2007 Spring/Fall UK Tour Journal
Spring Song List
PART ONE
PART ONE
- Who Am I
- Twelfth of Never
- Don't Sleep in the Subway
- I'm Not Afraid
- This is My Song
- I Know a Place
- Round Every Corner/Call Me
/The Other Man's Grass - Come Along with Me
- Look to the Rainbow
- Driven by Emotion
- Tell Me It's Not True
- Jazz Medley
- Sign of the Time
- I Wanna Hold Your Hand
(La Vie en Rose in Croydon) - You're the One
- With One Look
- Theatre poem
- Losing My Mind
- To Memphis
- Love Songs Medley
- Downtown
- Here for You
- I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
After 60 years of performing. Petula Clark is
still the nation's sweetheart. writes Marie
Lindstrom
Having been performing for so long, you do wonder how Petula Clark keeps on going. Well renowned for her theatre and film work. Petula is returning to her spiritual home of the stage for her latest tour, which sees her perform in Perth and Aberdeen.
But after years in the business and seeing other acts come and go. what is it that keeps Petula in the music industry?
"Funnily enough. I've written a song about it: it's called Driven By Emotion and it came out of an interview in which this person asked what drives me and I could not for the life of me find an answer. so I went away for a few days and wrote this song and it's really just that I'm driven by the emotion of it and the joy of singing" she said.
Petula became a star as a child. performing on the radio to entertain the British troops in World War II. Over the years. she has lived throughout the world. working recently mostly in North America. However, she is still a homebird at heart and a return to Britain is almost a homecoming for Petula.
"Coming back is a joy. because I'll be able to see the countryside again," she said. "I don't see enough of the UK and singing in theatres and hearing voices and accents of my own country is great.
"It sounds a bit corny, but it's true." With a back catalogue larger than many record stores, Petula certainly has plenty of choice when it comes to choosing a set list for her concerts.
"I'd be crazy if I didn't do Downtown," she said. "I have been blessed with some very good songs. but I'm not lost in nostalgia at all. and I'll do some new songs and I'll do songs from films and shows I've been in. It's an evening of music and communication."
Although it has been some time since she last performed in Scotland. Petula certainly recalls her last visit with some fondness.
"I really like to travel on the bus with the musicians because it's fun We were somewhere in Scotland when our bus broke down. In the middle of nowhere. 10 of us straggling musician types got out of the bus and wandered around."
"Finally, we found ourselves in a village pub and it turned into a party: people came from miles away and we sang and it became something really special Then the bus turned up repaired and we left. I don't hope the bus breaks down again, but that made a great memory."
Unlike so many of today's miming wannabes, Petula knows how to put on a proper show This lady is a performer through and through. and her talent and love of the business has shown that, if you have the talent, you really can get longer than 15 minutes of fame.
"I like live performances because it's happening there and then and there's a connection between the audience and the performer. I'm getting as much out of it as the audience are, hopefully."
"I have a private life off the stage, with children and grandchildren. But when I'm actually doing it, I'm totally immersed in it: the stage is my home."
Petula Clark is performing in Perth Concert Hall this Sunday. and in Aberdeen Music Hall on Monday For more information, visit www.petulaclark.net
Having been performing for so long, you do wonder how Petula Clark keeps on going. Well renowned for her theatre and film work. Petula is returning to her spiritual home of the stage for her latest tour, which sees her perform in Perth and Aberdeen.
But after years in the business and seeing other acts come and go. what is it that keeps Petula in the music industry?
"Funnily enough. I've written a song about it: it's called Driven By Emotion and it came out of an interview in which this person asked what drives me and I could not for the life of me find an answer. so I went away for a few days and wrote this song and it's really just that I'm driven by the emotion of it and the joy of singing" she said.
Petula became a star as a child. performing on the radio to entertain the British troops in World War II. Over the years. she has lived throughout the world. working recently mostly in North America. However, she is still a homebird at heart and a return to Britain is almost a homecoming for Petula.
"Coming back is a joy. because I'll be able to see the countryside again," she said. "I don't see enough of the UK and singing in theatres and hearing voices and accents of my own country is great.
"It sounds a bit corny, but it's true." With a back catalogue larger than many record stores, Petula certainly has plenty of choice when it comes to choosing a set list for her concerts.
