A radio star is born. . .
October 17, 1942

      Huddled in London's underground Criterion Theatre, the sounds of World War II reverberating above them, Petula and her father had come to the "It's All Yours" radio show intending to record a message for an uncle stationed in North Africa. Before the show went on the air, an air raid siren sounded and the producer asked if anyone would like to sing a song, tell a joke or recite a poem, anything to calm the atmosphere. Nine-year old Petula Clark raised her hand. She announced that she'd like to do Nellie Wallace, but was persuaded to sing a song instead since her father didn't think an impersonation of the raucous comedienne was quite appropriate. Confiding that she could also do Vera Lynn, Sophie Tucker and Jimmy Durante, little Petula was led to the microphone. In order to reach it, she was placed on a box. The room hushed as she began to sing a very plaintive rendition of "Mighty Lak a Rose." Just like in the movies, the orchestra joined in and by the time she had finished, the audience was spellbound and the musicians rose en mass to applaud her.
      Later, when the show went on the air, Petula was asked to sing for the broadcast and when letters by the hundreds (begging to hear more from the little girl whose "voice was crystal clear and sounded as sweet as chapel bells on a Sunday morning in England") began to pour into the BBC, a new star was born. For the duration of the war, Petula would make hundreds of radio appearances. By war's end, she had become quite an established star.

      This radio compilation is but a tiny sampling of Petula's very extensive career on radio. In the days before television, Petula Clark was an enormously popular radio star. The list to follow chronicles some of her appearances during the Golden Age of Radio and notes some of the shows upon which she was a series regular or who frequently featured her music. Also listed will be some of Petula's more notable appearances on radio, particularly those live appearances that feature interviews, hosting duties, and concert performances.
      As with many of the pages on this site, documentation of Petula's early radio career is difficult to compile. In her long career, Petula has easily made thousands of radio appearances on broadcasts from stations all over the world. This page is but a start. If you have any information to contribute to this section, the webmaster would be most grateful if you would contact her

• Terry Young's extensive research as documented in the IPCS' PETULA & COMPANY publications
• RADIO & TV TIMES publications housed in London's Westminster Reference Library, many of which have just recently become available on-line via the BBC GENOME PROJECT. (And not a moment too soon, as so many of the pages of aging yellowed magazines had become so brittle that they were beginning to disintegrate whenever a page was turned.)
• Many thanks also to Mike Jones for invaluable assistance in this compilation.