I remember as a young boy, must have been early 1960's, listening to this song over the audio system in our local Ben Franklin's Five and Dime store (yes, we had radio and speakers back then). It caught my attention even then, and I still think this is a great song. Timeless!
I love Petula. I saw her on Broadway with David and Shaun Cassidy in Blood Brothers. She was great. I always loved her. Don't Sleep In The Subway is my favorite
Petula Clark started her career during World War II at the age of nine. She was attending a BBC broadcast with her father, but the show was interrupted by an air raid. The producer asked if someone could perform to calm the audience, and she volunteered to sing Mighty Lak a Rose. They asked her to sing it again when the show came back on the air. She went on to perform about 500 times on BBC radio in shows meant for the troops. She's still alive today at the age of 90.
Petula Clark singing her Anthem. Petula's vocals on Downtown are beyond phenomenal,beyound brilliant and beyound superlative. As crystal clear as mountain water and as pure as real Diamonds Petula records the best song written by Tony Hatch. When Tony first played Downtown to Petula he had only written the music and as he played the piano for Petula she went and put the kettle on. On hearing the opening notes she was estastic and said to Tony "if you can write some lyrics as good as that music I will record it. He did and she did. Downtown is a song that will never lose its appeal and is forever a Golden Great. Petula Clark is THE BEST the best.
I spent 2 years on the road with Petula as her Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard here in the US. She sold out wherever we went. We worked hard for sure, but had a great time. I bought my home with the money I made with my time with her. I refer to it as the house Petula Clark built. We danced, we kissed, we laughed and then she'd kill me. What a way to make a living.
This one is an instant time warp for me. They always bring me back to a time that was so much simpler. Songs by Petula Clark and Lulu have that British sound....orchestration and a lot of reverb.
Huge hit in the US probably 1965. Never got tired of this great song in nearly 60 yrs Many very good songs. I couldn't Live without yr Love, Don't Sleep in the Subway, I know a Place and more
As a high schooler/college student, I had a massive crush on Petula Clark. She was a consummate professional. As a youngster, she performed in the Underground during the Battle of Britain. Not many singers have that kind of resume.
Petula Clark, Legendary, Pioneer, Unique and all the above and beyond, I love ❤️ her , I remember listening to her when I was 8 or 9 years old , and this song is EPIC .👍👏👏👏👏👏👏💯❤️🗽🇨🇺🇺🇸
I may have been very young, but I remember this song so well. Having a neighbor girl that also babysat us played music all the time and this is one of the songs she played all the time.
I´m 48 now, so this song isn´t really from my time. But this song is so great, if i´m sad it makes me feel better, if i´m in normal or happy mood it makes me feel happier. And i think you feel like me listening tio this song. I think your Emotions in your Face shows that.
There are some songs that define time and place . This is definitely one of those for me. I instantly visualize me as a young teen in the 60s taking the bus downtown in my Canadian city for an early evening movie with this song playing in my head (before the era of Walkmans and mobile phones).
In 1967 when I first heard this song on the radio I was 13 year old boy and I thought I was hearing the voice of an angel. In the more than 5 decades since i have come to realize that I really was listening to the voice of an angel. Thanks for sharing this clip.
❤❤ Thank You For Your Glowing Review Of Petula’s ‘Downtown’ I Totally Agree The Fact She Does Sing With A Very British Accent Endeared Her To The American Audience. Apart From Having 15 Top 40 Hits In The American Billboard Charts Which Included 2 x Number 1’s Which Earned Petula 2 x Grammy Awards (The 1st British Female Singer To Achieve This Honour) After An 80 Year Career Which I Very Much Doubt Shall Be Equaled It’s Fair To Say That Petula Clark Has Become A Legend In Her Own Lifetime. ~ No Guessing That I Am A Huge Fan ♥️♥️ 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
In 1964 when this was released, I was I was just 7 years old. Pet Clarke and this song was everywhere! Every radio station played it, every tv show featured it. The sound of her voice, her enunciation of every word, and even syllables of the lyrics were just gorgeous. So even at 7 l had a monumental crush on her. Also didn’t help that even then l thought she was drop dead gorgeous!
