Petula Clark made her first public performances as a singer aged 7, performing with an orchestra in the entrance hall of Bentall's Department Store in Kingston upon Thames for a tin of toffee. She recalled to
The Guardian: "I'd never seen an orchestra before and I didn't know an orchestra was made of people – I'd only heard it on the wireless. I was mesmerized by this. My dad went up to the conductor and said, "My daughter would like to sing with the band", and so I did. Yes, I was paid with a tin of toffees, which I thought was pretty good. I was happy with the sweets."
In October 1942, the 9-year-old Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast of It's All Yours with her father. The show, which played on the BBC Forces Network, was for children with dads, uncles, and brothers abroad fighting in the war. Petula wanted to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas, but an air raid delayed the broadcast.
The kids in the audience got nervous during the bombing and the producer asked for a volunteer to sing a song to settle the jittery children. Petula volunteered and performed "Mighty Lak' a Rose" to a huge response. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of around 500 appearances in programs designed to entertain the troops. Dubbed "Britain's Shirley Temple," the British Army considered Petula a good-luck charm.
Clark's first record release was "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy" for EMI in 1949. She had her first chart hit five years later with a children's song called "The Little Shoemaker," which topped the charts in Australia and peaked at #7 in the UK.
It wasn't until 1964 that the American record-buying public discovered her. The Tony Hatch-penned song "
Downtown" topped the US chart and Clark became the first UK female to reach #1 there since Vera Lynn in 1952.
In 1968, NBC-TV invited Clark to host her own special in the US. She caused a stir when she
touched the arm of the black Caribbean-American arm of her guest star Harry Belafonte during a duet. Clark refused to destroy the negative and a representative from the Chrysler Corporation (the show's sponsor), lost his cool, fearing that the moment would incur racial backlash from Southern viewers. She refused to do another take, and the program was delivered to NBC with the touch intact.
Petula Clark continued performing into her 80s. She said: "The whole obsession with age is something I don't understand. Doing your job well is what matters. I love performing."
Clark told Mojo magazine in 2016: "I always have to have an iron and an ironing board in my dressing room. I iron my own clothes before I go on stage. It takes my mind off things. If anybody is going to burn my clothes, it better be me, nobody else."
BBC1 launched its full-color service on November 15, 1969 with An Evening With Petula – featuring the singer at The Royal Albert Hall.
Her father coined Petula's distinctive name, combining the names of two of his ex-girlfriends, Pet and Ula. This whimsical choice became an emblem of her identity as an artist.
Growing up in Abercanaid, Wales, Petula's family lived in a home without electricity or running water. Despite these humble beginnings, her experiences shaped her resilience and artistry, influencing her career.
Clark recorded songs in multiple languages, including French, German, Italian, and Spanish. This multilingual approach not only expanded her international appeal but also helped her music transcend cultural boundaries.
In 1963, Clark composed the soundtrack for the French crime film À Couteaux Tirés (Daggers Drawn). The movie didn't do very well, but the song marked her growth as a composer and a storyteller through music.
