Petula Clark

Speaker 30:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive.

Speaker 30:05

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. The programme was originally broadcast in 1982, and the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:30

This week our castaway is the singer and actress Petula Clarke. Pet, you were on this island once before, several years ago, and on that occasion you shyly confessed to me that you were eighteen and you don't look any more now.

Speaker 30:37

Mm-hmm.

Presenter0:43

You're not mentioning the year, are you? That's very gallant of you.

Petula Clark0:46

Yeah.

Presenter0:47

You haven't changed. The island hasn't changed either. I suspect that your records may have, we'll hear. Probably.

Presenter0:55

You've done a great deal of travelling. Have you ever visited a desert island? Yes, I have. Have you well?

Presenter1:01

Out in the Caribbean. And it was amazing. It was just a little sort of blob of sand, really, in the middle of the ocean, and a palm tree. How long did you stay there?

Presenter1:09

That twenty minutes.

Presenter1:11

It would seem enough.

Presenter1:12

How well could you endure loneliness?

Presenter1:16

I I actually enjoy being alone.

Presenter1:19

Loneliness

Presenter1:21

But I don't know. I think I could probably cope quite well, actually. I enjoy having to cope. Did it take you long to choose your eight record?

Presenter1:29

Eight that may have to last a long, long time into the future. I don't think it took me long enough. I I've tried to choose them well, but uh I could probably have chosen them better. But it's difficult. Eight records, not very much. You're having afterthoughts already. I'm afraid so.

Petula Clark1:41

You're

Petula Clark1:42

Yeah.

Presenter1:43

What's the first one on the list?

Presenter1:46

Peggy Lee, singing a song called Black Coffee, and Peggy Lee has always been my favourite singer.

Presenter1:53

I think she still is. N not for everything, but when everyone else was listening to Judy Garland and

Presenter2:00

I suppose Virulin, way back then. I was listening to Peggy Lee and Lena Horne. They were always my favorites, and this particular album, Black Coffee, was sort of my Bible.

Petula Clark2:05

They will

Presenter2:11

I'm feeling mighty lonesome Haven't slept awake

Presenter2:18

I walk the floor and watch the door

Presenter2:23

Uh

Speaker 32:23

An envy

Presenter2:24

Twin I Dream

Petula Clark2:26

Uh

Presenter2:26

Black coffee

Speaker 32:28

Hey.

Presenter2:30

Uh

Presenter2:31

Love's a hand-me-down broom

Presenter2:41

Peggy Lee singing Black Coffee.

Presenter2:44

Pet, I believe that you formed your ambition to be an actress very early in life. Yes, I think I always wanted to be an actress, although I started off as a singer when I was about six, but I had really always wanted to act. The idea came to you on top of a bus, you once told me.

Petula Clark2:56

Yeah.

Presenter2:59

Oh, yes, that's true. I had been taken by my dad to see Flora Robeson in Mary Tudor. That was my first time.

Presenter3:08

Uh watching her play in a theater, and it was a big experience for me. That was a big grown-up play for a six-year-old.

Petula Clark3:12

That's the thing.

Petula Clark3:14

Six-year-old.

Presenter3:15

Pretty heavy, I thought, but uh that was it. I wanted to act and I had always wanted to be

Presenter3:20

a a very serious actress. I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman at one time. Where were you living? What part of the country do you come from? Surrey, just outside London, sort of Epsom, round that sort of area, Chesington.

Presenter3:34

Surbiton. Who taught you your first song? I don't think anybody taught me. I just sort of picked it up. I've got very good ears. Yes, you have.

Speaker 23:42

Yes, you have.

Presenter3:43

And I picked up the piano too. That's I don't play piano very well, but I play by ear. I hadn't really had a a formal education musically at all, when I come to think of it. What was your first public appearance?

Presenter3:56

It was in Bentall's, in Kingston. There's a large, very good department store in Kingston called Bentalls, and I sang there with Harry Fryer's orchestra at the top of the Escalator Hall, would you believe? There's a name from the past. What did you sing?

Petula Clark4:09

There, said Dave.