I was a fan of the Beach Boys. I had been permanently dispatched from public school. I was building bass and guitar speaker cabs. The radio was on. "Good Vibrations". It was the Beach Boys, but it was at another level...
Every time I hear this song I think of the tv serie Lost. Thanks for your reactions and wonderful music. It's always fun chair dancing together with you Beth 🎼🎼🎶🎶🌹🌹
Gotta shine a light on Tony Hatch, writer & producer of this and many other songs - I Know A Place, A Sign Of The Times, My Love, Don't Sleep In The Subway etc - during Petula's mid-'60s run of hits.
This song is one of those that stands out in my memory of childhood. I was very young, 6-7, when this song was popular on the radio. As a self-taught reader, I was fascinated with words, and with the lyrics of songs that I heard more than a handful of times. I had great difficulty then, reconciling this magical place called "Downtown" that she was singing about with what I knew of "downtown" in the village of about 800-900 people in the midst of farms and forests where we lived. A couple of years later when we moved to the nearby "small city" of about 10,000 people, I thought I understood what she meant in the song. Of course, once I was about 10 or so I figured out that there were very large cities that actually had the "Downtowns" that she sang of, and that my earlier ideas about it had been childish. Great song. Thanks for playing it and bringing back the memories.
Same here. I remember seeing her perform this live on one of the American variety shows. May have been Dean Martin. Brings back warm memories of days gone by.
Quick story. I'm English living in France since 2006. About 12 years ago I was listening to a woman being interviewed on French radio. After a minute or two I realised it was an Englishwoman, who was speaking perfect french. Then I thought ' that's Petula Clark ' and I was right. She's married a Swiss guy in the 60s, and lives in Switerland. Perfect diction in both languages and a pretty lady too ( those cheek bones ) Keep up the good work, you're cute yourself x
Actually Claude is French. He was working for Disques Vogue in Paris when she was there seeing the boss man... but yes, they live in Switzerland since the late 60s.
This song is nostalgic for me as well. I was a teenager when this song was released and it was ever-present on the radio. It helped define my teenage experience. I loved your reaction here. Very honest. Your words explain what the artist (here Patulia Clark) is doing technically. Your face tranparently Broadcasts how you feel about the performance. This performance made your smile bright and your face beam because you felt warmly nostalgic and happy. It was fun to watch and it made me feel the same way.
It's really remarkable how a song decades ago allows you to recall where you were and almost specific thoughts. This shows how music can help people who have lost some language facility to recover words from songs in their long term memory.
She had a big string of hits and fans at the time were stunned how "old" she was. Reference to Bosa Nova was so big at the time (Girl From Ipanema, Brazil 66, etc.). Teens then were had so few opportunities besides just "hanging out" together on street corners, so going downtown ("cruising" the streets downtown as later glorified in movies about the early 1960s in "American Grafitti" movie nostalgia). U.S. mainstream TV loved to have her as guests because she wasn't threatening like the long-haired Mods and Rockers long-haired Brit bands.
Can't remember what day it is half the time yet I can still remember every word to this song. What a great time for sweet simple happy songs. Loved Petula and Lulu so much. To Sir with love is another song that just takes me back. Thanks Beth. Peace out. ✌🤗
Beth, thank you for this. I remember seeing this live on tv back in the day. If you do another Petula Clark song, Don't Sleep in the Subway brings back a lot of memories. You looked like you really enjoyed it too.
Top tip Beth. When you have five mins to spare, have a wee look at Petula singing this song LIVE on The Dean Martin Show (early-mid 60’s). You might enjoy it. She also looks stunning. 🥰
Born in 1960, it's one of those songs I "grew up with". Like I learned to operate my parents dics player by the age of maybe 4. And would listen to Marty Robbin's "El Paso". (Pls try to picture a german 4yr old to sing that ;-) As a fan of rock music: I do have a double CD with songs of Sandie Shaw. And still love 16 tons (much covered. Sometimes very well done). As for "classic hard rock": I think you haven't found "The Warning", yet. "The future of hard rock" or (in a joke about them): "Know, what they can't do? Writing bad songs!" They are amazing!
The production of the era, is a big contributor in this song, with, clearly a big space, with that echo. This, and "I Know A Place", also by Petula Clark, are great examples. See, the Mike Jittlov video. I've purchased 2 of her albums, in the last half a year. Stellar.
