Boy, she's amazing — Petula Clark, I mean. It's not polite to tell a lady's age but everyone in the house tonight knew she was 86 and while she doesn't sound exactly as good as she did in 1965 — how could she? — she sings way better than any of us in the audience were prepared to settle for. Not only that but she sang for about 100 minutes without an intermission or having her band play a number without her. She didn't even sit down and she doesn't look anywhere near 86 either.
And that's all the more remarkable when you consider that her professional singing career began when she was nine years old and her film debut was at age 12. None of this is humanly possible.
Tonight as part of a current tour, she performed before an audience that was just the right age to watch and listen as she topped the hit parade of the sixties with hit after hit. She sang most of 'em for us as well as tunes made famous by others plus some new offerings. There were also selections from Sunset Boulevard, Evita and the film version of Finian's Rainbow and by the time she got to "Downtown" (second from the end), every customer in the house had gotten exactly what they came for.
I had a great time. My friend Shelly had a great time. You'd have had a great time. I actually looked for you but you didn't seem to be there. Your loss.