Presenter4:11

Oh, I think I did a selection from my repertoire, you know, a bit of everything. I was um

Presenter4:16

A bit of a comedian. I used to do funny songs and uh and I sang Javi Maria. Was this just a single appearance, or were you booked for the week? I was booked for the week and I got paid with a tin of toffees, what's more.

Petula Clark4:26

Paid with

Presenter4:28

Now tell me the story of how you were discovered by the B B C.

Presenter4:32

Ah now that was a little later on. It was during the war, I suppose I was about nine.

Presenter4:38

and I had gone along to the Criterion Theatre, which had been chosen for the job because it's underground, and it was full of sandbags, I remember.

Presenter4:46

It was a show called It's All Yours which was produced.

Presenter4:51

Well, the senior producer was Cecil Madden. I think Stephen Williams was the actual producer. And it was a show where children could send messages to their uncles, brothers, or dads serving abroad.

Presenter5:04

It was for the overseas service of the BBC and I was sending a message to an uncle who was serving out in North Africa.

Presenter5:11

And during rehearsal there was an air raid, and the producer asked if one of the children would like to come up and sing a song and

Presenter5:17

say a poem, do anything to sort of relax the atmosphere, and nobody answered, so I put my hand up.

Presenter5:25

And I went along up to the stage and uh they stood me on a box. That's before I was wearing high heels, you see. And uh I sang. I sang Mighty Lug a Rose into the microphone and they heard it in the control room and uh the band joined in, you know, just like on the pictures. Yes. And on the strength of that you were given a series at at the age of nine?

Presenter5:47

I don't think I got a series right away. I did several of those shows, and then I sang on a very important show, the tenth anniversary of the Overseas Service, the B B C.

Presenter5:57

That was with Geraldo's orchestra and Arthur Rasky and Jerry Wilmot and you know, big stuff that was, and they bought me a new dress for it.

Petula Clark6:00

And Jerry will

Petula Clark6:01

Yeah.

Presenter6:06

And I sang on that. Yes, I did eventually have my own series on radio in my Pet's Parlour. That's right.

Petula Clark6:10

Pets parlour.

Presenter6:12

How old were you then, do you think? That was the following year or I don't know. Well, it was pretty young to have a series, anyway.

Petula Clark6:16

Well it was pretty young

Presenter6:19

Yes, I suppose so. Do you know, I'd be perfectly honest with you. I've forgotten an awful lot of it. It's terribly misty for me. Somebody's working on a book. Of my life story. I'm I'm not having anything to do with it because I I don't really want it written at all, but I can't stop somebody writing it.

Presenter6:34

And this lady's coming up with the most incredible information about me, and it's very eerie. And you can't stop people reading it either. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Petula Clark6:42

Uh

Presenter6:45

Let's have another record, your second.

Presenter6:47

Right, can I have a bit of jazz, please?

Presenter6:50

I love the Brecca brothers. They're two er American brothers. One plays Sacks, the other plays Trumpet. They're absolutely amazing.

Presenter6:58

And uh they play what I call exhilarating jazz. It's it's very up. I could listen to this for hours.

Presenter7:36

The Breker Brothers

Presenter7:38

Now, from concerts you progressed very speedily to films. What was the first one you made?

Presenter7:43

It was a film called Medal for the General and we made it at the Boreham Wood studios.

Presenter7:49

which are now television studios. And every time I go back to do a television show there, I c I remember very clearly my first moments in that studio. I was terrified. And you were put under contract as the youngest star of the Mighty Rank organization.

Presenter8:03

How did you manage about school? Not terribly well.

Presenter8:06

I missed an awful lot of schooling, and it was not easy.

Presenter8:10

Yeah, I mean, it's very difficult for a child to miss two, three weeks of lessons and then have to go back and and try and catch up. I mean, I never did catch up.

Presenter8:18

And the other children were not always very kind to me, because that was their way of getting back at me for being a star.

Speaker 38:22

The

Presenter8:24

Yes, of course.

Presenter8:25

You were so valuable to the RANG organization uh as a child star that I believe they tried to stop you growing up. They kept you in ankle socks.

Petula Clark8:32

Yeah.

Presenter8:34

And bound in my bosom. I know you didn't want to say it, but it's. You said it.