Me encanta esta cancion la escuchaba cuando estaba muy pequeño en los discos de acetato de mis PAPA, gran ARTISTA, gran CANCION, Saludos desde MEXICOOOUU!!!
I think in the late 1990s, I went to see her perform in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Sunset Boulevard' playing Norma Desmond. The show was on tour and had come to my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona where I was living at the time. She was magnetic on stage, and very nice off stage as I got her to autograph the Playbill. I had never heard of her or heard her voice before that night...and at intermission, I bought a CD of her most recent album at the time which had versions of the big songs her character sang in the show "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye". It wasn't until UA-cam came along that even heard her version of "Downtown"...the only version I had ever heard was Nancy Lamott, a New York cabaret artist who released a few albums, but passed away very young. I love this version of one of her signature songs.
Song written specifically for her, never heard anyone else sing it, not sure I would want to...no insult intended for other singers but this is seared into my brain from childhood, have always been enamored...
Oh.. you have NO idea how popular this song was when it first came out. I was 14…. From a very small rural community, and it made all of us ‘girls’ believe we might someday be able to be somewhere in a real ‘downtown’!! Thank-you for a wonderful trip down memory lane!!
My wife's great uncle Tony Hatch wrote this song. Her auntie Jackie Trent was also a great singer. Now days most people would only know Tony as the writer of Neighbors theme.
My mum and dad were best friends with Jackie and Tony all though the 70's-00's. We used to go over to there houses in Shortlands and Wester ham almost every Sunday. In Jackie's book,there is a photo of Jackie, Petula and my mum, but it doesn't say a name for my mum!
Petula, Dusty and Lulu were amazing. Aside from the brilliant vocal performances, I'm into music production and the arrangements and production leaves all the modern computerized and auto-tuned songs for dead.
This takes me back to my childhood in the 80s but also to the 2000s when I, my gf at the time and a female friend used to do Singstar battles. I tried singing Elvis - Suspicious Minds but never hit the tones right. For some reason I always beat both of them on Downtown. I sang it perfectly in tune. As a male this irritated me at first but with my self irony intact, I just rolled with it and we had a lot of laughs about it :)
I love playing this on piano! If the band I'm in had a female singer, Downtown would be on the set list!!! Jimmy Page is playing guitar on the song as a session player. That's right, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
Petula gives credit to the Beatles for British artists getting heard in the US. When Warner Bros records wanted the rights to release Downtown in the US a year after the Beatles arrived, the British executives thought it sounded too English to be a hit. WB said that was exactly what they were looking for. Apparently Petula’s accent also endeared her to French audiences too.
Happy to have subscribed just yesterday. I’ve seen several of the family series she made following the war, I remember hearing this on the radio when I was a kid and the song was new, and one of my favorite movies with her is Finnegan’s Rainbow, with Tommy Steele and Fred Astaire. Thanks for reviewing this one, Beth.
This was her biggest hit this side of the pond, of course. But my favorite of hers is probably "Don't Sleep in the Subway." Most Americans being only monolingual, her French recordings never played here. Of those I'm very partial to her recording of Gainsbourg's "La Gadoue." Also, her vowels are strongly RP, which you'd expect from an English singer of her generation. You can hear it especially in her "o"s, as you note. Her diphthong is "eh-oo," rather than today's more usual "uh-oo."
I also love "Subway", and she had many more great songs. Check out "Cut Copy Me" from 2012, such a brillant piece of sophisticated contemporary pop done by a than already 80 years old icon.
I think as a kid she was sent to the Rank Charm School, which developed her then almost RP pronunciation, required at the time for the BBC or films, unless you were playing a working class character. Living in French speaking countries and speaking French a lot of the time, also working in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand, among many others, softened the RP. Interestingly, in my opinion as a lifelong fan, her latest album "Vi d'Ici", is her best album ever. She's a genius and there is NOTHING and NO STYLE of music she can't sing
FYI - This song was recorded in only three takes, with the second take ultimately being chosen for the completed track. Yes, she was that good. One of the session players on the track was Jimmy Page. Petula Clark had started in the entertainment industry many years before meeting Tony Hatch, though. She was something of an old hand by the time he came along. First coming to the attention of the British public as a child star on radio during the Second World War, by the early 1960s Petula Clark was recording in French, German and Italian, as well as English, and had a UK Number One record to her name already, with “Sailor”, in 1961. Starting with “Downtown”, Petula Clark had 15 consecutive Top 40 singles in the Billboard charts. She was also popular in the UK and across Europe thanks to her ability to speak and sing in other languages. Unlike today’s music which is all processed with added effects, it’s doubtful save a few handful, could ever do a song in only three takes.
