK Indie Charts.^[4] "Poison" was released as the second single^[5] and reached No.9 on the Indie Charts.^[4]

In 2010, Topley-Bird appeared on the album Heligoland by Massive Attack, lending her voice on the tracks "Psyche" and "Babel". She also toured with Massive Attack as their support act and providing guest vocals. Topley-Bird's third album, Some Place Simple, was released in July 2010. It contained stripped-down versions of songs from her first two releases, along with four new songs.

Topley-Bird performed Maxinquaye live at the Sundance Festival, London, in April 2012.^[6]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Quixotic (2003, Independiente) - UK #70,^[7] FR #58
• Anything (2004, Palm Pictures)
• The Blue God (2008, Independiente) - UK #88, FR #149
• Some Place Simple (2010, Honest Jon's) - SWI #60

Singles[link]

• 2003 "Need One"
• 2003 "Anything"
• 2003 "I Still Feel"
• 2004 "Soul Food"
• 2008 "Carnies"
• 2008 "Poison"
• 2008 "Baby Blue"

Collaborations[link]

• Topley-Bird is credited as a vocalist on "Conversing Among Misfits", a song from 1998 debut (self-titled) album by Earthlings?. Her performance is hard to hear in the final mix however.
• In 1999, she contributed vocals to "Dirty Drowning Man" and "Coattails of a Dead Man" on Primus's album Antipop.
• In 2000, Topley-Bird appeared on David Holmes's album Bow Down to the Exit Sign.
• In 2004, Topley-Bird appeared on "Into the Sun", a track from Diplo's album Florida.
• In 2004, Topley-Bird contributed vocals to "Spoiled", on the Blues Explosion's album Damage.
• In 2005, she made a guest appearance (alongside Roots Manuva) on the Gorillaz track "All Alone", on the album Demon Days. She also was featured in the unreleased Gorillaz song, "Snakes and Ladders", also with Roots Manuva.
• In 2005/2006,^[which?] Topley-Bird sang vocals for "Can't Be Serious" from A Mountain of One's debut 12" EP, later included on the group's 2007 Collected Works compilation.
• In 2006, Topley-Bird appeared on the song "Devil Take My Soul" on the Son of Dave record 02.
• Topley-Bird appears on the songs "Why Should I?" and "Deflect" on Leila's 2008 album, Blood, Looms and Blooms. "Deflect" was also the lead track on the pre-album EP Deflect.
• She contributes vocals on the Saturnalia album by The Gutter Twins ("The Body") (2008)
• In 2008, on her single "Poison", she collaborates again with Roots Manuva and Gorillaz on the B-side track "Soldier Boy".
• She makes an appearance on rapper Common's album Universal Mind Control, on a song entitled "Everywhere".
• In 2009, she sang and co-wrote "Psyche" and "Babel" by Massive Attack, for their 2010 album Heligoland
• In 2012, Topley-Bird appeared on "Open" and "Secret", two tracks from Clark's Iradelphic album.

Song appearances[link]

• "Need One" appears on the CSI: Miami episode "Blood Brothers" in 2003.
• "Need One" was used in a television advertisement for Toyota's Corolla Verso in 2004.
• "Sandpaper Kisses" appears on the soundtrack of the 2005 videogame Fahrenheit.
• In 2007, her song "Da Da Da Da" was used in the film Virgin Territory.
• "Need One" was featured in an advertisement for H&M on Swedish and Dutch television during autumn of 2008.
• "Ilya" was used in "Lap Dance", an episode from The L Word's second season.
• "Soul Food" was used in 2009 in the film Obsessed.
• "Sandpaper Kisses" was sampled by The Weeknd in The Birds Part 2, which is included in his second mixtape "Thursday"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martina Topley-Bird

• Official website
• Moon Palace (German fansite)
• "Girl interrupted" from The Observer Magazine, 25 May 2003
• Space Eko Recording Studio on Myspace
• Anything @ Palm Pictures

Gary C. Clark (born May 1, 1962) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played for the Washington Redskins (1985–1992), Phoenix Cardinals (1993–1994) and Miami Dolphins (1995).

Early life[link]

Clark attended and played high school football at Pulaski County High School in Dublin, Virginia.