"I'd be crazy if I didn't do Downtown," she said. "I have been blessed with some very good songs. but I'm not lost in nostalgia at all. and I'll do some new songs and I'll do songs from films and shows I've been in. It's an evening of music and communication."
Although it has been some time since she last performed in Scotland. Petula certainly recalls her last visit with some fondness.
"I really like to travel on the bus with the musicians because it's fun We were somewhere in Scotland when our bus broke down. In the middle of nowhere. 10 of us straggling musician types got out of the bus and wandered around."
"Finally, we found ourselves in a village pub and it turned into a party: people came from miles away and we sang and it became something really special Then the bus turned up repaired and we left. I don't hope the bus breaks down again, but that made a great memory."
Unlike so many of today's miming wannabes, Petula knows how to put on a proper show This lady is a performer through and through. and her talent and love of the business has shown that, if you have the talent, you really can get longer than 15 minutes of fame.
"I like live performances because it's happening there and then and there's a connection between the audience and the performer. I'm getting as much out of it as the audience are, hopefully."
"I have a private life off the stage, with children and grandchildren. But when I'm actually doing it, I'm totally immersed in it: the stage is my home."
Petula Clark is performing in Perth Concert Hall this Sunday. and in Aberdeen Music Hall on Monday For more information, visit www.petulaclark.net
"Standing ovation twice."
JOHN Lennon said she was his favourite singer, and judging by the reaction of the small but enthusiastic crowd at the Music Hall, others had the same idea.
At 74. but looking 20 years younger. Petula Clark, the first British singer to top the US charts, is a living legend.
Taking to the stage in a shimmering full-length red dress cut to the waist at the back and supported by a nine-piece band, she oozed star quality. We were treated to a mixture of legendary hits, Downtown., I Know a Place, Colour My World to mention but a few, and several new. self-penned songs, some of which the band played a little too loudly.
Between songs fans were regaled with tales of those she'd worked with such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas. Fred Astaire and Sophia Loren. Blues. jazz, ballads, rock and pop - Pet tackled them all with style and her fans gave her a standing ovation and called for an encore not once, but twice.
JOHN Lennon said she was his favourite singer, and judging by the reaction of the small but enthusiastic crowd at the Music Hall, others had the same idea.
At 74. but looking 20 years younger. Petula Clark, the first British singer to top the US charts, is a living legend.
Taking to the stage in a shimmering full-length red dress cut to the waist at the back and supported by a nine-piece band, she oozed star quality. We were treated to a mixture of legendary hits, Downtown., I Know a Place, Colour My World to mention but a few, and several new. self-penned songs, some of which the band played a little too loudly.
Between songs fans were regaled with tales of those she'd worked with such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas. Fred Astaire and Sophia Loren. Blues. jazz, ballads, rock and pop - Pet tackled them all with style and her fans gave her a standing ovation and called for an encore not once, but twice.
Thursday 17 April, 2007
Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow, Scotland UK
Thursday 17 April, 2007
Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow, Scotland UK
Saturday, 19 April 2007
Newcastle City Hall
Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Saturday, 19 April 2007
Newcastle City Hall
Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
By Nicola Orchard
Petula Clark sings to her own tune.
The word legend is often overused to describe musicians and performers, who really haven't achieved all that much, but if one person can lay claim to the word, it is Petula Clark.
Not just a singer, not just an actress, Surrey born Petula has been entertaining all kinds of audiences since the World War Two era, starring in her first film in 1944, and recording her first song Music, Music, Music in 1949.
But the softly spoken Petula remains modest about her 50 years-plus stellar career, including topping the UK and USA charts and starring alongside silver screen stars like Peter O'Toole, Fred Astaire, and Alec Guinness I'd never imagined my career would span this long, but to be honest, I never really thought about it," she says.
"I didn't have a master plan, it was all quite organic and just happened."
Petula is just about to start her first UK tour for five years, and tells me she is looking forward to singing both old and new songs.
"I would be stupid if I didn't do the things that people want to hear. Songs like Downtown are still very good songs, so I will do most of my older hits," she says.
Petula spends a lot of time writing songs nowadays,and will feature some of her original work in the Wycombe Swan show.
