Record

CodeDS/UK/132
NameClark; Petula (15 November 1932); CBE; British singer, actress and composer
Variations of NameSally Olwen Clark
Dates15 November 1932
GenderFemale
Place of Birth/OriginEpsom, Surrey, England (born)
RelationshipsDaughter of Doris Phillips and Leslie Noah Clark (both nurses). Her mother was of Welsh ancestry.
BiographyPetula Clark, CBE is a British singer, actress and composer whose career spans eight decades.

Clark's professional career began during World War II, as an entertainer on BBC Radio. From the 1950s she started recording in French and scored international hits in both French and English with songs such as "The Little Shoemaker", "Baby Lover", "With All My Heart" and "Prends Mon Cœur". Hits in German, Italian and Spanish followed. In late 1964 Clark's global success extended to America with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch (and Jackie Trent). These include her signature song "Downtown", "I Know a Place", "My Love", "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". In America she was dubbed "the First Lady of the British Invasion". She has sold more than 68 million records.[1] She also has enjoyed success in musical films (Finian's Rainbow) and in stage musicals (The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard).

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