THE Assembly Hall was packed to capacity, with people desperate to hear the unique sound of Petula Clark, when her present tour brought her to Worthing this month.
Only two nights earlier, she had been performing in Cheltenham and the day following Worthing she was appearing in Aberystwyth, prior to concluding the tour three days later in Skegness.
A tiring schedule for anyone, with as many as four scattere
d venues on consecutive nights, let alone someone who appeared in their film as a child in 1944.
Yet Petula came out on stage looking as glamorous as ever, very relaxed and bursting with energy for her work that evening.
An evening few of the audience will ever forget. One French lady told me she had come all the way from Grenoble, just to hear Petula Clark sing.
With only a short interval, for over two hours she sang most her best known and loved songs, interspersed with new material and songs from some of the long-running shows in which she has appeared, including, Blood Brothers and Sunset Boulevard.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the first British female vocalist to have a No. 1 in the U.S., is that unlike so many modern singers, Petula Clark does not need to have the microphone almost touching her lips for us to hear her.
On the contrary, her voice is so powerful and resonant that she holds it between six and eight inches below her chin.
When Petula talks between numbers, we are left with the clear impression of a very down to earth, ordinary person, whose dad was born in Chichester, a lady who has not let the international stardom of the "Petula Clark" persona obscure the natural and very charming person inside.
After Petula sang the classic, La Vie En Rose, I overheard several people saying how much better she sounded than Edith Piaf and I had to agree. To the English ear, Petula's lilting voice possesses all the power of Piaf without the harshness.
Copyright © David Aherne 2008
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