Petula Clark teases London show 60 years after 'Downtown' made her a star in the U.S.

Sixty years ago, on Jan. 23, 1965, "Downtown" reached the top of the U.S. charts and made Petula Clark a star.

The tune told of escaping the drone of daily life by spending time in the heart of the city to "forget all your troubles, forget all your cares." Clark earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll record for the song. It's been featured on hit TV shows, including Lost and Seinfeld, as well as Hollywood films, like Girl, Interrupted.

The British singer, now 92, has had a decades-long career that began as a child singing for the troops during World War II. Before the success of "Downtown" in the U.S., she was already a star in Europe, performing on British radio and TV specials. She recorded songs in multiple languages, including French, German and Italian.

Clark sat down to speak with Morning Edition host A Martínez about the life-changing moment when "Downtown" became a hit, and revealed plans for London concert that's in the works.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

A Martínez: So I want to start with when you even first heard of this song that English composer Tony Hatch wrote for you, "Downtown." What did you think of his idea for the song?

Petula Clark: I married a Frenchman and was living in Paris at the time and having lots of hit records in French and Italian and German. And Tony was a young producer at Pye Records in London. He came to Paris to talk about my next French session, which we were going to record in London. And after we talked about that, he said, "You know, you really should be recording in English, too." I said, "Oh, well, I'm fine the way I am, and we have to find the right song." He said, "Well, I've started writing this song." I said, "Listen, let's have some tea. I'll go in the kitchen, make some tea. You play it on the piano." And I came back into the room with the tea and I said, "That is one great tune. Can you write a lyric up to the standard of the music?" He said, "I will have a damn good try." I said, "Well, then I'll do it." And two weeks later, we recorded it in London. And the rest is history, really.

Martínez: That song is beloved by so many people and for such a long time now. What do you remember about that time, the mid '60s, when "Downtown" became such a big hit? I mean, it was number one in the United States, number one in Canada, Australia. It was just a worldwide sensation for you.

Clark: Well, it was very exciting, of course. But we didn't realize we'd recorded a monster. Suddenly it was a hit all over the world. It was a big hit in the States. The Ed Sullivan Show kept calling, saying, you got to get here. The Beatles had opened the doors for four British performers. They were the the spearhead of this British invasion, as they call it. And we just kind of we were sucked into it and it was kind of great. The first time I sang "Downtown" in front of an American audience was in New York, and I had arrived from Paris totally jetlagged. There was no rehearsal. Everything was done live in front of the front of an audience and a live orchestra. And I walked on stage and the orchestra started playing it too fast. People just stood up and cheered when I walked on the stage. It was the beginning of a love affair with the American audience.

Martínez: How important of a moment was this for your career?

Clark: Well, it was it was a huge moment, but it was also very difficult because, you know, I had this big career where I was singing all over Europe and I had contracts for all these different things and I couldn't just walk away from it. We had two small children and suddenly America was saying, you've got to get here, and not not just New York, but then I did Vegas and then I was recording in L.A. It actually complicated my life quite a lot but in a rather marvelous way. And the kids, they were they were very young at the time, but they have marvelous memories. I think traveling is a marvelous kind of education. And they they were learning they were learning learning all kinds of things that a lot of children just don't have the opportunity to do.

Martínez: I'm wondering, Petula, if people over the decades have come up to you with different stories about what they like about the song "Downtown."

Clark: Oh yes, there have been marvelous stories over the years. Some guys who were fighting in Vietnam, they would say to me, your song helped us, gave us courage to go on. The thing is, when you record a song and it's great and it's a hit and everything, you're not aware of how it's touching people, and they will be touched in different ways.

Martínez: You mentioned how you've sung in several languages, not just in English. Why has that been important for you?

Clark: Well, I am English, but I fell in love with a Frenchman. There you go. It's as simple and as complicated as that. And we had to decide where we were going to live. So I went to live in France really fairly quickly. I became a star in France, which meant that I had to sing in French. And then, of course, the Italians wanted me. They wanted to hear the French songs sung in Italian. So I found myself singing in Italian and in German, and little by little it just sort of spread. And I love singing in Italian. Let's face it, it is the the language of opera.

Martínez: You had a U.S. tour in 2017 when you were in your 80s, traveling and sleep on a tour bus. What keeps you going? I can't imagine working into my 80s. I keep thinking that maybe in my 70s I'll call it quits.

Clark: I just love doing it. That's really the reason. It's hard for me to imagine my life without it. We're planning to do a concert in London as we speak. And that that's really exciting, because there will be a big orchestra and all that. I love singing with live musicians and I love singing in front of a live audience. There's nothing quite like that contact between what's happening on stage and what's happening in the audience. There's a kind of communion that happens, and it's almost a spiritual experience.