Very thoughtful! A contemporary of Petula's, Alma Cogan, would be for for you to give a listen. Left us way too soon. Her mid- sixties songs and Beatle covers are especially good.
A simpler time with clear, simple voices. Petula is an icon! Beth, I'm super surprised you haven't reacted to any Alison Moyet yet. She half of Yazoo!, a collab with Depeche Mode's Vince Clarke. Her voice is husky and amazing. On the Yazoo! I side I'd recommend "Don't Go." On her solo side, "It Won't Be Long." She's from Essex and would probably be up for an interview if you still do those with artists. :) Take care!
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I think you sound fantastic. I hope to hear more. as an aside, when I lived in Montreal I saw Petula Clark live, wonderful. The next day I saw her on a French talk show, fluent to the max. Hope you have a great day.
Greetings from Nashville. These are fun! Subscribed. With respect to British Invasion artists, how about Colin Blunstone of The Zombies. There's the usual suspects, 'She's Not There' and 'Time of the Season' . Then, there is the amazing album Odessey (sic) and Oracle (where 'Time of the Season' resides). Yes, when their friend Terry Quirk designed the lp cover, he misspelled Odyssey.
![Does this song have an eerie vibe to you? | Petula Clark - Downtown [REACTION]](/img/n.gif)
I remember as a young boy, must have been early 1960's, listening to this song over the audio system in our local Ben Franklin's Five and Dime store (yes, we had radio and speakers back then). It caught my attention even then, and I still think this is a great song. Timeless!
I love Petula. I saw her on Broadway with David and Shaun Cassidy in Blood Brothers. She was great. I always loved her. Don't Sleep In The Subway is my favorite
Petula Clark started her career during World War II at the age of nine. She was attending a BBC broadcast with her father, but the show was interrupted by an air raid. The producer asked if someone could perform to calm the audience, and she volunteered to sing Mighty Lak a Rose. They asked her to sing it again when the show came back on the air. She went on to perform about 500 times on BBC radio in shows meant for the troops. She's still alive today at the age of 90.
Every Englishman over 60 was in love with Pet at one time in their lives , i know i was .
Magnificent vocals and a charming delivery. Let’s have a word for the composer; Britain’s Bacharach, Tony Hatch.
Petula Clark singing her Anthem.
Petula's vocals on Downtown are beyond phenomenal,beyound brilliant and beyound superlative.
As crystal clear as mountain water and as pure as real Diamonds Petula records the best song written by Tony Hatch.
When Tony first played Downtown to Petula he had only written the music and as he played the piano for Petula she went and put the kettle on.
On hearing the opening notes she was estastic and said to Tony "if you can write some lyrics as good as that music I will record it.
He did and she did.
Downtown is a song that will never lose its appeal and is forever a Golden Great.
Petula Clark is THE BEST the best.
I spent 2 years on the road with Petula as her Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard here in the US. She sold out wherever we went. We worked hard for sure, but had a great time. I bought my home with the money I made with my time with her. I refer to it as the house Petula Clark built. We danced, we kissed, we laughed and then she'd kill me. What a way to make a living.
Luck dog
This one is an instant time warp for me. They always bring me back to a time that was so much simpler. Songs by Petula Clark and Lulu have that British sound....orchestration and a lot of reverb.
Cilla Black too.
My Grandpa's favorite singer ❤️
Wonderful!0ne of my most favourite singer and song.❤
This was my favorite as a young child in the 60s! My mom said I sang it every time it cam on the AM radio.
Fantastic song and a great performer
She was incredible. I used to listened to her as a kid on a transistor radio.
Petula Clark is an amazing vocalist and performer.
