Petula Clark, Once More With Love

It’s obvious that Petula Clark adores performing and loves her audiences – and that, when it comes to ‘retirement’, she subscribes to the Dame Judi Dench tenet – which is, WHY? At a sprightly 87, Petula has excelled in every aspect of the entertainment business. Her career spans eight decades, and includes war-time radio, early TV variety, feature films, stage musicals, and of course popular music – the field where she famously reinvented herself before the term was a wink in Madonna’s eye. In the 1950s she was a child star, but crossed over – first from the Tin Pan Alley hit-makers to Parisian chanteuse (she moved to Paris to shake up her image) and then to swinging 60s pop (courtesy of new songwriters like Tony Hatch who gave Petula her first number 1 hit – ‘Downtown’). At one time, she held the position as the world’s top-selling female artist.

However, Petula Clark doesn’t do ‘nostalgia’ shows. She’s not succumbed to the Bob Dylan style of only performing for herself; Petula shapes her show with a blend of new material and crowd-pleasers. She seems to know her audience and respect them. The performance starts with a slow introduction – a quiet love song that lets the singer warm up. Petula has said in interviews that she doesn’t do a lot of preparation, but it can take her two songs to warm up. That must be almost true because, for her second number, she belts out the worldwide smash hit, ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway’. This is also her way of reassuring us that she’s going to perform some of our jukebox favourites too. And it is a joy to be in the audience and be confident of a well-crafted and superbly performed show – it is designed to keep the singer and her band interested, while we, the audience, are left satisfied and uplifted.

As Petula quips: “I had so many great songs in the 60s, if I sang all of them, we’d be here all night!” And so the sticky issue for diehard fans, eager to hear only the most famous numbers, is dealt with swiftly in a cleverly arranged 60s medley of hits. But there are songs from stage and screen as well – from her run as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and from Goodbye Mr Chips and Finnian’s Rainbow. The set includes well-selected cover versions – ‘Fever’ (Peggy Lee’s signature tune), ‘Crazy’ (Gnarls Barkley), ‘Imagine’ (Lennon), ‘Blackbird’ (McCartney), ‘While you See a Chance’ (Winwood), with arrangements by Petula’s New York Musical Director, Grant Sturiale, who also joins her on piano. Petula also plays the keyboard for some of her self-penned numbers. These new songs, including the beautiful ‘Here for You’, ‘Every Time I See a Rainbow’, and ‘Living for Today’ speak to the older audience, about surviving tough times, and they remind us of the importance of music in our lives. When Petula sings ‘I couldn’t live without your love – now I know you’re really mine’ you get the feeling she is singing direct to you as a dedicated music fan.

With a successful career spanning so many wonderful projects, Petula has many showbiz tales to share in between songs. She is a brilliant storyteller and talks about meeting luminaries from John Lennon to Francis Ford Coppola, and Charlie Chaplin.

Some may question why see an older performer when there is a plethora of pop divas to choose from today: the simple answer is that no one is singing songs of this quality or performing them with such finesse. As Petula has said: “Singing is a joy!” Another reason for experienced artists like Petula to continue touring is that, apart from her regular pianist, her back-up band, featuring electronic keyboard, base, guitar and drums, are all Australian musos. It must be a treat for them to perform the mix of songs for the lady herself.

I’ve heard Petula say in recent interviews that, in our complicated world today, “We have to give everything our love in our work and our attitude and everything we do.” How true. Petula’s first public performance was in London during an air raid – she was asked to sing to keep everyone calm and improve the atmosphere. Now, more than 70 years later, when I hear Petula sing, I feel that her songs are still helping us keep calm and carry on. And I do hope Petula carries on for many years to come!

After Brisbane, Petula Clark performs in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Port Macquarie, Adelaide, Perth and then on to Canada before returning to the West End stage in London later in 2019 in Mary Poppins.

Beth Keehn