Petula Clark - Downtown (The Dean Martin Show, Episode 50, Jan 26, 1967)

[tselliott]

Great song. Thanks for posting it.

[alexanderofflorence]

this is a show of 1964-1965 and no later; look at the girls dancing(their hair,dresses and shoes).......

[oneputtsteven]

Oh George you have to go downtown! I got nothing Jerry.

[johnnyu278]

Petula Clark seemed to make it allright for an adolesent to have a crush on an older woman. I certainly did. Thank you Ms. Clark. What a talent.

[January2454]

Beauty, sweetness, perfection.  Gosh, I miss the golden age of music.

[PRIORITY60]

Lip-singing...

[mlthomas33]

This was a Dean Martin Episode...there's another video w/the two singing a duet she's in the same dress)...I read other viewers thought it was "Top of the Pops"

[womba68]

unusual that pet clark was a film star when she was young and then became a pop star when she was older, generally would be done the other way round i think.

[psychomajic666]

@womba68 there's a few out there who did TV/Movies before music. I think Billy Bob Thornton did. Also Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis and that blonde girl from Family Ties.

[marcel911]

she had a very simple uncomplicated beauty.

[mRkYRA78]

I love this song!!!

[carbon4me]

beautiful song.

[1962drob]

This is THE Classic by Petula Clark. After all these years, this song is still awesome!

[1formerlin]

powerfull and vivid voice !

[octotankoo]

Love that song

[cromerbeach]

Those boys are so light on their feet got to love them

[pendantbabs]

everytime i go on you tube, you,ve got it wrong, sooo i,me older then you ha lol xx, if you want this site to be a succes please get it right, thanks.

[ro5343]

Hermosa mujer

[tgrunfeld]

Fun

[johnnyu278]

Back in the 4th grade and this song came out going downtown was something special. For a 9 year old, it was exciting going into Detroit. I believe Petula had a lot to do with that. It did with me. You'd get semi dressed up and pile in the station wagon. Unlike today you'd be wearing camafloge fatigues and take an armored car. What happened liberal progressives.

[creativsis]

She's lovely. Catchy song (:

[prckay]

The only singers out there that sing like this ... Ive seen are from my age who try to stick with this style of music.. of course that me

[blueticecho]

Every time I hear those opening key board cords I think back when I was a kid . Going on the # 6 bus on Saturday am to downtown Omaha.We used go between the stores in a under ground passage but like every thing else it's all long time gone now.

[HeyThereLlamaLover]

I want that dress. I want those dancers. I need to reenact this performance.

[thecity42]

I have never seen men behave like that

[AndrewKoala]

How could I forget Pet - (and she could sing in something like four languages)

A superstar - *

[John1948Ten]

@AllAboutLOVEatYuToob Wewll since I was 19 years old in 1967 and you weren't born until about 1973, I will consider myself to be more knowledgeable about the dress. Some of the shows that catered to younger people and younger artists were becoming more casual but the variety shows hosted by older performers like Dean Martin were still very formal. Dean usually wore a tuxedo on his show.

[AllAboutLOVEatYuToob]

@John1948Ten

Thanx :-)

[winifredatwell]

Instant joy. Petula Clark, had she never recorded anything else, would deserve a share of pop immortality for this sunlit power ballad written by the brilliant, criminally under-rated Tony Hatch, one of Britain's finest writers and arrangers. His magic touch gave Pet and other great performers nearly permanent occupancy in the top twenty throughout the legendary sixties.

[mjcamck71]

Sure wish music and artists were still like this . . .

[ZoeySuchanova]

I love the dancers at 1:05 & 1:14 ils sont parfaits!!

[bkavery78]

Downtown my favorite place to be!!!!

[martina77ish]

i have always known i was born 20 years too late. sigh.........any way she is my favorite brit of the 60s :)

[bytebull]

gaga will try to rip this off too watch .. she is a pro at ripping off songs.. hahaah kids today ...

[whiskeyify]

seems a little out of sync...but some of these old tv shows they would play the recorded song and then the singer would lip sync. I don't know why it was done that way...not saying it was here but could have been.

[Mascro1977]

I think it was a Dean Martin special

[John1948Ten]

@Mascro1977 You were very close and your comment put me on the trail. This was a regular episode of Dean's show, The Dean Martin Show, Episode 50, Jan 26, 1967. Thanks for the assist!

[kischkas81]

It makes me always good mood when i listen to it!

[TheKenfig]

This is NOT Top Of The Pops at all

[John1948Ten]

@TheKenfig How do you know and what do you think it is? If I can confirm it I will change it.