Huge hit in the US probably 1965. Never got tired of this great song in nearly 60 yrs
Many very good songs. I couldn't Live without yr Love, Don't Sleep in the Subway, I know a Place and more
Always loved her and loved this song. I'm old enough to remember when it was new.
Petula invaded my heart as a teenager
She always made me happy and she still does. Thank you.
Have always loved Petula Clark!!!
I live in Cincinnati and this puts me in the mind of going downtown as a child in the 70's. It was exciting and different.
One of the earliest songs I remember, as a kid in England. Along with Ferry 'cross the Mersey.
As a high schooler/college student, I had a massive crush on Petula Clark. She was a consummate professional. As a youngster, she performed in the Underground during the Battle of Britain. Not many singers have that kind of resume.
I find myself listening past Petula as good as she is to that drum sound.huge drum rolls and calls coming from the big dance band days .
89yo and 40+ albums?!?!?! 🤯What a career!!!!
I was already happy 6 minutes ago... but now i'm even happier!!! 😃
We were young kids getting ready for college, listening to the early Brit invasion...then this song hit. Loved it then...love it now. 60 years...
Cheers Beth, that brought me back to my childhood, I currently have a big grin on my face
Boy this brings back my youth!
I remember listening to this song when I was young and the song first appeared. One of my favorites!
I first heard this song in the house...when I was about, nearly six! Still love it at 61 years old!
From just the voice on the radio she was my first preteen crush as I heard her on my 1st transistor radio about every 20 minutes.
I remember when that was a brand new record. Good music is like fine wine, it keeps getting better with age.
When I was 5 years old in the mid 60's I would play this record over and over....
This came out when I was a teenager. If I remember correctly, I saw her perform this on The Ed Sullivan show. Check out Lulu - To Sir With Love
Definitely one of my favorites from Petula Clark
Petula Clark, Legendary, Pioneer, Unique and all the above and beyond, I love ❤️ her , I remember listening to her when I was 8 or 9 years old , and this song is EPIC .👍👏👏👏👏👏👏💯❤️🗽🇨🇺🇺🇸
I may have been very young, but I remember this song so well. Having a neighbor girl that also babysat us played music all the time and this is one of the songs she played all the time.
So love her
She's a beautiful woman and lovely singer. Cheers from Slovenia.
I´m 48 now, so this song isn´t really from my time. But this song is so great, if i´m sad it makes me feel better, if i´m in normal or happy mood it makes me feel happier. And i think you feel like me listening tio this song. I think your Emotions in your Face shows that.
Let's not forget the guy who wrote this great song, the brilliant Tony Hatch.
There are some songs that define time and place . This is definitely one of those for me. I instantly visualize me as a young teen in the 60s taking the bus downtown in my Canadian city for an early evening movie with this song playing in my head (before the era of Walkmans and mobile phones).
This is my wife's favorite! It was the first 45 she ever got, her very loving grandmother gave it to her, consequently her favorite.
This song stood out for me as a kid in the 60’s. Great song. Thanks for the reaction of your expertise!❤
As a kid this was the first song that I could call "my favorite song." Thanks for doing this video
In 1967 when I first heard this song on the radio I was 13 year old boy and I thought I was hearing the voice of an angel. In the more than 5 decades since i have come to realize that I really was listening to the voice of an angel. Thanks for sharing this clip.
❤❤ Thank You For Your Glowing Review Of Petula’s ‘Downtown’ I Totally Agree The Fact She Does Sing With A Very British Accent Endeared Her To The
American Audience. Apart From Having 15 Top 40 Hits In The American Billboard Charts Which Included 2 x Number 1’s Which Earned Petula 2 x Grammy Awards (The 1st British Female Singer To Achieve This Honour) After An 80 Year Career Which I Very Much Doubt Shall Be Equaled It’s Fair To Say That
Petula Clark Has Become A Legend In Her Own Lifetime. ~ No Guessing That I Am A Huge Fan ♥️♥️ 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
In 1964 when this was released, I was I was just 7 years old. Pet Clarke and this song was everywhere! Every radio station played it, every tv show featured it. The sound of her voice, her enunciation of every word, and even syllables of the lyrics were just gorgeous. So even at 7 l had a monumental crush on her. Also didn’t help that even then l thought she was drop dead gorgeous!