College career[link]

Clark played college football at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he caught 155 passes for 2,863 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had three punt returns for touchdowns, including 89- and 87-yard returns in a game during the 1983 season against the University of Virginia. Clark was at James Madison during the Dukes' first four Division I-AA seasons. He caught 46 passes for James Madison's 8-3 team in 1982 and had 57 receptions in 1983. He was the Virginia offensive player of the year in 1982 and an honorable mention All-American in 1982 and 1983.

Clark became the first person in James Madison history to have his jersey retired.

Professional career[link]

USFL[link]

After college, Clark played for the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League after being picked in the United States Football League draft. He played for the Bulls in 1984 and 1985.

NFL[link]

Clark was selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players.

In 1985, he signed with the Redskins and had a superb rookie season, recording 72 receptions for 926 yards and five touchdowns. Clark quickly established himself as one of the top receivers in the NFL. He followed up his superb rookie season in 1986 with a Pro Bowl year catching 74 passes for 1,265 yards and seven touchdowns. Clark set a Redskin record for receiving yards in a game during a Monday Night Football contest with the New York Giants. He caught 11 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. The record still stands today as the "most receiving yards in a non-strike game" (Anthony Allen surpassed Clark's tally during the 1987 strike season). The Redskins went on to finish 12-4 and defeated the reigning Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, 27-13, in a divisional playoff game but lost to the Giants in the NFC Championship game, 17-0.

In 1987, Clark again had a Pro Bowl year, catching 56 passes for 1,066 and seven touchdowns. He achieved these numbers in only 11 games, as a player strike shortened the season by one game and replacements played three games. No Redskin player crossed the picket line and the replacements went 3-0. Clark was only one of four NFL receivers to surpass 1,000 yards. By this time, he had caught the eye of CBS commentator John Madden. Clark's toughness, big-play ability and willingness to block made him a regular on the All Madden Team during his playing career. The Redskins went on to finish 11-4, winning the NFC East crown. In the playoffs, the Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Playoff game for the second year in a row, 21-17. Clark caught three passes for 57 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Redskins won, 17-10, to earn the right to play in Super Bowl XXII. Clark caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 25 yards in Washington's 42-10 rout of John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.

Clark's numbers dropped in 1988 as he caught 59 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. The Redskins finished a paltry 7-9 and missed the playoffs. He returned to form in 1989, catching 79 passes (a career high) for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. The Redskins finished 10-6 but missed the playoffs again because of a 5-6 start. Clark, along with fellow receivers Art Monk and Ricky Sanders, surpassed the 1,000 yard mark in 1989. This was the first time in NFL History that three receivers from one team all went over the 1,000 yard mark in the same year.

In 1990, Clark had another Pro Bowl year and the Redskins made the playoffs. He caught 75 passes for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns. The Redskins went on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-6, in an NFC Wild Card game. Clark caught four passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. The Redskins lost the next week to the San Francisco 49ers, 28-10.

In 1991, Clark and the Redskins tore through the NFL. He caught 70 passes for 1,340 yards and ten touchdowns. His 19.1 yards per catch was second in the NFL. Clark caught four passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns in Washington's 56-17 rout of the Atlanta Falcons in week 11. The Redskins finished 14-2, won the NFC East, and claimed home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Washington beat Atlanta, 24-7, and crushed Detroit, 41-10, to earn a berth in Super Bowl XXVI against the Buffalo Bills. Clark had a big day with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown in Washington's 37-24 defeat of the Bills. The Redskins led 24-0 early in the third quarter, but Buffalo cut the lead to 24-10. His 30-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was instrumental in thwarting a comeback attempt by the Bills.

Clark, Monk and Sanders gave the Redskins one of the best receiving corps in the NFL during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were known as The Posse. Clark was long known as the most fiery spirit of the bunch, and he was known to run laps around RFK Stadium after touchdowns and during Redskins comebacks. Clark signed with the Phoenix Cardinals as a free agent prior to the 1993 season, and the Redskins have only made the playoffs three times since.