Petula Clark8:37

That's fine.

Presenter8:39

It was very mean of them. Yes, it was rather mean. Yes, I wasn't allowed to grow up. I was, as you say, more valuable to them as a child than as an adolescent.

Presenter8:49

And uh it was very difficult for me. I was not very happy during those years.

Presenter8:53

And it was about that stage of your career that we were doing a lot of radio. You and I worked together on a radio series, which was rather fun at that time. Marvellous.

Petula Clark9:00

Control.

Petula Clark9:01

Yeah.

Presenter9:02

The Rhubarb Room. Yes, with what's the name of the band? Sid Phillips's band. Yes. And the keynote.

Petula Clark9:06

Um

Presenter9:08

It's because the BBC were doing a lot of rather cheap late-night shows, imaginary nightclubs, with the Silver Slipper and all the rest of it. So we did one called The Rhubarb Room, which was the the toughest, most awful, tattiest nightclub in London. We had a guest comic every week who was nearly always Jemmy Edwards. That's right.

Presenter9:29

Oh yes. They were fun those days. They were.

Petula Clark9:31

They were

Presenter9:32

And by now you are making records, and you did several stage plays at that time.

Presenter9:37

Yes, as you said, I was under contract to the rank organization, and we would get sent off from time to time to learn to act, you see.

Presenter9:44

And that meant we had to do some theatre.

Presenter9:47

And I remember Joan Collins did some theatre at that time too. We were all doing it, Barbara Murray.

Presenter9:52

And I worked at the Kew Theatre, which I think no longer exists.

Petula Clark9:55

Hello.

Petula Clark9:56

Yeah.

Presenter9:58

That was marvellous. I did The Constant Nymph, which was very dramatic, with John Gregson. It was particularly dramatic one night when the bed collapsed under us in the last scene, where I was supposed to be dying. Very difficult to hang on to the audience.

Presenter10:13

Yes. At that moment. And I did something at Worthing Theatre, too. Yes, I did several plays. I loved the theatre.

Presenter10:23

Well, let's have another record. We've got to number three. I'd like a bit of humour with me on the island. I love to laugh.

Presenter10:30

And I find it rather difficult to make myself laugh, so I'd like to have Dudley Moore and Peter Cook along with me.

Presenter10:37

Hi, George here.

Presenter10:39

Hello Alan. Who is it?

Speaker 210:41

It's on file.

Speaker 210:42

No, that's well.

Speaker 210:44

Uh

Presenter10:44

Uh Reg is just coming through on green, Alan. Uh hello Alan, it's uh it's uh Reg here. Yes, I'll just hand you over to George, okay? George, it's Alan.

Speaker 210:46

Uh hello Alex.

Presenter10:55

And you've just landed me over on green. Uh

Speaker 210:59

No, no, we've not got'em.

Speaker 211:02

You haven't got the thing.

Petula Clark11:02

Not the main. We haven't got the names.

Speaker 211:04

We haven't got the names.

Presenter11:06

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in a sketch called Lengths.

Presenter11:10

Of the twenty or so British films of that time, when you were in your teens, which one do you remember especially?

Presenter11:17

Which ones?

Presenter11:18

Mm.

Presenter11:20

Let me think now. There were some I'd really preferred to forget. You don't want to hear about those. They're probably more interesting than ones I remember.

Presenter11:28

Let me think. You had a long run as a a member of the Huggett family. Of course. That they were marvellous. They were absolutely marvellous to do. We were nine months in a little studio in Islington, a little flea bitten studio. And it really was a bit flea bitten by the time we'd finished with it because we did a thing called the Huggetts Abroad there.

Petula Clark11:29

You had a long

Presenter11:46

And the studio was full of sand. We were supposed to be in the desert.

Presenter11:50

And it really did get rather everywhere.

Petula Clark11:52

Rather than

Petula Clark11:54

Ev

Presenter11:55

Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison. Yes. Jimmy Hanley. Susan Shaw. And of course you made a musical with that great comedian, Sid Field. Yes, that was before that. That was just after the war, and it was our first attempt at a big musical. And it was done with, I think, mostly with American money and an American director, Wesley Ruggles, who's Charlie Ruggles' brother. And as you say, it was with Sid Field, Kay Kendall's first film. Tessio's family. Great big colour epic. Alas, it didn't altogether come off, did it? No. I don't know why. I suppose it was an American's view of.

