This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

Basil Brush is a fictional anthropomorphic red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has featured on children's (and later adult) television from the 1960s to the present day.

A mischievous character and a raconteur, Basil Brush is best known for his catchphrase "Ha Ha Ha, Boom! Boom!", used after something he finds funny, and also for speaking in a "posh" accent and manner, referring to himself as a "fella". The character claims to dislike puppets, and says his most prized possession is his "brush", this being the traditional name for a fox's tail.

[edit] The Basil Brush Show from 2002-2007

In 2002, Basil made a comeback in a new children's BBC sitcom, again named The Basil Brush Show, in which his new comic foil, Stephen, is played by Christopher Pizzey. It is produced by The Foundation, part of the RDF Media Group. Child actors Georgina Leonidas and Michael Hayes also appear on the show. Basil Brush is now shown to have a family, which includes his destructive, hyperactive but cute nephew Bingo, and his criminal cousin Mortimer. Other friends have been introduced as well, such as the moneymaking child Dave and the more sensible Molly as well as Madison, a hippy who lives upstairs, Irish sidekick Liam (played by Michael Byers), and Anil, a crazy café owner and rubbish cook.

Several celebrities have made cameo appearances on the show. These include Eamonn Holmes, Ainsley Harriot and Myles Broom .^[1] Where the original shows were recorded before a studio audience of children, the new programme remains studio based, but features a post-production laughter track.

Interspersed with the main programme, there are now various animated shorts in which Basil and/or another character is seen making jokes. The more recent puppet looks different from the original 1960s/ 1970s puppet in a number of aspects, but the 'well-spoken' voice of Basil is similar to the original Ivan Owen version. Basil Brush Often breaks the Fourth Wall by having shots of the set and making references on how long the show is,and abusing the obvious way of walking across to other scenes.

Other appearances[link]

"Stick It Out"

Basil appeared on the 1993 Comic Relief song, "Stick It Out" alongside Right Said Fred and other celebrity friends.

Fantasy Football League

That same year, Basil appeared on BBC comedy series Fantasy Football League with Frank Skinner and David Baddiel - his first television appearance in over a decade. Inevitably, Basil's fantasy football team for the series included Norwich City midfielder Ruel Fox.

Blue Peter

Basil briefly appeared as a presenter for several Friday episodes of the popular British children's TV programme Blue Peter in 2003, in which he had his own joke segment. On 16 November 2010 Basil made a further guest appearance for one episode.

French and Saunders

Basil played Dobby the house elf in the French & Saunders sketch "Harry Potter And The Secret Chamberpot Of Azerbaijan" for Comic Relief Red Nose Day 2003.

The Weakest Link

On 10 December 2005, Basil appeared on The Weakest Link and won the show, receiving £10,900 for his chosen charity, the Blue Peter 2005 charity appeal, "Treasure Trail" (in aid of Childline). This makes him the first puppet to win The Weakest link (Roland Rat had previously appeared as a puppet contestant, but did not win). Basil returned to Weakest Link as one of the contestants on the show's 1000th UK edition, recorded on 1 November 2006. It was shown on BBC Two on 18 December 2006. Although he made it to the final round, this time he failed to win. However, the winner (Miss Evans) still decided to share half of her winnings with Basil's chosen charity.

Cinderella

Basil Brush starred in the Christmas pantomime Cinderella in 2007, including St Albans, where he would appear from a large box on wheels for various hilarious off-plot moments, and encouraged children in the audience to shout 'Boom Boom Basil!' after each use of his catch phrase. In December 2010 Basil Brush appeared in the Croydon Fairfield Halls pantomime production of Cinderella.

Basil's Swap Shop

On 20 December 2007, the BBC announced that Basil would be co-presenting a new version of Swap Shop with Barney Harwood on BBC Two. The new series is titled Basil's Swap Shop.

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation

In February 2010, Basil Brush appeared on the Australian game show, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, parts of which were broadcast in 3D.^[2]

Mongrels

In July 2010, a conspiracy theorist fox referred to as "Basil" appeared on the "adult puppet show" Mongrels (TV series) in a throwaway gag scene (Never meet your idols).

Are You Being Served?

Mr. Lucas claims to keep his pajamas in his Basil Brush in the episode entitled 'Forward Mr. Grainger' from Season 4. There is also a mention in the episode titled 'A Bliss Girl' from Season 6, in which Mrs. Slocombe is trying on a fox coat and Mr. Humphries tells her 'You look like a cross between Nelson and Basil Brush'.

Rolf Harris at The Royal Albert Hall

Basil appeared with Rolf Harris at his 50th anniversary concert for The Prince's Trust. Basil criticised Rolf about wanting to tie a kangaroo down, leading to a montage of clips from Animal Hospital, then they performed a duet of the song 'In The Court Of King Caractacus' together.

Celebrity Juice

Basil was the Newerer Magazine Head in the Celebrity Juice Series 6 Christmas special.

See also[link]

• Entertainment Rights
• CBBC Channel
• CBBC
• List of BBC children's television programmes

References[link]

External links[link]

• Basil Brush at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Basil Brush website
• BBC website on Basil Brush
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• Ivan Owen Obituary - The Guardian

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]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Petula Clark

• petulaclark.net, her official website
• petulaclark.co.uk, her British official website
• Petula Clark at the Internet Movie Database
• Petula Clark discography at Discogs
• Works by or about Petula Clark in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Glenn Gould dissects the music and image of Petula Clark in a 1967 CBC broadcast
• BBC interview
• Union Jack interview
• BBC Radio Wales interview, January 2007
• Las Vegas Sun interview, February 2007
• BBC Radio Wales interview, August 2008
• discoogle.com discography
• Hastings Musical Festival