She explains: "I have always done a small amount of writing, but over the last few years, I have been more confident in myself. I would never call myself a songwriter, but I write songs sometimes."
Despite not calling herself a songwriter, Petula uses the writers' trick of drawing on past experiences in her music.
"A lot of my songs are very personal," she confides. "One is called Driven by Emotion, which I am. I also wrote a song about Memphis, where I have been several times, and was quite touched by the place."
I also play a song called I'm Not Afraid on the piano. It is about finally not being afraid of showing who I am." Was Petula ever afraid of showing who she really was? "Everything was a lot more restrictive when I started out," she admits. "I was valuable to the studio as a child, and thats how they kept me for longer than I wanted to be.
"My songs were chosen for me, but now I do my own choosing."
She continues: "People had an image of who I am, and how I should be, and that took a long while to shake. When I come on stage, what you see is what you get."
The success Petula has enjoyed as a singer - selling more than 70 million albums across the world, and enjoying 28 hits in the UK, and 15 Top 40 songs in the USA, topping the charts with Downtown and I Know A Place - is matched by her acting achievements. She worked alongside Peter O'Toole in Goodbye Mr Chips, was Fred Astaire's last big screen dance partner in Finian's Rainbow, and became a theatre star with appearances in Blood Brothers and Sunset Boulevard, songs from which will be featured in her new show.
"I don't think there is a lot of difference in acting and singing" she says. "Each song is like a play that goes on in my mind, and I think really great actors have music in their heads."
Working with such big names must have been beneficial to Petula's career? "Every actor has their own personal way. Some are spontaneous, and some are more studied, but every way is valid.
Petula Clark sings to her own tune.
The word legend is often overused to describe musicians and performers, who really haven't achieved all that much, but if one person can lay claim to the word, it is Petula Clark.
Not just a singer, not just an actress, Surrey born Petula has been entertaining all kinds of audiences since the World War Two era, starring in her first film in 1944, and recording her first song Music, Music, Music in 1949.
But the softly spoken Petula remains modest about her 50 years-plus stellar career, including topping the UK and USA charts and starring alongside silver screen stars like Peter O'Toole, Fred Astaire, and Alec Guinness I'd never imagined my career would span this long, but to be honest, I never really thought about it," she says.
"I didn't have a master plan, it was all quite organic and just happened."
Petula is just about to start her first UK tour for five years, and tells me she is looking forward to singing both old and new songs.
"I would be stupid if I didn't do the things that people want to hear. Songs like Downtown are still very good songs, so I will do most of my older hits," she says.
Petula spends a lot of time writing songs nowadays,and will feature some of her original work in the Wycombe Swan show.
She explains: "I have always done a small amount of writing, but over the last few years, I have been more confident in myself. I would never call myself a songwriter, but I write songs sometimes."
Despite not calling herself a songwriter, Petula uses the writers' trick of drawing on past experiences in her music.
"A lot of my songs are very personal," she confides. "One is called Driven by Emotion, which I am. I also wrote a song about Memphis, where I have been several times, and was quite touched by the place."
I also play a song called I'm Not Afraid on the piano. It is about finally not being afraid of showing who I am." Was Petula ever afraid of showing who she really was? "Everything was a lot more restrictive when I started out," she admits. "I was valuable to the studio as a child, and thats how they kept me for longer than I wanted to be.
"My songs were chosen for me, but now I do my own choosing."
She continues: "People had an image of who I am, and how I should be, and that took a long while to shake. When I come on stage, what you see is what you get."
The success Petula has enjoyed as a singer - selling more than 70 million albums across the world, and enjoying 28 hits in the UK, and 15 Top 40 songs in the USA, topping the charts with Downtown and I Know A Place - is matched by her acting achievements. She worked alongside Peter O'Toole in Goodbye Mr Chips, was Fred Astaire's last big screen dance partner in Finian's Rainbow, and became a theatre star with appearances in Blood Brothers and Sunset Boulevard, songs from which will be featured in her new show.
"I don't think there is a lot of difference in acting and singing" she says. "Each song is like a play that goes on in my mind, and I think really great actors have music in their heads."
Working with such big names must have been beneficial to Petula's career? "Every actor has their own personal way. Some are spontaneous, and some are more studied, but every way is valid.
"You have to find your own way, and there is no trick to it."
