Oregonian
June 11, 1970

Petula Clark, five feet of boundless energy and affection, devoted her show to love, roses and peace Wednesday night in the first of two nights of Rose Festival entertainment at Memorial Coliseum.

Miss Clark sang to and conversed with an audience that almost immediately grasped her to its collective heart as she began with a pair of blockbusters that helped zoom her into the upper strata of pop singers. She opened with "Call Me" and continued with what has no doubt become the theme song of her career, "Downtown."

After "Downtown," the petite Miss Clark embarked on a soft discussion of two Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney ("the straight one," she said), prior to dedicating the concert to "love, roses and peace - do you mind?" This brought applause from much of the crowd on hand and several times during the sixty minutes of solid music she flashed the two-finger peace sign.

Petula, dressed rather elegantly in a powder blue empire floor-length gown covered with a sequined long coat that eventually came off, then sang McCartney's "Yesterday" and put the song, one of Paul's best, in a beautiful setting with a soulful approach seldom heard.

Her program, spiced generously with songs she has recorded, segued next into the haunting "Don't Sleep in the Subway," a lyric she belted and projected to the last seat in the last row of the immense and not too acoustical Coliseum. But the tune ended on a soft note that brought out a sensitivity more correctly called sensuous.

Petula Clark talked about her child prodigy days with Julie Andrews, of My Fair Lady fame, and told how the two singers toured English posts during World War II. With this intro, she launched into a medley of hits from that musical, all on the merry side. She built up a terrific audience rapport with the medley that included "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face," "I'm Getting Married in the Morning" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." She also showed off a talent at the Cockney accent.

On "Color My World" Miss Clark pranced and danced around the circular stage somewhat akin to a Renaissance princess wandering through some sylvan meadow, her head thrust to the sky and singing to whoever would listen.

Between "Color My World" and "You and I" from her film Goodbye Mr. Chips, the English lady discussed the movie, which she said was "revolutionary - it had no sex or violence."

She got in some social comment in the last three songs as she sang "Games People Play" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Lennon and McCartney came in for some more adulation when Petula brought forth her wide range and strangely electronic sound on "Fool on the Hill."

Miss Clark concluded with a reprise of "Downtown," but not before introducing one of the best rhythm sections heard in some time. Her rhythm section, punctuated by Kirk Hamilton's frantic bass and Frank Owens' superskill at the piano, travels with her and was integrated with the pit band.

Opening the program, which plays again Thursday night, was a rapid-fire hour of music and dance by the Young Americans and some fine comedy by Don Rice.

Photo courtesy of Gary Schmidt

Enchanting Performance by Petula Clark
by Arnold Marks
Petula Clark, the Portland Rose Festival's 1970 headliner, vividly enchanted her audience at Memorial Coliseum on her Wednesday night appearance, the first of two she will make.

It was a light turnout as compared to last season's Bob Hope sellout, but those 6,787 fans enjoyed every moment of the two and a half hour, fast-paced show.

Miss Clark, or "Pet" as her fans call her, made her appearance following intermission and for nearly a solid hour sang her hits and song favorites backed by an orchestra of Portland musicians, supplemented by "my own boys," with Frank Owens at the piano.

She dedicated her Portland appearance to "love, roses and peace." Her professional presentation was loaded with melody and glamour. The petite blonde wore a dazzling blue gown topped by a sleeveless evening coat of blue and silver lamé. Midway through her repertoire, she shed the coat and held her audience to rapt attention with her array of tunes. Lighting was excellent, but as is often the case, the sound was off. Too much reverberation.

Most of the songs were recognized by her fans before she could finish a few opening bars. Others weren't so familiar, but all were well received.

Most interesting was her My Fair Lady medley. "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" was delivered with a rich, cockney tonal quality. "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face" was aimed at her husband, handsome French publicist Claude Wolff, who is with her. Others included "I Could Have Danced All Night" and a comedy version of "I'm Getting Married in the Morning."

Just before she started one number, someone in the audience requested "Downtown." Miss Clark gently reminded that this was to be her final number. "Do you want me to do it now?" she asked.

One nice touch, too, was a song from her recent motion picture Goodbye Mr. Chips, Leslie Bricusse' "You and I." She explained to the audience that this picture was one of today's oddities - no sex or violence.

The Petula Clark show repeats at 8 p.m. Thursday. It is well worth attending.

On Friday, Miss Clark returns to London where she will rehearse and tape her ABC-TV special. Another album, "Memphis," is forthcoming, her husband advises.