Talk:Petula Clark

message: Tony Hatch? Is that the same guy who wrote the theme for Crossroads? Mike H 18:19, 26 July 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, it is . . . user:SFTVLGUY2 — Preceding undated comment added 00:52, 9 November 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Tony

message: I've reverted a bunch of recent changes made by user:SFTVLGUY2.  It looks like a complete rewrite, with some new material added, but all links and formatting lost in the process.  Please feel free to re-incorporate the added information, but please don't destroy the hard work of others with your edits.  Jgm 18:52, 8 November 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: It was not my intention to "destroy" anyone's work.  As a first-time visitor to Wikipedia, I thought I was properly editing the entry for Petula Clark by adding considerably more than "some" new material.  If anyone is guilt of "destroying" someone's hard work, it's Jgm, who removed everything I added by reverting the entry to its original and less-than-comprehensive form! User:SFTVLGUY2 — Preceding undated comment added 23:02, 8 November 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Thank you for restoring the links and formatting to the article, and for your expansion.  Jgm 11:47, 9 November 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Revert

message: In my effort to merge the now-deleted list from the article Gay icon to the Gay icons category, I have added this page to the category. I engaged in this effort as a "human script", adding everyone from the list to the category, bypassing the fact-checking stage. That is what I am relying on you to do. Please check the article Gay icon and make a judgment as to whether this person or group fits the category. By distributing this task from the regular editors of one article to the regular editors of several articles, I believe that the task of fact-checking this information can be expedited. Thank you very much. Philwelch 20:20, 24 March 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I do not see anything to support the notion of Petula Clark is a "gay icon". Can anyone else provide a link or any other source to support this contention? If not, I recommend the category be removed. 23skidoo 16:11, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

text: I DO NOT think Petula Clark is a GAY ICON at all.  SHe is not a diva-type person either privately or as a performer and is a wholesome, charming very much family orientated performer .  You only have to see her movies and hear her songs to recognise this.  Unlike the flamboyant Dame Shirley Bassey or the 'racked with a horrendous private life' Liza Minelli, Petula is down to earth and very normal.  She should be removed from this list. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.133.11.62 (talk) 02:54, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Since everyone who has commented here seems to be in agreement, I've removed the category from the article. Graham/pianoman87 talk 05:01, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gay Icon Project 

message: I've put a tag there at the top of the article to see if someone can supply a reputable source for 'over 70 million albums sold'.  If a proper reference can be located, please remove the tag from the top of the article. Proto t c 15:23, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: The information about Petula Clark discovering the Carpenters appears to be apochryphal.  According to the duo's biographer, Ray Coleman, the Carpenters were already signed to A&M (and had released an album) when the label arranged for their appearance at the premiere of Goodbye, Mr. Chips in late 1969.  They certainly weren't well known then, however, and Clark may have believed that she was hearing undiscovered talent. RBrown  09:39, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I have removed the information: that seems to be a reliable source. Graham/pianoman87 talk 13:47, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks.  I've edited the information in the Carpenters article as well. RBrown 15:55, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: On January 11, 2002, I attended a concert by Clark at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach, CA. She was introduced by Richard Carpenter who, in his opening remarks, stated that he and his sister owed her a debt of gratitude for having brought them to the attention of Herb Alpert. I assume when info like this comes straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, it can be accepted as accurate. SFTVLGUY2 — Preceding undated comment added 13:10, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I am not doubting your account of the 2002 concert, but even first person accounts such as you describe can be faulty when removed by more than 30 years from an event.  If the Goodbye, Mr. Chips premiere occurred in late 1969 and if that was where Clark first heard the Carpenters perform, then no, she would not have been the one to bring them to Alpert's attention.  They had already been signed to Alpert's label earlier that year and had already released the Offering LP by then. RBrown 03:59, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Clark and the Carpenters 

message: This is a great, friendly and very active place for fans of Petula Clark to discuss the career and music of the great lady. The forum is administated by someone who has been running the long-standing Original PetulaClark-Listserver at Yahoo Groups for nearly nine years and has been operating this forum since 2005. It would be so nice to see a link included on Petula's Wikipedia page for this wonderful Forum Almil 12:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  The International Petula Clark Forum 