Petula Clark12:24

Okay,

Presenter12:31

of London. It was called London Town. I didn't sing in it, actually. No, no, you played The Little Girl. Sid's daughter. And working with Sid was marvellous. He was genius. On the films, were there any nice locations? Were you abroad or were you mostly in Islington studios?

Presenter12:47

Oh, yes, mostly in Islington studios. They they were very cute in those days. They used to take a second unit out.

Presenter12:54

And film with stand-ins or whatever you call them, doubles, I suppose, yes.

Presenter12:59

and uh and then they'd glue it all together with Islington, you see. Not always very well. But I went to Lundedknow.

Petula Clark13:02

Islington Museum.

Presenter13:07

In Wales with Alec Guinness for The Card. The card is a very good film. Often pops up on television. Yes, so they say. I haven't seen it yet.

Petula Clark13:11

Often though

Petula Clark13:13

Uh

Presenter13:15

How about television? You started television very early.

Presenter13:19

Yes, I remember doing my first television show at Alexandra Palace, would you believe?

Presenter13:24

Sylvia Peters and Macdonald Hobley and all that stuff and when we used to have to wear black lipstick, that sort of thing, you know.

Speaker 213:24

Soul Vietnam.

Speaker 213:27

Yeah.

Petula Clark13:28

Yeah.

Presenter13:34

You're talking like a pioneer of showbiz. I'm afraid I am.

Presenter13:39

Another record.

Presenter13:41

All right, now, what have we now? Oh, yes, a little bit of classical music. This is very difficult for me because

Petula Clark13:45

This is about

Presenter13:47

I don't know. Um I'm changing around so much with classical music. I wanted a bit of bar talk and then I couldn't find anything that, you know, that I could just pick out of all of that.

Presenter13:57

So I've picked a bit of uh Richard Strauss. It's a quieter moment in Ein Heldenleben.

Presenter15:06

An excerpt from Richard Streis's Einhelden Leben, A Hero's Life, Lauren Marzell and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Presenter15:15

When did you start working abroad, Pitt?

Presenter15:19

I had worked quite a bit in Holland and um the Scandinavian countries, I suppose. Now let me think, now in the fifties. Yes.

Presenter15:28

But as far as France is concerned, I I couldn't speak French and I never had any desire to work there or or live there. I didn't especially like France. How did it happen?

Presenter15:39

Well, I had made a couple of hit records here. One was called With All My Heart, and the other one was called Alone.

Petula Clark15:45

Yeah.

Presenter15:48

And a lady called Dalida had been having hits with these songs with several of my records in French in France. She was doing covers. She was, yes, exactly. Well, I was covering an American artist at the time actually. So when the French people came on to me and said, Now this is silly, why don't you come and record it yourself in French? And I said, Listen, if she's having success, good luck to her. I mean, that's fine, you know.

Speaker 216:13

Yeah.

Presenter16:14

And he said, No, no, no, no, this is silly. You know, you should really come. I said, Listen, I don't speak French. I'm not interested. I have my sports car and my flat in London and my career here

Presenter16:26

A couple of boyfriends and

Presenter16:29

That I'm fine. Leave me alone, you see.

Presenter16:32

So anyway they insisted and um

Presenter16:35

I went over to do One Night at the Olympia Theatre, which is a bit like Our Palladium.

Presenter16:41

And it was for a radio station called Europe Number One.

Speaker 216:45

Yes.

Presenter16:45

which was then a very sort of hip kind of go-ahead kind of radio station.

Presenter16:52

I didn't realize how important this show was.

Presenter16:55

I was not top of the bill by any means.

Presenter16:58

and I had a most terrible cold.

Presenter17:01

Anyway, I sang. Yes. And I couldn't even say bonsoir, you know, it was very, very difficult. You were an English girl singing in English? Exactly.

Petula Clark17:09

Yeah.

Presenter17:09

But I was singing some songs they had already heard sung by this other lady.