I think the song hit the airwaves when I was 11. It's a brilliant song/performance that you can't forget.
I was a fan of the Beach Boys. I had been permanently dispatched from public school. I was building bass and guitar speaker cabs. The radio was on. "Good Vibrations". It was the Beach Boys, but it was at another level...
Every time I hear this song I think of the tv serie Lost. Thanks for your reactions and wonderful music. It's always fun chair dancing together with you Beth 🎼🎼🎶🎶🌹🌹
Gotta shine a light on Tony Hatch, writer & producer of this and many other songs - I Know A Place, A Sign Of The Times, My Love, Don't Sleep In The Subway etc - during Petula's mid-'60s run of hits.
Love this song... Whenever I'm in a bit of a bad mood- it brightens my day immediately 😊
She and this song was definitely a part of the sound track of my life back in the '60s.
This song is one of those that stands out in my memory of childhood. I was very young, 6-7, when this song was popular on the radio. As a self-taught reader, I was fascinated with words, and with the lyrics of songs that I heard more than a handful of times. I had great difficulty then, reconciling this magical place called "Downtown" that she was singing about with what I knew of "downtown" in the village of about 800-900 people in the midst of farms and forests where we lived. A couple of years later when we moved to the nearby "small city" of about 10,000 people, I thought I understood what she meant in the song. Of course, once I was about 10 or so I figured out that there were very large cities that actually had the "Downtowns" that she sang of, and that my earlier ideas about it had been childish. Great song. Thanks for playing it and bringing back the memories.
Same here. I remember seeing her perform this live on one of the American variety shows. May have been Dean Martin. Brings back warm memories of days gone by.
Quick story. I'm English living in France since 2006. About 12 years ago I was listening to a woman being interviewed on French radio. After a minute or two I realised it was an Englishwoman, who was speaking perfect french. Then I thought ' that's Petula Clark ' and I was right. She's married a Swiss guy in the 60s, and lives in Switerland. Perfect diction in both languages and a pretty lady too ( those cheek bones ) Keep up the good work, you're cute yourself x
Actually Claude is French. He was working for Disques Vogue in Paris when she was there seeing the boss man... but yes, they live in Switzerland since the late 60s.
I was like 5 or 6 and I remember listening to short rave radio. Worldwide, This song came on STRONG... YOU'RE TAKING ME BACK!
Just this am I read a story about Jimmy Page's session work before LZ. This was one of the songs noted that he played on.
This song is nostalgic for me as well. I was a teenager when this song was released and it was ever-present on the radio. It helped define my teenage experience. I loved your reaction here. Very honest. Your words explain what the artist (here Patulia Clark) is doing technically. Your face tranparently Broadcasts how you feel about the performance. This performance made your smile bright and your face beam because you felt warmly nostalgic and happy. It was fun to watch and it made me feel the same way.
It's really remarkable how a song decades ago allows you to recall where you were and almost specific thoughts. This shows how music can help people who have lost some language facility to recover words from songs in their long term memory.
She had a big string of hits and fans at the time were stunned how "old" she was. Reference to Bosa Nova was so big at the time (Girl From Ipanema, Brazil 66, etc.). Teens then were had so few opportunities besides just "hanging out" together on street corners, so going downtown ("cruising" the streets downtown as later glorified in movies about the early 1960s in "American Grafitti" movie nostalgia). U.S. mainstream TV loved to have her as guests because she wasn't threatening like the long-haired Mods and Rockers long-haired Brit bands.
Pet Clark has one of the best vocal ranges in the business.
The flipside of this song is "Uptown" by Roy Orbison.
I remember listening to this as a young teen, playing on an ancient three tube radio tuned to WLS Chicago. That was a very long time ago.
Loved watching you love this song. Timeless!
Can't remember what day it is half the time yet I can still remember every word to this song. What a great time for sweet simple happy songs. Loved Petula and Lulu so much. To Sir with love is another song that just takes me back. Thanks Beth. Peace out. ✌🤗
Petula Clarke was a constant presence in French Canada in the late 60 s till today.