Clark retired from the NFL after the 1995 season. In his 11 NFL seasons, he caught 699 passes for 10,856 yards and 65 touchdowns, while rushing for 54 yards and gaining 62 yards on nine punt returns. He also had twenty-seven 100-yard games wearing the Redskins uniform. Clark was a four-time Pro Bowl selection in 1986, 1987, 1990, and 1991. He was also a three-time All-Pro selection. He led his team in receiving seven times (1986, 1987, 1989–1992, 1994), and won two Super Bowls, Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXVI, during his NFL career.

Clark was the first receiver in NFL history to catch at least 50 passes in his first ten NFL seasons. As of 2009, the only other players to do so have been Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt.

Notes[link]

Clark was the owner of the now closed South Beach Restaurant and Martini Lounge in Bethesda, Maryland.

He was inducted into the Redskins Ring of Honor on October 7, 2007 and concluded his speech with, "We are going to spank Detroit's butt." The Redskins won the game, 34-3.

In 2007, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

External links[link]

• Clark's statistics
• More Career Stats
• Gary Clark Biography
• JMU Athletic Hall of Fame

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Petula Clark
Clark in April 2012
Background information
Birth name	Petula Sally Olwen Clark
Born	(1932-11-15) 15 November 1932 (age 79) Epsom, Surrey, England, UK
Genres	Popular music, theatre, film
Occupations	Singer/actress/composer
Years active	1939–present
Labels	Pye Records Vogue Records Imperial Records Warner Bros. Records MGM Records

Petula Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress and composer whose career has spanned eight decades.

Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II. During the 1950s she started recording in French and having international success in both French and English, with such songs as "The Little Shoemaker", "Baby Lover", "With All My Heart" and "Prends Mon Coeur". During the 1960s she became known globally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I Know a Place", "My Love", "Colour My World", "A Sign of the Times", and "Don't Sleep in the Subway". She has sold in excess of 68 million records throughout her career.^[1]

Early years[link]

Born to English father Leslie Norman Clark and Welsh mother Doris (née Phillips), both nurses at Long Grove Hospital, in Epsom, Surrey, England, she was christened Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father Leslie coined her first name, jokingly alleging it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. As a child, she sang in the chapel choir and showed a talent for mimicry, frequently impersonating Vera Lynn, Carmen Miranda and Sophie Tucker for the amusement of family and friends.^[2] Her father introduced her to theatre when he took her to see Flora Robson in a 1938 production of Mary Tudor; she later recalled that after the performance "I made up my mind then and there I was going to be an actress ... I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman more than anything else in the world."^[3] However, her first public performances were as a singer, performing with an orchestra in the entrance hall of Bentall's Department Store in Kingston upon Thames for a tin of toffee and a gold wristwatch, in 1939.^[4]

In October 1942, Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father, hoping to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas. During an air raid, the producer requested that someone perform to settle the jittery audience, and she volunteered a rendering of "Mighty Lak a Rose" to an enthusiastic response in the theatre. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops.^[5] In addition to radio work, Clark frequently toured the United Kingdom with fellow child performer Julie Andrews. Clark became known as "Britain's Shirley Temple," and she was considered a mascot by the British Army, whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle.^[6]

In 1944, while performing at London's Royal Albert Hall, Clark was discovered by film director Maurice Elvey, who cast her as precocious orphaned waif Irma in his weepy war drama Medal for the General. In quick succession, she starred in Strawberry Roan, I Know Where I'm Going!, London Town, and Here Come the Huggetts, the first in a series of Huggett Family films based on a British radio series. Although some of the films she made in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s were B-films,^{[citation needed]} she worked with Anthony Newley in Vice Versa (directed by Peter Ustinov) and Alec Guinness in The Card as well as the aforementioned I Know Where I'm Going! which is a Powell and Pressburger feature film now generally regarded as a masterpiece (Clark's part was small).

In 1945, Clark was featured in the comic strip Radio Fun, in which she was billed as "Radio's Merry Mimic".^[7]

In 1946, Clark launched her television career with an appearance on a BBC variety show, Cabaret Cartoons, which led to her being signed to host her own afternoon series, titled simply Petula Clark. A second, Pet's Parlour, followed in 1949. In later years, she starred in This is Petula Clark (1966–67) and The Sound of Petula (1972–74).