[TheKenfig]

@John1948Ten I cannot tell you conclusively but I am inclined to think that it is one (maybe her first from late '68) of her American tv specials. Why do I not think it's 'Top Of The Pops' ? : first of all, if she was performing 'Downtown' it would have been Nov '64 not 66 (it only featured hits in the charts the week of the show) but importantly little exists at all of T O T Ps from between 1964 when it began and 1973 ( only about 20 out of 500 shows) and no UK shows were shot in colour till 68

[John1948Ten]

@TheKenfig Thanks. I can't confirm either way except I do see there was no Top of The Pops on Nov. 19, 66 - it was the wrong day of the week. Since part of it is definitely wrong I removing the citation. If anyone knows when and/or where this performance was, please let me know.

[TheKenfig]

@John1948Ten For me the more important evidence is that no BBC shows were filmed in colour until 1967, when the first colour transmissions went out during 'Wimbledon' tennis championships in June / July ; from then on for about two years due to the low demand cos of the few Colour TV sets in the UK and expense of Colour broadcasting, this was confined to BBC 2 channel only and was limited even then. A Top Of The Pops performance of 'Downtown' would HAVE to have been '64 when it was a chart hit

[nodidittrich]

eu ouvia esta musica no vinil quando morava em um sitio adorava e ainda adoro

[kcchris]

pretty woman for a nice song.

[Humbertusmarius]

I was a kid in the '60's, and to this day I wish I had been born ten years earlier.

[motormouth5539211]

This song makes me wish I had lived in the 60s!

Thumbs up if LOST brought you here!

[motormouth5539211]

This song makes me wish I had lived in the 60s!

[darrinbaker00]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't Petula and Dean Martin an item back then?

[bkavery78]

I just recently got my hair cut just like this it looks so cute, some styles of music and hair are just classy!!!! Go Petula!!!!

[gatewaymusic1]

One of the best!!! You go girl............

[rayito2005]

Esta cancion me encanta , yo la escuche en la pelicula Inocencia Interrumpida de 1998 con Angelina Jolie y Winona ryder .

pero la canción es un exito de los 60's.-

[John1948Ten]

@rayito2005 Me alegro le gusta esto. Hay mucha gran música a partir de los años 1960 y mucho de ello está en mis canales. Mirar alrededor.

[olaaa27]

girl, interrupted? ;>

[DrHogfan]

She looked really good w/ short hair !

[Thesuziebear]

Can't belive I remember this song when it was in the charts I was only 4?

[Vergodden]

the dancers are loveably corny = P

[auaiao9]

@Vergodden They're all dancing their way to where?? DOWNTOWN, OF COURSE!

[stroh013]

@missshowcat=dean and all his guests never lip synced, he was a true class act and always wanted the best on his show. petula clark had many hits and this was her biggest, great post!!

[theqatrick]

Petula Clark have shined!

[elvisuk]

did anyone notice petula's mole was missing, was it on holiday ? anyway, petula was, and still is.. MARVELOUS ... thanks for sharing this

[agramsci]

Do you ever notice that in all her songs, she conveys a sort of sad but hopeful quality? Is it that as a child she lived through the Battle of Britain and was influenced by Dame Vera? There's just something about her singing that always seems to be tinged with "reality" as well as blind belting optimism.

[supersondessixties]

Bonjour, vous aimez les sixties ? écoutez et podcastez mon émission "le super son des 60's" sur le site de plumfm. You like the 60's ? please, listen and podcast my broadcast "le super son des 60's", connect to "plumfm". Salut et faites gaffe au rock and roll.

[MissShowCat]

This is one of the few clips in which Petula is not lip-syncing. Believe me, I'm not complaining - I love her - but it's refreshing to see her really belt it out. Love the gown, the dancers, her overall presence.

[eniota]

wondefull. very nice

[GrahamSimons]

of course.... she was ENGLISH!

[TheTausch]

An American classic. That's why I love America. Great Musi. Great Show. Great harmony! I am drunk right now. Anyway...Great Shit

[YouveStolenMyEyes]

@TheTausch And she's English.

[mduncan81]

I grew up listening to this on the radio and my mom singing it all the time. The only albums we had besides Elvis and folk music was Petula.

[brianclough]

She's just so talented. I heard her sing sometime in the early part of this century, and she still sounded nearly the same as she did in the 60s. Very few artistes can do this, and that's why she's a legend whose songs will never fade away.

[shmuli9]

I'm too young, but I wish I had been one of "Pet's People" (yes, that was the name of her fan-club members).

[justphil101]

Dont care how young you are today. I knew of your talent as a child on radio programmes so long ago. You are another BRIT who has earned MILLIONS for us.

[mydogblue1]

If men today,danced like that. They would have a hard time finding a date of the oposite sex.

[baddave62]

@mydogblue1 Interestingly, nowadays guys dressed in dirty jeans, a torn t-shirt, who are 300lbs+ and covered with tattoos somehow seem to get dates with the opposite sex. Just go to a nearby Wal Mart and you'll see what I mean.

[TheLushie]

Is she lip syncing?

How did such a tiny person generate such a big sound?

One of my favorite songs as a child.