With John Lennon once citing Petula as his favourite singer, it is no wonder she has enjoyed enduring popularity.
She sang on his anti war hit Give Peace A Chance, and also appeared in the film of John and Yoko Ono's Montreal hotel bed in. America has been kind to Petula. She was the first British female artist to receive a prestigious US Grammy award, scooping the accolade for Downtown in 1965, and later for I Know A Place.
No stranger to multi-tasking, Petula has also had television success in the USA, appearing on numerous hit shows in the 60s including the Ed Sullivan Show, the Dean Martin Show and the Andy Williams Show, making her a household name. And she sold out concerts at massive venues like the Waldorf Astoria in New York, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. After enjoying such success in America, it is no surprise that Petula splits her time between the country and Europe, making time for her family - husband Claude Wolff and three children Bara, Kate and Patrick - who have made their homes on both continents.
"I have a daughter and two grandchildren in New York, another daughter in Paris, and my son is in Geneva.
It's not as glamourous as it sounds," she admits. "It is a bit too much jet setting." And she is just as loved in her home country - receiving the CBE in 1998, and being one of the very few stars to have appeared on This Is Your Life three times. Next for Petula is a collection of duets which she has recorded in years past with names such as Dean Martin and Dusty Springfield.
But for now, she is just looking forward to getting back on the road in her home country.
"I am really looking forward to it," she says. "I was asked to do one again, and when I looked in my diary, I was pleased I could fit it in."
"I feel very free on stage."
An Evening with Petula Clark is at the Wycombe Swan on Friday, April 20 at 7.30pm. Tickets: 01494 512000.
Monday, 21 April 2007
Brentwood Centre
Brentwood, England UK
Monday, 21 April 2007
Brentwood Centre
Brentwood, England UK
©Jean-Michel Barrault 
Wednesday, 23 April 2007
Buxton Opera House
Buxton, England UK
Wednesday, 23 April 2007
Buxton Opera House
Buxton, England UK
Friday, 25 April 2007
Marina Theatre
Lowestoft, England UK
Friday, 25 April 2007
Marina Theatre
Lowestoft, England UK
Friday, 27 April, 2007
St. George's Hall
Bradford, England UK
Friday, 27 April, 2007
St. George's Hall
Bradford, England UK
Sunday, 29 April, 2007
Embassy Theatre
Skegness, England UK
Sunday, 29 April, 2007
Embassy Theatre
Skegness, England UK
Monday, 30 April, 2007
Corn Exchange
Kings Lynn, England UK
Monday, 30 April, 2007
Corn Exchange
Kings Lynn, England UK
2007 Fall UK TOUR
FALL Song List
PART ONE
PART ONE
- Who Am I
- Twelfth of Never
- Don't Sleep in the Subway
- I'm Not Afraid
- This is My Song
- I Know a Place
- Look to the Rainbow
- Colour My World
- I Want to Hold Your Hand
- You're the One
PART TWO
- Sign of the TimeS
- Theatre poem
- Losing My Mind
- With One Look
- Tell Me It's Not True
- Love Songs Medley
- To Memphis
- Downtown
- Here for You
- I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
©Photos by Mike Jones
©Photo by Phil Meehan
2007 Fall UK TOUR
The singer, the Legend, Petula Clark
She's been performing since she was a child. Today, as Petula Clark announces a date with an lpswich sell out audience.
entertainments reporter JAMES MARSTON speaks to the great songstress about her career, her ambition and her thoughts on performing.
Petula Clark is a legend in the world of show business. She's been performing since she was a child.
She's won countiess awards. she's had numerous bits. she's an actress, she's a musician, and on October 11 she's coming to Ipwich.
This year has seen Petula release two albums - Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs Of Rod McKuen and Duets. The latter offers pairings of Petula with legendary song partners from the 196os through to today including a previously unrelead track with Dusty Springfield.
She is looking forward to her performance in Ipswich.
She said: "1 did a UK tour this year and I'm doing about five dates in October and November. I'm delightted to be performing in the UK. I do a lot of work in the states these days and it's great to be back here. I'm really looking forward to it."
Petula, who admits she is past the retirement age of most. said she doesn't want to give up working.
She said: 'Why stop when peopie still want to come and see you. Come on James, you know people don't retire in this business. We don't do retirement."