In 1949, Clark branched into recording with her first release, "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy," for EMI. Because neither EMI nor Decca, for whom she also had recorded, were keen to sign her to a long-term contract, her father, whose own theatrical ambitions had been thwarted by his parents, teamed with Alan A. Freeman to form Polygon Records in order to better control her singing career.^{[citation needed]}. This project was financed with Clark's earnings. She scored a number of major hits in the UK during the 1950s, including "The Little Shoemaker" (1954), "Majorca" (1955), "Suddenly There's a Valley" (1955) and "With All My Heart" (1956).'The Little Shoemaker' was an international hit reaching the coveted No 1 position in Australia, giving her the first of many No 1 records in her career. Although Clark released singles in the United States as early as 1951 (the first was "Tell Me Truly" b/w "Song Of The Mermaid" on the Coral label),^{[citation needed]} it would take thirteen years before the American record-buying public would discover her.^{[citation needed]}

In 1955, Clark became linked romantically with Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson. Speculation that the couple planned to marry became rife. However, with the increasing glare of being in the public spotlight, and Clark's growing fame — her career in France was just beginning — Henderson, reportedly not wanting to end up as "Mr. Petula Clark", decided to end the relationship.^[8] Their professional relationship continued for a couple of years, culminating in the BBC Radio series Pet and Mr. Piano, the last time they worked together,^[9] although they remained on friendly terms. In 1962, he penned a ballad about their break-up, called "There's Nothing More To Say", for Clark's LP In Other Words.

Near the end of 1955, Polygon Records was sold to Nixa Records, then part of Pye Records, which led to the establishment of Pye Nixa Records (subsequently simply Pye). This turn of events effectively signed Clark to the Pye label in the UK, for whom she would record for the remainder of the 1950s, throughout the 1960s, and early into the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}

International fame[link]

In 1958, Clark was invited to appear at the Paris Olympia where, despite her misgivings and a bad cold, she was received with acclaim. The following day she was invited to the office of Vogue Records to discuss a contract. It was there that she met publicist Claude Wolff, to whom she was attracted immediately, and when told he would work with her if she signed with the label, she agreed.^[10] Her initial French recordings were huge successes, and in 1960 she embarked on a concert tour of France and Belgium with Sacha Distel, who remained a close friend until his death in 2004.^{[citation needed]} Gradually she moved further into the continent, recording in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and establishing herself as a multi-lingual performer.

In June 1961, Clark married Wolff, first in a civil ceremony in Paris, then a religious one in her native England. Wanting to escape the strictures of child stardom imposed upon her by the British public, and anxious to escape the influence of her father, she moved to France, where she and Wolff had two daughters, Barbara Michelle and Katherine Natalie, in quick succession. (Their son Patrick was born in 1972.) While Clark focused on her new career in France, she continued to achieve hit records in the UK into the early 1960s, developing a parallel career on both sides of the Channel. Her 1961 recording of Sailor became her first No.1 hit in the U.K., while such follow-up recordings as Romeo and My Friend the Sea landed her in the British Top Ten later that year. In France, Ya Ya Twist (a French language cover of the Lee Dorsey rhythm and blues song "Ya Ya" and the only successful recording of a twist song by a female) and "Chariot" (the original version of I Will Follow Him) became smash hits in 1962, while German and Italian versions of her English and French recordings charted as well. Her recordings of several Serge Gainsbourg songs also were big sellers. She also at this time was made a present of 'Un Enfant' by Jacques Brel, with whom she toured. Clark is one of only a handful of performers to be given a song by Brel. A live recording of this song charted in Canada.

In 1964, Clark wrote the soundtrack for the French crime film A Couteaux Tirés (aka Daggers Drawn) and made a cameo appearance as herself in the film. Although it was only a mild success,^{[citation needed]} it added a new dimension — that of film composer — to her career. Additional film scores she composed include Animato (1969), La bande à Bebel (1966), and Pétain (1989). Six themes from the last were released on the CD In Her Own Write in 2007.

In 1963 and 1964, Clark's British recording career foundered. The composer-arranger Tony Hatch, who had been assisting her with her work for Vogue Records in France and Pye Records in the UK, flew to her home in Paris with new song material he hoped would interest her, but she found none of it appealing.^{[citation needed]} Desperate, he played for her a few chords of an incomplete song that had been inspired by his recent first trip to New York City, which he suggested might be offered to the Drifters. Upon hearing the melody, Clark told him that if he could write lyrics as good as the melody, she wanted to record the tune as her next single. Thus Downtown came into being.^[11]

[edit] "Downtown" era

Outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre, New York City, October 1966.