message: Petula Clark is British. Using U.S. format (month/day/year) dates for this article is inappropriate under WP:DATE, which says:
:If the topic itself concerns a specific country, editors may choose to use the date format used in that country. This is useful even if the dates are linked, because new users and users without a Wikipedia account do not have any date preferences set, and so they see whatever format was typed. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English for more guidance.
Insisting that the article must use U.S. Dating format because the subject has American listeners and owns a house in Miami Beach is just bizarre. --Pete 23:45, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: As the dates have the month in words, both November 15 and 15 November are commonly found in use in Britain. If you stick to the Wikipedia standard then you can choose how to have the date displayed -- SteveCrook 23:58, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: As the reference indicates, users without an account (which is most users, being readers rather than editors) don't have date preferences set, and therefore see the raw format. --Pete 00:14, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  And as they use the month in words, it doesn't really matter. You don't get the same confusion you do with 11/12/06, not being sure if it's December 11th or November 12th -- SteveCrook 01:12, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It matters to readers who otherwise get the impression that Wikipedia is an American product, when in fact the focus is on internationalisation. Using the same logic, you could argue that using American spellings in a British article is fine, because everyone knows what is meant. --Pete 03:49, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: But as I said before, when the month is spelt out, both forms are in common use in Britain -- SteveCrook 03:55, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Feel free to amend the Manual of Style accordingly. Be prepared for a lot of resistance. I shall watch with interest. In the meantime, I shall continue to use International Dating format as per WP:DATE. --Pete 13:37, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Use of International Dating format 

message: About 10-15 years ago I read a biography of Clark that mentioned that some incident occurred just before she was to record "The Little Shoemaker" in 1952 (I believe it was a minor automobile accident) and she didn't want to go through with it. She was basically forced to and, despite the happy tone of the record, recorded it while glaring at her producer. Of course it then became a big hit, anyway. I think it would be interesting to add this bit of information to either this article or to the article on the song, but I can't do so without a source. Does anyone with a more complete library of Clark resources have a book or magazine article that can be used to cite this? The same article I read so many years ago also mentioned something about Clark not liking "My Love" and not wanting to record it, and that Charlie Chaplin did not approve of Clark singing a version of his composition "This is My Song" (that or he just didn't like the arrangement. 68.146.47.196 04:08, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Story behind "The Little Shoemaker"

message: User:Ssilvers asked me to review the fair use of non-free images in this article.  I'm afraid there are several problems which must be resolved.  I'll try to fix things up, starting tomorrow, but I'll probably have to remove a lot of images to bring the article up to standard.  Specifically:
*:Image:PetulaParisOlympia.JPG - violates WP:NFCC#1: There is a free alternative (:Image:PetulaClark2006.JPG) which can identify the artist.
*:Image:Petula Clark London Town.jpg, :Image:YaYaTwist.jpg, : Image:MaChanson.jpg, :Image:PetClark.jpg, :Image:Petulamemphis.jpg, :Image:ClarkSteele.jpg, :Image:ASignOfTheTimes.jpg, :Image:HitParade.jpg - violates WP:NFCC#10: There is no fair use rationale for them to appear in article.
*:Image:DontEverLeaveMe.JPG - violates WP:NFCC#3: Resolution in maximum dimension should be 300-400px.  Also, fair use rationale is not very good.
*Non-free images must also never be used just to illustrate lists like discographies or filmographies.
I hope we can save a few of these from deletion, but I'll have to start tagging them tomorrow, when I have time.  Papa November 00:40, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fair use problems 

message: She also holds the distinction of having the longest span on the international pop charts of any artist — 51 years — from 1954, when "The Little Shoemaker" made the UK Top Twenty, to 2005, when her CD L'essentiel - 20 Succès Inoubliables charted in Belgium.
Sure, Petula's had a long career, but the above claim is utterly ludicrous.  Off the top of my head, what about Bing Crosby, who was hitting the top of the US charts as a vocalist in the late 1920s, and had a #3 UK hit with David Bowie in 1993 with "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy"?  Or Louis Armstrong, who hit the US charts in the 1930s, and the UK charts as late as 1994 with "We Have All The Time In The World"?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.132.69.28 (talk) 21:07, 26 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What are you talking about? There weren't any US charts in the 1920s and 1930s. Sales of sheet music were tracked, but not individual recordings. The fact above has been cited in several places. 209.247.22.166 (talk) 13:18, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I added two reliable references supporting this fact. 209.247.22.166 (talk) 13:37, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

text: Given Crosby has been dead since 1977, it's obvious anything charting in 1998 or 2007 wasn't newly recorded material! Clark holds the record of the longest span on the international pop charts of any artist, a fact supported by the two references cited. MovieMadness (talk) 19:15, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

text: Just because you say something is so doesn't make it a fact. You need to prove what you're claiming by providing references. Two sources back up the statement in the opening paragraph in this article. You haven't provided any sources proving your claims about Crosby, Sinatra, or Day. If you can, then the statement about Clark can be removed. Until then, it should stand as a fact substantiated by two different sources. 209.247.22.164 (talk) 14:46, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Disputed "fact"

