Petula Clark, singer
In 1964, I was a huge star in France but the swinging 60s were starting to take hold in London and I wasn’t part of it. Tony Hatch, a junior producer at Pye Records, came to see me in Paris and told me I had to record again in English. I was in the kitchen making some tea when I first heard him playing the melody to Downtown. I ran in and said: “What’s that?”
At that point, it was just a melody and a title, but I said: “If you can write a lyric as good as that melody, I’d love to sing it.” Two weeks later, I was walking into a studio in London with 40 musicians. They were all top guys – the guitarist was Jimmy Page – and when I first heard the orchestration, it was so great I nearly fell over, even though Tony was still finishing the lyrics in the bathroom.
We recorded it live, did three takes and used the second. When I sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York, everyone went berserk. It reached No 1 in the US and became a hit around the world. It’s a song that just won’t lie down. I’ve recorded it several times: the last time we slowed it right down and I sang it much more poignantly.
People generally think of it as a jolly song, but it isn’t. When I sing it, I picture this person who’s alone in their room, lonely, feeling a bit worthless, close to a depression – then getting up and going out on the street to be among other people who are perhaps feeling the same way. I have had those moments myself.
Tony Hatch, songwriter
I’d heard about all the great songwriters working in the Brill Building in New York, so took I a trip over to find out how they did it. I stayed near Central Park and, late one night, walked from Broadway to Times Square. I was amazed that everything was still open. Although I was there on my own, I didn’t feel alone.
The Crystals had recorded a song called Uptown, but as I saw the neon lights and people, I thought: “Downtown would make a much better title.” Geographically, I was wrong: the real downtown was much further down Manhattan. But the word refers to where the nightlife is, and it stuck in my head.
Back in London, I got the melody on the piano and went to see Petula. She didn’t like my songs that much and, after hearing a few, said: “Haven’t you got anything else?” So that was when I played the embryonic Downtown. When we recorded it, I knew it was special. For the first time, I wasn’t copying Burt Bacharach.
At first, the record company were less than enthusiastic, but then the boss called me and said: “Can you bring that Petula Clark thing back in?” He wanted to play it to a guy from Warner Brothers in Los Angeles, who was visiting. When he heard it, he said: “I want that song and I want it now.” He loved the fact it was America seen through the eyes of an Englishman.
There are stories that I offered Downtown to the Drifters and whoever, but they’re all untrue. Without Petula recognising the strength of the melody, I might never have finished it. It’s my favourite of all my songs. In 2013, I was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Petula sang Downtown and presented me with the award – at the Marriott in Times Square, the place that inspired the song.
• Petula Clark’s UK tour reaches Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on 11 October. She performs with Tony Hatch at the Hilton, London, on 18 October.