Neither Clark, who was performing in Canada when the song first received major air-play,^[12] nor Hatch realised the impact the song would have on their respective careers. Released in four different languages in late 1964, "Downtown" was a success in the UK, France (in both the English and the French versions), the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Italy and also Rhodesia, Japan and India. During a visit to London, Warner Bros. executive Joe Smith heard it and acquired the rights for the United States.^{[citation needed]} "Downtown" went to No.1 on the American charts in January 1965, and three million copies were sold in America. It was the first of fifteen consecutive Top 40 hits Clark achieved in the United States, including I Know a Place, My Love, A Sign of the Times, I Couldn't Live Without Your Love, This Is My Song (from the Charles Chaplin film A Countess from Hong Kong), and Don't Sleep in the Subway. The American recording industry honoured her with Grammy Awards for "Best Rock & Roll Record" for "Downtown" in 1964 and for "Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance" for "I Know a Place" in 1965.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, her recording of "Downtown" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

Clark's recording successes led to frequent appearances on American variety programmes hosted by Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin, guest shots on Hullabaloo, Shindig!, The Kraft Music Hall and The Hollywood Palace, and inclusion in musical specials such as The Best on Record and Rodgers and Hart Today.

In 1968, NBC-TV invited Clark to host her own special in the U.S., and in doing so she inadvertently made television history. While singing a duet of "On the Path of Glory," an anti-war song that she had composed, with guest Harry Belafonte, she took hold of his arm, to the dismay of a representative from the Chrysler Corporation, the show's sponsor, who feared that the moment would incur the racist bigotry of Southern viewers. When he insisted that they substitute a different take, with Clark and Belafonte standing well away from one another, Clark and the executive producer of the show — her husband, Wolff — refused, destroyed all other takes of the song and delivered the finished programme to NBC with the touch intact. The programme aired on 8 April 1968, with high ratings and critical acclaim.^[13] (To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original telecast, Clark and Wolff appeared at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan on 22 September 2008, to discuss the broadcast and its impact, following a broadcast of the programme.^[14])

Clark later was the hostess of two more specials, another one for NBC and one for ABC - one which served as a pilot for a projected weekly series. Clark declined the offer in order to please her children, who disliked living in Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

Clark revived her film career in the late 1960s, starring in two big musical films. In Finian's Rainbow (1968), she starred opposite Fred Astaire and she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. With her role, she again made history by becoming Astaire's final on-screen dance partner. The following year she was cast with Peter O'Toole in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, a musical adaptation of the classic James Hilton novella. (Her last film to date has been the British production Never Never Land, released in 1980.) After that, her output of musical hits in the States diminished markedly,^{[citation needed]} although she continued to record and make television appearances into the 1970s. By the mid-1970s, Clark scaled back her career in order to devote more time to her family. On 31 December 1976, she performed her hit song Downtown on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

Herb Alpert and his A&M record label benefited from Clark's interest in encouraging new talent. In 1968, she brought French composer/arranger Michel Colombier to the States to work as her musical director and introduced him to Alpert.^{[citation needed]} (He went on to co-write Purple Rain with Prince, composed the acclaimed pop symphony Wings and a number of soundtracks for American films.) Richard Carpenter credited her with bringing him and his sister Karen to Alpert's attention when they performed at a premiere party for Clark's film Goodbye, Mr. Chips.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Post "Downtown" era

During the early 1970s, Clark had chart singles on both sides of the Atlantic with: "Melody Man" (1970); "The Song Of My Life" (1971); "I Don't Know How To Love Him" (1972), "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (1972) and "Loving Arms" (1974). In Canada 'Je voudrais Qu'il Soit Malheureux' was a major hit.

Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Clark toured in concerts in the States, and she often appeared in supper clubs such as the Copacabana in New York City, the Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and the Empire Room at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where she consistently broke house attendance records.^{[citation needed]} During this period, she also appeared in print and radio ads for the Coca Cola Corp., television commercials for Plymouth automobiles, print and TV spots for Burlington Industries, television and print ads for Chrysler Sunbeam, and print ads for Sanderson Wallpaper in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

In 1954, Clark had starred in a stage production of The Constant Nymph, but it wasn't until 1981, at the urging of her children, that she returned to legitimate theatre, starring as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music in London's West End. Opening to rave reviews and what was then the largest advance sale in British theatre history, Clark - proclaimed by Maria Von Trapp herself as "the best Maria ever" — extended her initial six-month run to thirteen to accommodate the huge demand for tickets.^[15] In 1983, she took on the title role in George Bernard Shaw's Candida. Later stage work includes Someone Like You in 1989 and 1990, for which she composed the score; Blood Brothers, in which she made her Broadway debut in 1993 at the Music Box Theatre, followed by the American tour; and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, appearing in both the West End and American touring productions from 1995 through 2000. In 2004, she repeated her performance of Norma Desmond in a production at the Opera House in Cork, Ireland, which was later broadcast by the BBC.^{[citation needed]} With more than 2,500 performances, she has played the role more often than any other actress.^{[citation needed]}

A new disco re-mix of Downtown called "Downtown '88" was released in 1988 registering Clark's first UK Singles Chart success since 1972, making the Top Ten in the UK in December 1988.^{[citation needed]} A live vocal performance of this version was performed on the BBC show, Top of the Pops.^{[citation needed]} Clark recorded new material regularly throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and in 1992 released "Oxygen", a single produced by Nik Kershaw.^{[citation needed]}

2000-present[link]

In both 1998 and 2002, Clark toured extensively throughout the UK. In 2000, she presented a self-written one-woman show, highlighting her life and career, to large critical and audience acclaim at the St. Denis Theatre in Montreal. A 2003 concert appearance at the Olympia in Paris has been issued in both DVD and compact disc formats. In 2004, she toured Australia and New Zealand, appeared at the Hilton in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Humphrey's in San Diego and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, and participated in a multi-performer tribute to the late Peggy Lee at the Hollywood Bowl.^{[citation needed]} Following another British concert tour in early spring 2005, she appeared with Andy Williams in his Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, for several months, and she returned for another engagement in autumn of 2006, following scattered concert dates throughout North America.^{[citation needed]}

Clark performing in the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut in 2008

In November 2006, Clark was the subject of a BBC Four documentary entitled Petula Clark: Blue Lady and appeared with Michael Ball and Tony Hatch in a concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane broadcast by BBC Radio the following month.^{[citation needed]} In December that year she made her first appearance in Iceland.^{[citation needed]} Duets, a compilation including Dusty Springfield, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and the Everly Brothers, among others, was released in February 2007, and Solitude and Sunshine, a studio recording of all new material by composer Rod McKuen, was released in July of that year.^{[citation needed]} She was the host of the March 2007 PBS pledge-drive special My Music: The British Beat, an overview of music's British invasion of the United States in the 1960s, followed by a number of concert dates throughout the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.^{[citation needed]} She can be heard on the soundtrack of the 2007 independent film Downtown: A Street Tale. Une Baladine (in English, a wandering minstrel), an authorised pictorial biography by Francoise Piazza, was published in France and Switzerland in October 2007, and the following month Clark promoted it in bookshops and at book fairs.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Clark took part in the BBC Wales programme, Coming Home, about her Welsh family history.

Clark was presented with the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Use of a Song in a Television Program for "Downtown" in the ABC series Lost.^{[citation needed]} She completed a concert tour of England and Wales in summer 2008, followed by concerts in Switzerland and the Philippines.^{[citation needed]} Then & Now, a compilation of greatest hits and several new Clark compositions, entered the UK Albums Chart in June 2008 and won Clark her first silver disc for an album.^{[citation needed]} Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection, a compilation of previously unreleased material and new and remixed recordings, was released in January 2009.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, her 1969 NBC special Portrait of Petula, already released on DVD for Region 2 viewers, is also being produced for Region 1.^{[citation needed]} A collection of holiday songs titled This Is Christmas, which includes some new Clark compositions in addition to previously released material, was released in November 2009.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, Clark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.^[16]

At the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland on 14 July 2008, Clark joined with Paulo Nutini to perform "Goin' To Chicago Blues" in celebration of Quincy Jones' 75th birthday.

