Petula Clark
Sally Clark entered the world on the 15th of November 1932 in Ewell, Surrey. Her parents worked as nurses at Long Grove Hospital in Epsom. She grew up near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales where her grandfather mined coal. The young girl lived through the Blitz while watching dogfights overhead. During air raids she ran to shelters with her sister. At eight years old she joined other children recording messages for families of soldiers overseas. These recordings took place inside the Criterion Theatre an underground venue designed for safety. An air-raid siren sounded during one session causing distress among the group. A call went out for someone to sing and calm the frightened children. Clark volunteered and performed a rendition of Mighty Like a Rose. The control room staff liked her voice so much they recorded it immediately. This event launched a series of approximately 500 broadcasts intended to entertain troops. By age nine she made her radio debut in October 1942. She was trying to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas when the broadcast was delayed by bombing. The producer asked for a performance to settle the jittery audience. She repeated her song for the listening public and began performing for George VI Winston Churchill and Bernard Montgomery. Nicknamed Britain's Shirley Temple she became known as a mascot for the British Army.
In 1957 Clark appeared at the Paris Olympia despite suffering from a bad cold. The audience received her with acclaim that day. The next morning Vogue Records chairman Léon Cabat invited her to his office. He offered her a contract if she agreed to work with Claude Wolff who would become her husband. They married in June 1961 after meeting just two years prior. Clark embarked on a concert tour of France and Belgium with Sacha Distel in 1960. She gradually moved further into continental Europe recording in German French Italian and Spanish. Her 1961 recording of Sailor became her first number-one hit in the UK. Romeo sold more than one million copies worldwide earning her a gold disc from the Recording Industry Association of America. Ya Ya Twist became a smash hit in France during 1962. Chariot also reached number one in France that same year. Jacques Brel gave her a present of the song Un Enfant which charted in Canada. In 1963 she wrote the soundtrack for the French crime film A Couteaux Tirés released in 1964. Additional scores included Entre ciel et mer Rêves d'enfant La bande à Bebel and Pétain. Six themes from the final score were released on CD In Her Own Write in 2007.
Tony Hatch flew to Paris in late 1964 with new song material hoping to interest Clark. He played chords of an incomplete melody inspired by his trip to New York City. Clark told him if he could write lyrics as good as the melody she wanted to record it. The resulting single was Downtown which went to number one in January 1965. Warner Bros executive Joe Smith acquired rights for the United States after hearing it in London. Three million copies were sold in the US alone. This track launched fifteen consecutive Top-40 hits including I Know a Place My Love and A Sign of the Times. The American recording industry honored her with Grammy Awards for Best Rock & Roll Recording of 1964 and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance of 1965 Female. Between January 1965 and April 1968 she charted nine US top 20 hits. She received the MIDEM international award for highest worldwide sales by a female artist in 1968. This followed a 1967 MIDEM award for most sales in Europe by a European artist. It is estimated that Clark has sold 100 million records globally. Her success led to frequent appearances on Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin variety programmes.
NBC invited Clark to host her own special in the US during 1968. While singing On the Path of Glory with Harry Belafonte she took hold of his arm. A representative from Chrysler Corporation feared racial backlash from Southern viewers. He insisted they substitute a different take where they stood far apart. Clark and Wolff refused destroying all other takes before delivering the finished programme. The show aired on the 8th of April 1968 four days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. High ratings and critical acclaim followed despite controversy. The Chrysler representative lost his job over the decision. The programme earned a Primetime Emmy nomination. To commemorate the 40th anniversary Clark and Wolff appeared at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan on the 22nd of September 2008. They discussed the broadcast's impact following a showing of the original episode. She later hosted Portrait of Petula shown on NBC and CBC networks in early 1970. Another special titled Petula served as a pilot for a projected weekly series on ABC. Her BBC television series This Is Petula Clark aired from mid-1966 to early 1968.
Clark returned to legitimate theatre in 1981 starring as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. The production opened to positive reviews and what was then the largest advance sale in British theatre history. Maria Von Trapp herself proclaimed her the best Maria ever. She extended an initial six-month run to thirteen months due to ticket demand. A Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical followed. In 1993 she made her Broadway debut in Blood Brothers at the Music Box Theatre. With David Cassidy she is credited with rescuing the show from failure. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard saw her appear in West End and American touring productions from 1995 to 2000. She played Norma Desmond more than any other actress with over 2,500 performances. In 2004 she repeated the role in Cork Ireland which was broadcast by the BBC. She appeared as a guest on Radio 4's The Reunion in August 2012. In March 2019 she returned to the West End stage performing in Mary Poppins as The Bird Woman after twenty years away. Her autobiography Is That You Petula? was published in 2025.
Clark performed at the Casino de Paris in November 2011 at age 78. She entertained for more than 90 minutes introducing five new songs including one written with Charles Aznavour. A French album of all new material released on the 7th of February 2012 on the Sony label marked her first in that language since the late 1970s. On the 11th of December 2011 the Saw Doctors released their version of Downtown featuring Clark. They recorded the video in Galway while she filmed in Paris. The record reached number two on the Irish chart on the 22nd of December 2011. In January 2013 she released Lost in You containing new music and covers. The album entered the UK national album chart at number 24 on Sunday the 3rd of March 2013. Two songs from the album were performed in Jools Holland's New Year Hootenanny on the 1st of January 2013. She appeared with the Midtown Men at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on the 20th of June 2015 performing Downtown. An English-language album Living for Today released on the 10th of November 2017 preceded a US tour marking her first in five decades. Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends concert aired on the BBC in January 2023 where she performed I'm Still Here from Follies. The CD recording of this performance was released physically and digitally in December 2023.
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Common questions
When and where was Sally Clark born?
Sally Clark entered the world on the 15th of November 1932 in Ewell, Surrey. Her parents worked as nurses at Long Grove Hospital in Epsom.
What event launched Sally Clark's career with the British Army?
An air-raid siren sounded during a recording session inside the Criterion Theatre causing distress among frightened children. Clark volunteered to sing Mighty Like a Rose which led control room staff to record her immediately and launch approximately 500 broadcasts intended to entertain troops.
Which song became Sally Clark's first number-one hit in the UK?
Her 1961 recording of Sailor became her first number-one hit in the UK. Romeo sold more than one million copies worldwide earning her a gold disc from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Why did Petula Clark refuse to change the take for her 1968 NBC special?
A representative from Chrysler Corporation insisted they substitute a different take where she stood far apart from Harry Belafonte due to fears of racial backlash. Clark and Claude Wolff refused destroying all other takes before delivering the finished programme which aired on the 8th of April 1968.
How many performances did Sally Clark give as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?
She played Norma Desmond more than any other actress with over 2,500 performances between 1995 and 2000. She repeated the role in Cork Ireland in 2004 which was broadcast by the BBC.