Beth, thank you for this. I remember seeing this live on tv back in the day. If you do another Petula Clark song, Don't Sleep in the Subway brings back a lot of memories. You looked like you really enjoyed it too.
Sweet voice! This was Cerca '64 or so. "Don't sleep in the Subway, Darlin' was the other hit she made.
Top tip Beth. When you have five mins to spare, have a wee look at Petula singing this song LIVE on The Dean Martin Show (early-mid 60’s). You might enjoy it. She also looks stunning. 🥰
Born in 1960, it's one of those songs I "grew up with". Like I learned to operate my parents dics player by the age of maybe 4. And would listen to Marty Robbin's "El Paso". (Pls try to picture a german 4yr old to sing that ;-)
As a fan of rock music: I do have a double CD with songs of Sandie Shaw. And still love 16 tons (much covered. Sometimes very well done).
As for "classic hard rock": I think you haven't found "The Warning", yet. "The future of hard rock" or (in a joke about them):
"Know, what they can't do? Writing bad songs!"
They are amazing!
The production of the era, is a big contributor in this song, with, clearly a big space, with that echo. This, and "I Know A Place", also by Petula Clark, are great examples.
See, the Mike Jittlov video.
I've purchased 2 of her albums, in the last half a year. Stellar.
Beth, you truly embody the whole package, beauty, brilliance and talent. Thank you for brightening up my day through these reaction videos.
Me encanta esta cancion la escuchaba cuando estaba muy pequeño en los discos de acetato de mis PAPA, gran ARTISTA, gran CANCION, Saludos desde MEXICOOOUU!!!
I think in the late 1990s, I went to see her perform in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Sunset Boulevard' playing Norma Desmond. The show was on tour and had come to my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona where I was living at the time. She was magnetic on stage, and very nice off stage as I got her to autograph the Playbill. I had never heard of her or heard her voice before that night...and at intermission, I bought a CD of her most recent album at the time which had versions of the big songs her character sang in the show "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye". It wasn't until UA-cam came along that even heard her version of "Downtown"...the only version I had ever heard was Nancy Lamott, a New York cabaret artist who released a few albums, but passed away very young. I love this version of one of her signature songs.
Song written specifically for her, never heard anyone else sing it, not sure I would want to...no insult intended for other singers but this is seared into my brain from childhood, have always been enamored...
Oh.. you have NO idea how popular this song was when it first came out. I was 14…. From a very small rural community, and it made all of us ‘girls’ believe we might someday be able to be somewhere in a real ‘downtown’!! Thank-you for a wonderful trip down memory lane!!
Just makes ne feel good hearing this
My wife's great uncle Tony Hatch wrote this song. Her auntie Jackie Trent was also a great singer. Now days most people would only know Tony as the writer of Neighbors theme.
My mum and dad were best friends with Jackie and Tony all though the 70's-00's.
We used to go over to there houses in Shortlands and Wester ham almost every Sunday.
In Jackie's book,there is a photo of Jackie, Petula and my mum, but it doesn't say a name for my mum!
Petula, Dusty and Lulu were amazing. Aside from the brilliant vocal performances, I'm into music production and the arrangements and production leaves all the modern computerized and auto-tuned songs for dead.
Petula Méga Star🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
😘💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕Petula
Always enjoyed Petula's distinct vocal!
Wikipedia says: "Also playing on the session were guitarists Vic Flick, Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan" - cool!
This takes me back to my childhood in the 80s but also to the 2000s when I, my gf at the time and a female friend used to do Singstar battles. I tried singing Elvis - Suspicious Minds but never hit the tones right. For some reason I always beat both of them on Downtown. I sang it perfectly in tune. As a male this irritated me at first but with my self irony intact, I just rolled with it and we had a lot of laughs about it :)
I love playing this on piano! If the band I'm in had a female singer, Downtown would be on the set list!!!
Jimmy Page is playing guitar on the song as a session player. That's right, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
You should also try her "Don't Sleep in the Subway" and "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love." You won't regret it.
Petula gives credit to the Beatles for British artists getting heard in the US. When Warner Bros records wanted the rights to release Downtown in the US a year after the Beatles arrived, the British executives thought it sounded too English to be a hit. WB said that was exactly what they were looking for. Apparently Petula’s accent also endeared her to French audiences too.