message: Obviously whoever ranked Petula Clark as being "low" priority in the Biography project is unfamiliar with Petula Clark. I have rectified this! 23skidoo (talk) 17:29, 12 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Biography project priority rating

message: :Image:PetClark.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is  other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page.  Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.
BetacommandBot (talk) 07:03, 15 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:PetClark.jpg

message: Thanks for uploading or contributing to :Image:YaYaTwist.jpg. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is not a suitable explanation or rationale as to why each specific use in Wikipedia constitutes fair use. Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale.
If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Papa November (talk) 00:22, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for [[:Image:YaYaTwist.jpg]]

message: Petula Clark's year of birth here is stated as 1932 . In my Guinness chart book under her entry it states 1931 . On one of her LP's the only one I have it says 1933 ?? !!! Atleast the 15 Nov bit is constant on all three versions but which year is correct ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.137.11.54 (talk) 13:38, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: 1932 is accurate — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.136.53.138 (talk) 21:43, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Birth

message: Main article states that with 70 million record sales she is UK's most successful female recording artist. Wiki for Shirley Bassey quotes 135 million record sales nthe same accolade. Both cannot be right.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.104.82.156 (talk) 15:17, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Record Sales 

message: I sent this before but it seems to have disappeared.  This Wiki entry says that with 70 million record sales PC is the UK's best selling female artist. However similar Wiki entry for Shirley Bassey quoting 135 million sales gives her the same accolade. Both cannot be right!! 124.104.81.66 (talk) 11:42, 15 July 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Even if the original 70 million amount was correct (and that is questionable itself since none of Petula's albums ever made the UK Top 10), putting her work onto CD will most certainly not double her sales to beyond 135 million! She may have once been the biggest selling British female artist but that was a long time ago. 80.47.67.114 (talk) 16:27, 24 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Record Sales 

message: The claim that Petula has the longest chart run of any British female artist is no longer valid, as Vera Lynn (who was charting in the 1940s) had an album debut at #1 on the UK charts in Sept 2009.  Accordingly I've removed this reference.  172.131.180.228 (talk) 20:35, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: As far as I'm aware, the only UK charts that existed in the 1940s were for sheet music, and the record charts didn't commence until November 1952- unless you have a source that says differently? Rodhullandemu 20:39, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Vera Lynn was actually on the very first UK chart issued in 1952, predating Petula Clark by over a year.  172.135.69.172 (talk) 00:34, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: You are correct on that. My Guinness shows Vera Lynn on the UK chart for November 1952, and Petula Clark not charting until June 1954. It helps if you cite a source, because it saves time for the rest of us. Rodhullandemu 00:45, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

text: Yes, but non of Petula's newly recorded material has actually charted. According to chartstats.com, her last "new" single to chart was in 1972 (and then a reissue of Downtown in 1988) and her last album to chart that wasnt a greatest hits album was in 1968. 80.47.67.114 (talk) 16:38, 24 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Petula surpassed by Vera Lynn 

message: On 21 February 2010 she appeared live singing 'Downtown' on a variety show hosted by Alain Morisod on the first Télévision Suisse Romande chain, with enormous success and a long standing ovation. Not a single note or choreographic movement wrong and an appearance that belies her age by at least 20 years. Certainly the highlight of an otherwise mediocre show. A lady, shall we say of a certain age, who is now a legend. Devilinhell (talk) 12:00, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Appearance on Swiss television 

message: Lordsnootyandhispals (talk) 13:45, 20 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Links double standards and dead links 

message: The "Downtown Era" section contained this:
:On December 31, 1976, Wisdom performed her hit song Downtown on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver jubilee.
I don't know who "Wisdom" is supposed to be, but the A Jubilee Of Music article states that Pet performed it herself, so I've changed the line accordingly.  Rojomoke (talk) 19:11, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Wisdom?" 

message: She was also in City After Midnight (1957) - not listed under Filmography  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.118.187.218 (talk) 10:08, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Another Movie 

message: The Films were not based on a radio series, the radio series, which ran from 1953 to 1962 (and did not include Petula Clark) was based on the films (see separate articles).  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.14.219.127 (talk) 16:41, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: So change the article -- SteveCrook (talk) 19:04, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Huggets 

message: Someone may like to change the "English" in her nationality to English/Welsh. He mum was Welsh and she is rather proud of that, often citing in French or English in concert that "they Welsh are a bit like the Italians..they sing..." Of course when she married Claude Wolfe she technically became French (as at that time one took one's husband's nationality). She actually annotated a photograph of her marriage in French album (Chariot) at the time: "Je deviens francaise".  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.136.53.138 (talk) 21:52, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Nationality