Presenter17:13

Anyway, I sang for about fifteen minutes and pulled the place down, and I couldn't figure out why. I sang very badly, as I said, I had a very bad cold, and I looked dreadful, and apparently oh see, I was wearing what I thought was a terribly smart dress it was bright pink with lots of sequins on it, you know, the sort of lampshade look, which was very big at the time.

Speaker 217:30

It was very

Presenter17:33

And um apparently I looked my husband told me afterwards that that I looked like a sore thumb with a bandage. How dare you But I I think I know what he means now.

Petula Clark17:42

Yeah.

Presenter17:47

Well, that particular evening was I mean it was a big success, and the next morning the record chief was trying to talk me into recording in French, and I was still saying no and blowing my nose and I want to go home.

Presenter18:00

Anyway, the lights went out in this record chief's office no light at all.

Presenter18:05

and he said something in French, of course, which I didn't understand, and this boy came in and stood on the desk and changed the light bulb, and the light went on.

Presenter18:13

And there he was.

Presenter18:15

And I said, Yeah, who's that?

Presenter18:18

And the boss said, Oh, he's that's Claude Wolfe, he's our public relations sort of promotion type person. And if you did make a record, he would be showing you round Paris and introducing you to the different disc jockeys and journalists and things.

Presenter18:33

Fideau.

Presenter18:35

Oh well then uh

Presenter18:36

All right, then I'll have a go, you know? And.

Petula Clark18:38

Uh

Presenter18:39

Three weeks later I was back in Paris with my first French record. Singing in French with a delightful English accent. And that made you doubly successful. I don't know if it was delightful. It was certainly thick. I mean, I've I've listened to those records since, and it doesn't sound like French to me.

Petula Clark18:52

Okay, just

Presenter18:54

And you married Claude, who who taught you how to set about all this? Yes, at the time Claude couldn't speak English, incidentally.

Presenter19:02

He had been sort of managing a man called Sidney Bechet, who was a jazz musician, an American jazz musician, and the only English Claude knew was some

Presenter19:12

Rather nasty.

Presenter19:14

Jazz American jazz slang, which I found very shocking.

Presenter19:19

Well, he certainly did a job, wi and so did you. Within three years you were voted top female vocalist in France, which wasn't Bernard.

Petula Clark19:26

Which was

Presenter19:27

It was marvelous and and P F was still alive and that was very flattering.

Petula Clark19:27

It was wildly slim.

Presenter19:32

And of course you worked in the United States a lot.

Presenter19:35

One Hollywood film with Fred Asterne. Yes. Finian's Rainbow, wasn't it? Yes, it was the most enjoyable film for me. So I loved the role.

Presenter19:43

It was a marvellous cast. Of course, Fred Astaire, who was incredible. Tommy Steele played Would You Believe A Leprechaun? Cockney Leprechaun. Would you believe that?

Petula Clark19:52

Yes, I can believe that.

Presenter19:54

And it was directed by Francis Coppola, which we mustn't forget, and that was the most marvellous experience.

Petula Clark19:58

Yeah.

Presenter20:00

And for old time's sake one more British film.

Presenter20:03

Yes, through that I was given uh the role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mrs. Chips, to Peter O'Toole's Mr. Chips.

Presenter20:11

I believe it comes up on television from time to time and people cry a lot. Oh, well, it's doing a job. Record number five. Oh, yes, uh it's this is a bit more jazz, but uh this is a very, very sort of laid back sort of thing. I've always liked jazz anyway, right from the beginning, and I used to sing, swing and a little bit of jazz myself. I used to do those Ted Heath concerts at the London Palladium too.

Presenter20:38

And uh I put a marvellous orchestra together recently of English musicians a lot of them fresh out of music college and brilliant musicians and jazz musicians too and I travelled around with them on the bus,'cause I prefer to be on the bus with them, it's more fun than riding in the limousine.

Presenter20:56

And of course we listen to music all the time.

Presenter20:59

And that's how I was introduced to the trumpet playing of Freddie Hubbard.

Presenter21:04

I went to see him at Ronnie Scott's, and he's an absolute genius.

