“I really didn’t know what to do”: the defiant advice Petula Clarke got from John Lennon
On the face of it, Petula Clarke and John Lennon were an unlikely sonic match, but the pair had more in common than perhaps what meets the eye. For starters, he was one-quarter of the leadership of the British invasion while she was hailed as the First Lady of that same revolution – but even still, there was nothing to deny that the music they each produced were universes apart.
As Lennon and Co. were harbouring a psychedelic explosion, Clarke was, without question, a more stay-in-your-lane style of artist. The likes of ‘Downtown’, for example, though classic, could hardly be hailed as a sonic second coming in the same vein as her Beatles counterpart. Nevertheless, when the chips were down for Clarke, Lennon offered her some defiant advice that kept her on track – but also led to her venturing on an unexpected road.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2013, Clarke recalled a particularly pivotal experience in 1969 when she was performing in Montreal, Canada, and was booed by the audience. Downbeat, she then sought out the wisdom of a certain sonic superstar, who just so happened to be lounging around nearby, all in aid of a good cause.
She said: “I really didn’t know what to do and I needed to talk to somebody who I had no connection with, and John was in town with Yoko doing a Bed-In for Peace. So after the show one night, I went over [to] the hotel — no security, of course, I just walked in — and said I wanted to see John Lennon. So up I went, and there they were sitting in bed, and he was adorable. He could see I had a problem, and he put his arms around me. I told him what it was all about, and, well, he gave me some advice that I can’t repeat.”
Too polite as she may have been to say it exactly, but Lennon’s guidance to Clarke consisted of two simple words – “Fuck ‘em.” Despite this, the unlikely soundbite clearly still rang in Clarke’s ears for the rest of the night as she entered into Lennon’s microcosm, and the effects of this persuaded her to explore a path far different from her own.
That same evening, while Clarke was still in his apartment, Lennon started working on demos that would later become his debut solo single, ‘Give Peace a Chance’. The classic pop singer’s sliding doors moment of being in the right place at the right time paid dividends as she then ended up singing backing vocals on the song, even though it represented a much different ideal than her own hits. Folkish and obviously overtly political, Clarke had never steered anywhere near that realm in her own tunes – but evidently, Lennon’s stirring advice prompted her to stick it to the man and show the world a whole new side to her.
While Lennon admittedly wouldn’t be the seemingly immediate choice for a dose of divine intervention in the female mainstream pop canon, it spoke to his all-knowing omniscience across the music world that he was able to guide Petula Clarke in the right direction just as much as he did, say, Jeff Lynne. Either way, his advice rings true to all manner of situations in life, whether musically inclined or not. You just need to keep doing your own thing.