In 2010, Clark became the President of the Hastings Musical Festival;^{[citation needed]} she toured Australia, New Zealand and Quebec to sell out crowds,^{[citation needed]} and appeared on the Vivement Dimanche show on French television, where she promised a return to Paris in the new year. Her triple album, Une Baladine included 10 new tracks and one new studio recording; "SOS Mozart", a writing collaboration of Gilbert Bécaud and Pierre Delanoë.^{[citation needed]} Both her album set and the new recording of "SOS Mozart" were produced by David Hadzis at the Arthanor Productions studio in Geneva and appeared on the French charts. She is patron of 2011 Dinard British Film Festival.^[17]

Early in 2011, the Lark Street Business Improvement District in a section of the downtown area of Albany, New York, needed a name for its logo/mascot, a graphic image of a blue lark. An internet poll was held and the winner was 'Petula Lark', clearly a reference to the singer of the adopted anthem of New York City's urban area, "Downtown".^[18]

In November 2011, aged 78, Clark performed at the Casino de Paris, a Parisian music hall. Clark entertained for more than 90 minutes and introduced five new songs, one of which she had recently written with friend Charles Aznavour. A French album of all new material is to be released on 7 February 2012 on the Sony label, Clark's first in that language since the late 1970s.[1]

On 11 December 2011, the Saw Doctors released their version of "Downtown", featuring Clark. She appeared in the video for the song, which they recorded in Galway, and she in Paris. ^[19] On 22 December 2011, the record made No 2 on the Irish chart.^[20]

As of 2012, Clark was living in Switzerland.^[21] In January a Facebook campaign was launched to petition for a Damehood for Clark, to celebrate the year of both her 80th birthday and the Diamond Jubilee.^[22] In February she completed her first New York City show since 1975.^[21] Her show featured a parody of "Downtown", an idea that came from her musical director Grant Sturiale.^[21] After her season ended, which had to be extended due to public demand, she returned to Paris to promote her new album, before flying out to Australia for a tour.[2]

Filmography[link]

• Medal for the General (1944)
• Strawberry Roan (1945)
• Murder in Reverse (1945)
• I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
• Trouble at Townsend (1946)
• London Town (1946)
• Vice Versa (1948)
• Easy Money (1948)
• Here Come the Huggetts (1948)
• Vote for Huggett (1949)
• The Huggetts Abroad (1949)
• Don't Ever Leave Me (1949)
• The Romantic Age (1949)
• Dance Hall (1950)
• White Corridors (1951)
• Madame Louise (1951)
• The Card (1952)
• Made in Heaven (1952)
• The Runaway Bus (1954)
• The Gay Dog (1954)
• The Happiness of Three Women (1954)
• Track the Man Down (1955)
• That Woman Opposite (1957)
• 6.5 Special (1958)
• À Couteaux Tirés (1964) (also composed score) (aka "Daggers Drawn" for the American release)
• Finian's Rainbow (1968)
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
• Drôles de Zèbres (1977)
• Never, Never Land (1980)
• Sans Famille (1981 French television miniseries)

Discography[link]

Notable French singles[link]

• Prends Mon Coeur ("A Fool Such as I") (1960, No.9)
• "Garde-moi la dernière danse (Save the Last Dance for Me)" (1961, No.3^[23])
• "Marin (Sailor)" (1961, No.2)
• "Roméo" (1961, No.1)
• "Ya Ya Twist" (1962, No.1)
• "Chariot" (later also known as "I Will Follow Him") (1962, No.1)
• "Les Beaux Jours" (original title: "Ramblin' Rose") (1963, No.10)
• "Cœur Blessé" (original title: "Torture" by John D. Loudermilk; lyric by Jean Kluger, Daniel Vangarde, Claude Carrere, Jean Broussolle) (1963, No.1)
• "Je me sens bien auprès de toi (Dance On)" (1963, No.3)
• "Ceux qui ont un cœur (Anyone Who Had a Heart)" (1964, No.7)
• "Dans le temps (Downtown)" (1965, No.6)
• "Un jeune homme bien (Well Respected Man)" (1965)
• "C'est Ma Chanson" ("This is My Song") (1967, No.1)
• "La dernière valse (The Last Waltz)" (1967, No.2)
• "Tout le monde veut aller au ciel" (1967)