Presenter21:07

It was very difficult to pick one record out, but this is one that I think would be nice on the island. It's called Lazy Afternoon.

Presenter21:37

Uh

Presenter21:44

Freddie Hubbard, Daisy afternoon.

Presenter21:47

You've been racing about the world as an international star and you've still found time to bring up a family.

Presenter21:54

Yes, I don't know if I brought them up all that well. Actually, you know, seriously, it's it's very difficult doing those two things.'Cause I think both jobs are full time jobs.

Petula Clark22:03

I'm sorry.

Presenter22:04

You have two daughters. Yes, two magnificent daughters. And your daughter's educated in France.

Presenter22:10

Partly in France, little bit in Los Angeles.

Presenter22:15

Thank goodness not too much. And the rest in Geneva.

Presenter22:20

At the International School in Geneva.

Presenter22:23

Yeah.

Presenter22:24

One beautiful son. And he's at school in England. Yes, he's at school in Chichester. He loves football. I mean, that's really what he's all about at the moment. He wants to be a footballer and have a garage.

Petula Clark22:36

And have a gap.

Presenter22:37

How old is he? Nine.

Presenter22:43

And the family home is Switzerland, which is a good central place for taking off for anywhere.

Petula Clark22:45

Yeah.

Presenter22:48

Yes, it is, and it's very close to the mountains. Are you fond of skiing? Yes, I am. I haven't skied really for the last two years. I went over to Geneva for Christmas, for three days, and I felt that it was perhaps not the right moment for me to ski right in the middle of the sound of music.

Presenter23:05

Yes. Right. Record number six.

Presenter23:09

Well, I must have some pop music. There's an awful lot of good pop music around, but when I got down to trying to choose one well, I don't have a male singer in my show, and that's disgraceful. Of course I was going to have

Presenter23:21

Sinatra

Presenter23:22

But, um I thought maybe for a change I'd I'd play something from the Doobie Brothers album, um, minute by minute. This is a song called

Presenter23:31

What a fool believes

Presenter23:33

I I love this group. For my money, I think it's the best group around at the moment.

Petula Clark23:41

It is not

Petula Clark23:52

She rises to her apology Anybody else would surely know

Petula Clark24:02

You've got to win.

Presenter24:08

What a Fool Believes by the Doobie Brothers. Now you mentioned the sound of music.

Presenter24:13

You are for the first time in a stage musical here in London.

Speaker 224:16

Mm-hmm.

Presenter24:17

Yeah.

Presenter24:18

Now you're temporarily parted from your own children, but you've got seven of other people to look after in the show. Well, really, a lot more than that, because we have.

Presenter24:27

Different teams coming in every week, you see. How does it work? Well, we have one team for a week.

Presenter24:35

And then they're off for two weeks. So you've got three sets of seven? Yes, sort of rotor. And then we also have an understudy team in case any of the little ones get sick.

Petula Clark24:37

See the bottom

Presenter24:44

Four sets of seven a lot of children to look after and get to know. We've already got through one lot. Well, they're superannuated now. Right. They can only do forty performances in all, you see. The the the rules are very strict and the children are very well taken care of. Their dressing room is like a little dormitory. They

Petula Clark24:52

Yeah.

Speaker 224:55

Get the

Presenter25:02

They sleep and they eat.

Presenter25:04

I wish we would get taken care of like that tucked into my sleeping bag between shows.

Petula Clark25:07

You touched.

Presenter25:09

Another record.

Presenter25:11

Well, shall we have something from the sound of music? Well, up to you. Why not? Is that all right? Of course it is. I think I'd rather like to have that with me on the island to remind me because

Petula Clark25:14

Is that all right?

Presenter25:19

I am having the most marvellous time doing the show.

Presenter25:23

Michael Jayston and Anna Blackman and June Bronhill. It's a marvellous team of people. So we'll have just a little snippet from it, shall we? With the children.

Petula Clark25:31

So long, farewell, I'll peters and good night.

Speaker 225:35

He hates to go and leave his pretty side.

Petula Clark25:46

So long, farewell, on feeders and adjourned.

