Videos: Petula Clark, in French

By the time American kids like me heard Petula Clark sing Downtown on the radio in late 1964, she had already invaded France. Petula, of course, started out as a child singer and actress in the U.K. in the 1940s and early '50s. In '57, she was invited to sing at Paris's Olympia Theatre. She delivered a performance that left the audience cheering. The next day, Vogue Records signed her to a recording contract.

Petula's success in France was partly a result of her personality. The French adored her natural and sunny optimism and her honest commitment to song. They also enjoyed that she was fluent in French and could sing in the language. By 1960, Petula had become so big on the Continent that she toured France and Belgium with debonair pop singer Sacha Distel. She also spent the early 1960s appearing on French TV. Then came her spectacular hits by Tony Hatch starting in '64 that were perfectly matched to her personality. The songs made her the first female British invader in the States and an international star.

Despite her global pop fame, Petula would return to France often throughout her career, where she was always warmly welcomed. Here are seven videos of Petula singing in French:

Here's Petula, c. 1960...

Here's Petula in 1962...

Here's Petula singing her hit This Is My Song...

Here's Petula in concert in Belgium in 1964...

Here's Petula singing It's a Sign of the Times on a French go-go show in 1966...

Here's Petula on the Sacha Distel Show in 1966 singing My Love...

And here's Petula in the mid-'60s on a French jukebox TV show...