message: In the first full paragraph of "Career start" there is a mention of her touring with Julie Andrews.  I suspect this is an error.  The Julie Andrews page not only doesn't mention it but says she didn't start performing except by getting on stage at her parents' performances and participating in an uncredited way starting in 1944/45 (she's three years younger than Petula Clark).
The reason I think this is an error in the Clark page rather than an omission in the Andrews page is that an opportunity to tour with someone as famous as Clark (back when Andrews was an unknown baby) would really have been significant milestone in Andrews' career.  So it's more likely to be an overeager edit.
Does anyone have a reference for this?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by G001 (talk • contribs) 16:52, 26 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Julie Andrews 

message: Would it be appropriate to add onto the page that one of her songs, Downtown, played in an audio recording made by the 2020 Nashville Christmas Day bomber shortly before his bomb exploded? — Preceding unsigned comment added by RaskBunzzz (talk • contribs) 23:53, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: I would say no, as it seems to have more to do with the song than with Clark herself. It's already mentioned at Downtown (Petula Clark song). GA-RT-22 (talk) 00:22, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

text: No.  Nothing to do with Clark.   Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:57, 29 December 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nashville Bombing Reference 

message: These two statements seem contradictory:
* "Her first ever live audience was at the Colliers' Arms in Abercanaid"
* "Her first public performances were ... in Kingston upon Thames"
The first one seems well sourced to Wales Online, but the second is in Kon, which I don't have a copy of. Can we reconcile this somehow? GA-RT-22 (talk) 16:24, 18 February 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  First publilc appearance 

message: I suggest we remove the dead ELs, per WP:ELDEAD: "Links to dead URLs in a list of external links are of no use ... In rare cases, such as the official website for a notable political campaign, it may be better to replace the dead link with a link to an archived copy". I don't think we need, for example, an archived copy of an old discography when we've already got a live recent Discogs discography. GA-RT-22 (talk) 21:54, 3 June 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: You may be correct.  Before reading the comment above I spent a little time today cleaning up what links were there (I only added one, to a February 1970 article about her from a Canadian newspaper.)  I didn't want to take the extra step to remove any links, although I agree some of them might not be as useful now as they might have been when they were originally added.  No hurt feelings if you want to cull the list a bit. Itsfullofstars (talk) 22:27, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

text: Addendum to my note above.  All the links point to something, either an original working page or to an archived copy.  They don't go to dead pages anymore, as some did when I started my edits earlier today. Itsfullofstars (talk) 22:35, 3 June 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: @GA-RT-22 Taking your advice, I removed the two least-useful external links.  I also used the one I recently added as a primary source in the main article, so it's now in the References section instead.  Itsfullofstars (talk) 21:43, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dead ELs 

message: Why has her birth year been changed from 1932 to 1938?  There's no source given, and the main text still talks about her being nine years old in 1942, and twelve years old in 1944.  82.22.141.20 (talk) 15:05, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I see it's been changed back again.  Not sure what's going on here - was she seven or nine years when she first appeared on radio?  The article seems to say both.  GDBarry (talk) 15:10, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Years of birth and first appearance 

message: Hi,
I've been trying to find confirmation of my belief that Pet Clark was in the cast of Educating Archie, where I'm sure she was playing Archie's girlfriend Pet.
I remember listening to the programme regularly as a lad.
I can find no such confirmation either here or in the Wikipedia article about that programme.
Poppa Mintin (talk) 09:58, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Hello.  The BBC says that Julie Andrews played Archie's girlfriend. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/361459.stm Youtube has a recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3sSv8lLcFc Regards, Itsfullofstars (talk) 10:55, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pet on radio 

message: Was "Petula" part of her birth name- as per the infobox- or was it a "stage name" apparently created by her father based on two ex-girlfriends, as per the main body of the article?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.205.133 (talk) 04:01, 19 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Birth name

message: In the paragraph beginning ‘Clark has sold more than 68 million...’ immediately before the section ‘Life and Career’, I think it would be useful to say, ...‘musical films “Finian’s Rainbow” and “Goodbye, Mr Chips”..., which I would say is on a par with ‘Finian’s Rainbow’. 
Trevor Willimott
2A00:23C6:3488:5901:1DF9:9F7A:8151:4688 (talk) 14:50, 7 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Petula Clark 

message: The article lists French singles, German singles, Italian singles, Complete Spanish recordings, Other noteworthy recordings, but no UK albums or singles. This seems a bit lop-sided? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:02, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  UK singles? (or albums)