Petula turns 80 today. This video, from when Petula was 40, is my favorite. She’s obviously having a lot of fun, and it shows why she was called “sexy Pet” in France.
http://youtu.be/XBSpHtuhP5I
Category: Petula Clark
The One and Only Miss Petula Clark!
Lady doesn’t sing the Blues
Petula Clark is in NYC, for a series of cabaret-style shows, like the ones she did in France fifty years ago. NPR has this interview with the lovely lady, who is now, if I’m not mistaken, entering her 70th year in showbiz. This evocative portrait of Petula at fifteen is from a 1947 issue of Vogue magazine.
TCM Alert – Petula Clark in ‘Runaway Bus’
Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET, Turner Classic Movies is showing The Runaway Bus, a nifty little caper comedy with Petula Clark, from her years in British film. No singing, just Pet being perfectly perky as Nikki, a resourceful stewardess.
And this coming Sunday night/Monday morning at 4 AM ET, TCM is showing Petula in one of her teen roles from the popular Huggetts series, The Huggetts Abroad. Thanks, TCM!
See the Saw Doctors joining Petula ‘Downtown’
This came in yesterday from across the Atlantic…
Hello from the UK
I have been enjoying your blog for some time now,especially the Petula Clark items. Are you aware of a new version of ‘Downtown’ by ‘The Saw Doctors’, out soon. It features new vocals from Petula.
All for now
Stephen Plant
Hey, wow, this is great! Thank you so much, Stephen. It’s always nice to know there’s somebody out there, and I should have been aware of the Saw Doctors doing Downtown with Pet, but I wasn’t until now. What splendid fun! The Saw Doctor’s contagious take on Petula’s magnificent Downtown gets released on December 9…
… and I see that the Saw Doctors will be in Massachusetts in March, playing downtown Northampton and Worcester (two good UK names there, a’right), and at the House of Blues in Boston on March 9, close enough to St. Patrick’s day to assure some good, loud times.
Anakin and Padme… Obi-Wan and Petula Clark??
As I have said numerous times, when Petula Clark burst onto the American Pop music scene with Downtown, we had no idea that she had been in the entertainment biz for 20 years. For a long time she was better known for being in English movies than for her singing. One of those movies is The Card, with Alec Guinness.
[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/2011/Nov/TheCard.flv 512 384]
Pet arrived here as an unknown, and what a thrill it must have been for her to start all over and be such a huge success on her own terms. Happy Birthday, Petula!
I’m an idiot!
Scoptione video jukeboxes originated in France. Wait. France? Petula Clark was a star in France before she came to America. Duh! But of course.
http://youtu.be/ymc9hRcOJTg
Sometimes I amaze myself with how slow on the uptake I am. Have I always been this dense? I met Petula. I sat with her and we chatted for a few minutes. I could have asked about her Scopitone movies. But, no. I was clueless.