Notable German singles[link]

• "Monsieur" (by Karl Götz, Kurt Hertha; German language song) (1962, No.1)
• "Casanova Baciami" (song with German lyric) (1963, No.2)
• "Cheerio" (German language version of "Chariot") (1963, No.6)
• "Mille Mille Grazie" (song with mainly German lyric) (1963, No.9)
• "Warum muß man auseinandergeh'n (Mit weißen Perlen)" (1964, No.17)
• "Alles ist nun vorbei (Anyone Who Had a Heart)" (1964, No.37)
• "Downtown" (1965, German version, No.1)
• "Kann ich dir vertrauen" (1966, No.17)
• "Verzeih' die dummen Tränen" (1966, German version of "My Love", No.21)
• "Love - so heißt mein Song" (1967, German version of "This is My Song", No.23)
• "Alle Leute wollen in den Himmel", (1967, German version of "Tout le monde veut aller au ciel", No.28)

Notable Italian singles[link]

• "Monsieur" (the German song with Italian lyrics by Vito Pallavicini (1962, No.1)
• "Sul mio carro (Chariot)" (1962, No.1)
• "Quelli che hanno un cuore (Anyone who had a heart)" (1964, No.4)
• "Invece no" (Entry at the San Remo Festival 1965, No.5)
• "Ciao, ciao (Downtown)", (1965, No.1)
• "Cara felicita' (This is my song)" (1967, No.1)
• "Kiss Me Goodbye (Italian version)" (1968, No.26)

Complete Spanish recordings[link]

• "Qué tal, Dolly? (Hello, Dolly!)"
• "Pequeña Flor (Petite Fleur)"
• "Tú no tienes corazón (Anyone Who Had a Heart)"
• "Cantando al caminar (The Road)"

All four songs were released in 1964 in Spain on Hispavox EP "Petula Clark canta en Español" (Cat.-No. HV 27-126).

Other noteworthy recordings[link]

• "Put Your Shoes On Lucy" (1949)
• "House in the Sky" (1949)
• "I'll Always Love You" (1949)
• "Clancy Lowered the Boom" (1949)
• "You Go To My Head" (1950)
• "Music! Music! Music!" (1950)
• "You Are My True Love" (1950)
• "Mariandl" (with Jimmy Young) (1951)
• "Where Did My Snowman Go?" (1952)
• "The Card" (1952)
• "Christopher Robin At Buckingham Palace" (1953)
• "Meet Me In Battersea Park" (1954)
• "Suddenly There's A Valley" (1955)
• "Another Door Opens" (1956)
• "With All My Heart" (1957)
• "Fibbin'" (1958)
• "Devotion" (1958)
• "Dear Daddy" (1959)
• "Mama's Talkin' Soft" (1959), a song deleted from Gypsy prior to its Broadway opening
• "Cinderella Jones" (1960)
• "Marin" ("Sailor") (1961)
• "Ceux qui ont un cœur" ("Anyone Who Had a Heart") (1964)
• "Invece no" (1965)
• "Dans le temps" ("Downtown") (1965)
• "Sauve-moi" (1977)
• "Mr. Orwell" (1984)
• Blood Brothers (International Recording) (1995)
• Songs from Sunset Boulevard (1996)
• Here for You (1998)
• The Ultimate Collection (2002)
• Kaleidoscope (2003)
• "Starting All Over Again" (2003)
• Live at the Paris Olympia (2004)
• "Driven by Emotion" (2005)
• "Memphis" (2005)
• "Together" (2006), recorded as a duet with Andy Williams
• "Thank You for Christmas" (2006)
• "Simple Gifts" (2006)
• "It had to be you" (2007)
• Duets (2007)
• Solitude and Sunshine (2007)
• In Her Own Write (2007), also featuring a guest recording by Amanda-Jane Manning of My Love Will Never Die^[24]
• Then & Now (2008)
• Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection (2009)
• This is Christmas (2009)

See also[link]

• List of best-selling music artists

References[link]