My mum saw her in the late forties and got her to sign her pay book from the army. We still have it safely stored
I like "Don't Sleep on the Subway" even more! :)
Happy to have subscribed just yesterday. I’ve seen several of the family series she made following the war, I remember hearing this on the radio when I was a kid and the song was new, and one of my favorite movies with her is Finnegan’s Rainbow, with Tommy Steele and Fred Astaire. Thanks for reviewing this one, Beth.
Petula and Patsy Cline were always my mamgu's favourites😊
This was her biggest hit this side of the pond, of course. But my favorite of hers is probably "Don't Sleep in the Subway." Most Americans being only monolingual, her French recordings never played here. Of those I'm very partial to her recording of Gainsbourg's "La Gadoue."
Also, her vowels are strongly RP, which you'd expect from an English singer of her generation. You can hear it especially in her "o"s, as you note. Her diphthong is "eh-oo," rather than today's more usual "uh-oo."
Holy crap, I almost forgot about the Subway!👍
I also love "Subway", and she had many more great songs. Check out "Cut Copy Me" from 2012, such a brillant piece of sophisticated contemporary pop done by a than already 80 years old icon.
Of course, most Americans probably didn't realize what the term subway referred to in Britain.
I think as a kid she was sent to the Rank Charm School, which developed her then almost RP pronunciation, required at the time for the BBC or films, unless you were playing a working class character. Living in French speaking countries and speaking French a lot of the time, also working in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand, among many others, softened the RP. Interestingly, in my opinion as a lifelong fan, her latest album "Vi d'Ici", is her best album ever. She's a genius and there is NOTHING and NO STYLE of music she can't sing
Except Tony Hatch has said he meant it in the American sense after a Broadway show@@lawrencewestby9229
FYI - This song was recorded in only three takes, with the second take ultimately being chosen for the completed track. Yes, she was that good. One of the session players on the track was Jimmy Page. Petula Clark had started in the entertainment industry many years before meeting Tony Hatch, though. She was something of an old hand by the time he came along. First coming to the attention of the British public as a child star on radio during the Second World War, by the early 1960s Petula Clark was recording in French, German and Italian, as well as English, and had a UK Number One record to her name already, with “Sailor”, in 1961. Starting with “Downtown”, Petula Clark had 15 consecutive Top 40 singles in the Billboard charts. She was also popular in the UK and across Europe thanks to her ability to speak and sing in other languages. Unlike today’s music which is all processed with added effects, it’s doubtful save a few handful, could ever do a song in only three takes.
Very thoughtful! A contemporary of Petula's, Alma Cogan, would be for for you to give a listen. Left us way too soon. Her mid- sixties songs and Beatle covers are especially good.
A simpler time with clear, simple voices. Petula is an icon! Beth, I'm super surprised you haven't reacted to any Alison Moyet yet. She half of Yazoo!, a collab with Depeche Mode's Vince Clarke. Her voice is husky and amazing. On the Yazoo! I side I'd recommend "Don't Go." On her solo side, "It Won't Be Long." She's from Essex and would probably be up for an interview if you still do those with artists. :) Take care!
Days of my childhood ignorance. Before I could put an alternative meaning to the lyrics! Always loved this song.
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This song gives me the fizz in the best way
What I think is...MORE!
I think you sound fantastic. I hope to hear more. as an aside, when I lived in Montreal I saw Petula Clark live, wonderful. The next day I saw her on a French talk show, fluent to the max. Hope you have a great day.
You sound amazing. That song fits your voice!
I remember being comforted by this fab music and I would be 5 or 6 years okd
Hi Beth, thank you for posting this; *Downtown* takes this aging Baby Boomer back to his high school days...
Greetings from Nashville. These are fun! Subscribed. With respect to British Invasion artists, how about Colin Blunstone of The Zombies. There's the usual suspects, 'She's Not There' and 'Time of the Season' . Then, there is the amazing album Odessey (sic) and Oracle (where 'Time of the Season' resides). Yes, when their friend Terry Quirk designed the lp cover, he misspelled Odyssey.
a favorite song of mine from my childhood in early 70's still have the album
Remember this was my mom’s favorite song when I was very young 😊❤️
Good choice!