Speaker 225:53

You and you and you who

Presenter26:01

Just a snatch of So long farewell from the sound of music. Ped, how good would you be at looking after yourself on a desert island?

Presenter26:09

Mm.

Presenter26:11

I think I would cope quite well. At putting up a shelter of some sort? Oh, yes. Yes. I'm really quite good at that sort of thing. It's all the electrical things I can't do and I wouldn't have that problem, would I?

Petula Clark26:20

Does I wouldn't have that

Presenter26:21

Nothing electrical at all. Except I you've got a sort of solar battery to run your record player, I presume. Yes. But that'll all be taken care of. Yes.

Petula Clark26:29

Yeah.

Presenter26:30

What about food?

Petula Clark26:30

A lot of

Presenter26:32

Fishing, cultivating.

Presenter26:34

Fishing, oh yes. I'd have to kill the poor things, wouldn't I? It's advisable. Yes, before eating them, yes. Yes, I suppose so. I'd I'd do that if I had to. Would you try to escape?

Petula Clark26:43

Would you try to

Presenter26:45

Do you know anything about small craft, sailing, anything useful like that?

Petula Clark26:48

Yeah.

Presenter26:51

I can't swim very well, though. Well, you can brush that up. Right. Yes, that's true.

Petula Clark26:53

Wash that up.

Presenter26:56

Good. What else would I do with my days, you know?

Petula Clark26:56

Good.

Presenter26:59

So we're not unduly worried about you. You're going to be all right. Can I have something on on the island?

Petula Clark26:59

So we're not uncommon.

Petula Clark27:01

Yeah.

Presenter27:04

Are you going to ask me if I can have something on this? Yes, I'm going to ask you if you would like to have one luxury.

Petula Clark27:06

Yes, I guess

Presenter27:09

Will I want a piano, please? Yes, of course you can have a piano, an upright piano. It'd have to be an upright, wouldn't it? Yes, you can live under a grand, you see. Wouldn't be a luxury any longer.

Petula Clark27:17

Wouldn't be

Presenter27:20

All right then. Uh but a good one. It'll be a good one. You can name your own make.

Petula Clark27:22

It'll be a good piano.

Presenter27:25

And it should stay in tune, please. It'll stay in tune. Well, otherwise we'll give you one of those spanner things for for tuning it. Yes, that's something I'll have to learn. Let's have your last record. Oh, I'd like a track from the new Lena Horn album, which was recorded live on Broadway.

Presenter27:41

Lena Horne's an amazing woman. I've always adored her, and she's now back on Broadway in something which is virtually a concert, and it's, as they say, the hottest ticket on Broadway.

Presenter27:52

And she just stands there and sings.

Presenter27:54

And she's amazing. I mean, she's well into her sixties now, and she is incredible.

Speaker 227:59

Like the football wheel and a baby's cry

Speaker 328:05

Ah

Speaker 328:08

I got a song, I got a song.

Presenter28:14

And I cared with me.

Presenter28:16

Can I sing it loud?

Presenter28:20

Did it get me nowhere?

Petula Clark28:23

Alright.

Presenter28:27

Lena Horn, I got a name. If you could take only one disc out of the eight, which would it be?

Presenter28:33

Oh, that is difficult because I would miss my jazz.

Presenter28:37

I'd miss hearing the human voice, too, but I think I'd have to choose uh Richard Strauss's.

Presenter28:43

Einhelden Leben.

Presenter28:45

And you've chosen your luxury, your piano. If you could take just one book. Now you've got the Bible and Shakespeare already on the Islanders. Your basic equipment.

Presenter28:55

Now one more book.

Presenter28:57

I was thinking about the prophet, but perhaps not.

Presenter29:02

Could I have sort of a large book of Steinbeck's stories? Could is that possible?

Speaker 229:05

Yes.

Petula Clark29:06

Uh

Presenter29:06

Don't know if that exists. Yes.

Petula Clark29:07

That includes the microphone.

Petula Clark29:10

Crickles at the back

Presenter29:12

Good.

Presenter29:13

And thank you, Petula Clark, for letting us hear your Desert Island discs. Thank you, Roy. Goodbye, everyone.

Speaker 329:26

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. For more podcasts, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.