The lights are still bright downtown

As Petula Clark, one of the most successful and enduring British singing acts of the 20th century, explains to me how she is yet to decide on a setlist for her tour of the UK, it is immediately evident that this songstress has kept her wits about her.

Even at the age of 83, Clark is still packing houses all over the world, and has maintained the vitality and spirit that she possessed when she first became a household name, over half a century ago.

“It’s very, very difficult” she begins in her rich, youthful voice. “I want to put quite a few new songs in this time, so I have to give it some real thought; I like all the songs for one reason or another, so it’s working out what to cut and what to keep. Obviously, I am never going to cut things like Downtown or Don’t Sleep in the Subway.” Leeds fans of Clark are certainly set for a treat as she takes to the road to promote her latest studio album, From Now On. Clark, who lives primarily in Geneva, Switzerland, will be performing Leeds Town Hall next week.

Clark’s professional career began in 1939, when she made her debut on BBC radio while attending a broadcast with her father, singing during an air raid at the request of the BBC producer to settle the nervous audience. By the time she was 17 years-old, she had appeared in both film and print, as well as on television and radio.

Clark’s career in recording music was launched in the 1950s, when she started to record songs in French. Her first album, Petula Clark Sings, was released in 1956, with the follow up, A Date with Pet, released less than a year later. As of 2016, she has released more than forty studio albums and has sold more than 68 million records, worldwide.

“I don’t do anything to keep my voice in shape,” she reveals. “When you’re on tour, you find that any voice gets better with every show. A voice is a muscle, after all, so when you are going out and singing for two hours every night, you are strengthening that muscle.”

If a good work out is all the vocal cords need, then Clark must have one of the strongest voices around. During her heyday, she was known to release as many as four studio albums in a single year, promoted by lengthy tours and endless promotional appearances.

This included recording singles in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish; no mean feat for any singer. However, Clark laughs off this staggering workload, putting it down to the times. “That’s just the way that it was in the 50s and 60s. I was working full-out, and at the time I was still living in France. Then I started to have hits in the States and had to cut an album out there. It could get to be quite gruelling, but I had great songs and was working with great people.”

Over the years, she has branched out into other areas of entertainment, even penning her own one woman show in 2000. In 1998, Clark was made a CBE, by the Queen. In France, she was also installed as an Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters), the most prestigious award given by the country in recognition of significant contributions to the arts.

Aside from her music career, Clark is also an accomplished actress, and has had starring roles opposite the likes of Peter O’Toole. However, the film she remembers most fondly is 1968’s Finian’s Rainbow. “I loved making Finian’s Rainbow, there were a lot of very special moments when we were filming that. We did it at the Warner Brothers studios in the States, and it was fantastic to work with Fred Astaire. We had such a great time, and a great time that was topped off by the fact that there as some good music going on, too.”

Her latest album, From Now On, is a collection of introspective and intimate songs. Always one to keep up with the times, Clark’s new record sounds remarkably up to date, even flirting with electronica and dance beats on the tracks.

For her, the title of this record holds a particular significance, and reflects the way she looks at the world at this stage in her life. “All that matters is from now on,” she says. “Living for the moment is important.”

Petula Clark appears at Leeds Town Hall on October 19. Tickets £40, www.leeds.gov.uk

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Born Sally Olwen Clark, her stage name of ‘Petula’ was a creation of her father’s.

Clark’s classic hit Downtown has been covered countless times, including versions by Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra. Clark herself has re-recorded the song seven times.

She resides mostly in Geneva, although she also owns homes in the French Alps and in London’s Chelsea.

Clark has enjoyed 18 Top 20 singles in the UK, including two number ones.

She has been signed to several major record labels, including EMI, Warner Bros., MGM and Columbia.