She's right of course, why stop when you're still pepular: still singing well and still selling out venues?
Petula said: "I don't really get stage fright. The last time that happetied was my first night of Sunset Boulevard in London. that was real terror
"I do get nervous though. I think it's a good thing. It gets the adrenalin going and makes you rise to the challenge of performing."
I wonder out loud if performing for Petula is a bit of a drug.
She said: I suppose it is in a way. It's a relationship you have with an audience. You bounce off them and they bounce off you.
You've got a reputation to maintain and you want to provide quality entertainment. At the moment my voice is better than it ever has been."
A performer since childhood, Petula said she never had a burining ambition to pursue the career she forged.
She said: "I think perople of my generation do have a work ethic but I was never really ambitious. I'm not an ambitious person. My career didn't have a plan. In fact, I'm very laid back about it.
She may not have been amitious but Petula Coark has made her name in a business in which it is notoriously difficult to succeed.
She admite to having a degree of grit.
She said, "I suppose when I decide to do something, I am determined. I am tough on myself and probably on the people around me. I like things to be right."
Whatever she put it down to, Petula Clark remains a popular act and her show promises to be an interesting evening.
She said: "I haven't finalised what the show is going to include to be honest. I've got a live band on stage with 9 or ten musicians. I shall sing all the songs people expect like Downtown and some of the other hits.
I'll probably sings something from Sunset Boulevard and Blood Brothers. I might read some poetry and play the piano a bit.
It's not a nostalgia trip and I'll be performing some new songs I have written. Every song is relavant and special to me."
Are you a Petula fan? What do you think of her music? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 IAN or email eveningstarletters@evening star.co.uk
Petula Clark is a legend in the world of show business. She's been performing since she was a child.
She's won countiess awards. she's had numerous bits. she's an actress, she's a musician, and on October 11 she's coming to Ipwich.
This year has seen Petula release two albums - Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs Of Rod McKuen and Duets. The latter offers pairings of Petula with legendary song partners from the 196os through to today including a previously unrelead track with Dusty Springfield.
She is looking forward to her performance in Ipswich.
She said: "1 did a UK tour this year and I'm doing about five dates in October and November. I'm delightted to be performing in the UK. I do a lot of work in the states these days and it's great to be back here. I'm really looking forward to it."
Petula, who admits she is past the retirement age of most. said she doesn't want to give up working.
She said: 'Why stop when peopie still want to come and see you. Come on James, you know people don't retire in this business. We don't do retirement."
She's right of course, why stop when you're still pepular: still singing well and still selling out venues?
Petula said: "I don't really get stage fright. The last time that happetied was my first night of Sunset Boulevard in London. that was real terror
"I do get nervous though. I think it's a good thing. It gets the adrenalin going and makes you rise to the challenge of performing."
I wonder out loud if performing for Petula is a bit of a drug.
She said: I suppose it is in a way. It's a relationship you have with an audience. You bounce off them and they bounce off you.
You've got a reputation to maintain and you want to provide quality entertainment. At the moment my voice is better than it ever has been."
A performer since childhood, Petula said she never had a burining ambition to pursue the career she forged.
She said: "I think perople of my generation do have a work ethic but I was never really ambitious. I'm not an ambitious person. My career didn't have a plan. In fact, I'm very laid back about it.
She may not have been amitious but Petula Coark has made her name in a business in which it is notoriously difficult to succeed.
She admite to having a degree of grit.
She said, "I suppose when I decide to do something, I am determined. I am tough on myself and probably on the people around me. I like things to be right."
Whatever she put it down to, Petula Clark remains a popular act and her show promises to be an interesting evening.
She said: "I haven't finalised what the show is going to include to be honest. I've got a live band on stage with 9 or ten musicians. I shall sing all the songs people expect like Downtown and some of the other hits.
I'll probably sings something from Sunset Boulevard and Blood Brothers. I might read some poetry and play the piano a bit.
It's not a nostalgia trip and I'll be performing some new songs I have written. Every song is relavant and special to me."
A classic shot of Petula singing in Las Vegas
A recent publicity shot.
Receiving the Gold Badge of Merit during the 29th Annual Gold Badge Awards with Sir Cliff Richard
Waving to fans.