[mduncan81]

@TheLushie Oh yes. They practically had to fake it for technical and cost reasons. Getting the audio right on television broadcast with vocals, backups, a big orchestra, rehearsals, etc. is a challenge today and nearly impossible then.

[Kazooka]

Great song, nice video. Definitely NOT from 1964. Quite likely from the early 70's. If this were from 1964, her hair would be bigger, her dress shorter and she would be much younger. Still...nice add to YouTube.

[John1948Ten]

@Kazooka QUOTE: It's easy to associate all 1960s fashion with short skirts, but the short skirt was not really worn by many until 1966 and not nationwide until 1967. Just as in the 1920s for half a decade clothes still showed signs of belonging to the late fifties. The fore runner of the mini dress the straight shift, which had developed from the 1957 sack dress, was still well below the knee."

[John1948Ten]

@Kazooka Petula was born in 1932 so in 1964 she was 32. I am not good at judging ages but I can believe she was 32 in the vid. Anyone???

[CatapultYourMom]

@John1948Ten I'm doubting it was in color in 1964.

[John1948Ten]

@CatapultYourMom I hadn't thought of that. I know Ed Sullivan didn't go color until 65. I think SHindig and Hullabaloo were black and white. I think I have to agree with you unless this was a special.

[CatapultYourMom]

@John1948Ten Check this version from 1965: v=yHNGvEdTwBQ

Also, note that Downtown didn't come out until early 1965, so there's no way the song would have been presented this way a couple of months before release.

[John1948Ten]

@CatapultYourMom Downtown didn't chart in the USA until early 1965 but it was released in four different languages in 1964. During a visit to London, Warner Brothers executive Joe Smith heard it and acquired the rights for the United States. "Downtown" went to #1 on the American charts in January 1965. Since this was a BBC show it could well have been in 1964 based on its success in the UK.

[CatapultYourMom]

@John1948Ten Sounds reasonable. I wonder where this performance was originally broadcast. If we know that, we'll know the rest.

[naltrexone23X]

@CatapultYourMom They started bradcasting in color in 1954, and I can remember it in the mainstream networks as early as 1963, but it didn't go big until 1966 or so.

[The1962driftingaway]

@CatapultYourMom This was from one of the early seasons of THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW, which started in 19t65, so this is probably '65 or '66. Most of prime-time had gone color by then, particularly at NBC, which was then owned by RCA and pushing their color TV's like mad. Personally, we didn't get a color TV in our family until 1973 . . .

[rbrown540]

@The1962driftingaway Yes. Apparently the Dean Martin Show from late January 1967. Definitely not a mid-60s BBC broadcast.

[naltrexone23X]

@John1948Ten the style of the tuxedos and the gown tell me this was the 1960s

[John1948Ten]

@naltrexone23X I know. It looks like 1964-65 to me too.

[ordinaryface]

She looks so happy :] I adore this..

[mirv10]

@ordinaryface The music from this era made you happy cause so many bad things were going on in the world at the time. 

[John1948Ten]

@mirv10 Not really. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was just passed. Viet Nam was starting to heat up but had very little impact so far. It was a very good time.

[dindoneves]

Pelas ruas e avenidas das grandes cidades desse imenso e querido Brasil estou sempre a lembrar de Petula com sua alegria contagiante interpretando DOWNTOWN. Linda música!!!...

[John1948Ten]

@dindoneves, É bonito fazer que alguém do Brasil desse uma pasada no canal. Goste!

[TheMazocal]

that dress is sooo cute!

[John1948Ten]

@TheMazocal It was so nice in the day. Women dressed like women - not like men and not like tramps.

[TheKer56]

I love that 'doooooowwwwn town'!!!

[camsoares]

This song helped me a lot in times of troubles. I listened to my old vinil LP disc and I went downtown,

[manapanana]

forgett all your trouble forgett all your cares *sing*

aways nice!

[CompVid101]

As with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Tony Hatch with Petula Clark was a pop collaboration for the ages.

[nenwapu]

LOST!!!!

[eowyn1964]

Listening to Petula always brings a smile to my face. Thanks for uploading this clip!

[simhopp]

she skipped the 2nd verse in this version.

otherwise a great performance.

[oneputtsteven]

Love the dancers, was Mike Meyers aka Austin Powers watching.

[FAUSTORICCARDO]

Stupenda goddess

[philskelton1]

ha...

i remember this

[jazz930]

check out those 4 guys dancing.

[dnvpaul]

I have always liked Petula Clark and this song. Growing up in a poor small town, the idea of downtown - from television and the movies was an amazing thought and she captured the excitement I knew must exist downtown. I listened tonight from New York city - the quintessential downtown - even after many years it still has the same feeling. Thanks for posting this.

[dagsbollox]

its quite a sad and lonley song ? dont you think ,,great voice ,luvley jubley

[messycarla]

@dnvpaul what a wonderful story :) i hope you're living your dream xoxo