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MUSIC
The AZ
Recordings
When Petula stepped away from Vogue France in 1972, she began recording independently under her own production company, Progenar. Over the next few years she created a compact set of
French language titles comprising of one studio album and a run of singles
issued through Disc'AZ. These recordings, made between 1972 and 1975, form a distinct chapter in her catalogue:
self contained, artist led, and shaped outside the structures of her
major label work.
Disc'AZ, founded by Lucien Morisse and later guided creatively by Paul de Senneville, operated during a period of shifting distribution arrangements and was eventually absorbed into the Universal catalogue.
Petula's singles on AZ carried the SG prefix, indicating
distribution based releases rather than traditional recording
contract issues. This flexible arrangement allowed her to record selectively and maintain control over her material.
Not all of the original tape sources from this period have survived. Some titles exist only through vinyl transfers made for later compilations; others have not resurfaced in any form. For collectors, this creates an uneven landscape: certain tracks are well preserved, others rely on secondary sources, and a few remain unlocated. These gaps have become part of the AZ story, shaping how the material is studied, heard, and preserved.
The 1973 Album
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The
centre piece of the AZ era is the 1973 French LP Petula (STEC 151), issued in December that year. It gathers ten of the recordings, including three Clark compositions
(Bleu Blanc Rouge, Dans La Ville, Swiss Valley).
The album blends new material from de Senneville/Toussaint with French‑language versions of
Wedding Song (There Is Love), Brand New Day, and
I Can't Remember (How It Was Before). For the latter two, Petula recorded new French vocals over the original English backing tracks, with the English backing vocals still faintly present in the mix.
The
album remains one of the most sought after releases in her
French language catalogue.
The
Tracks:
Side One:
Bleu, Blanc, Rogue (Al Grant, Paul de Senneville) 2:40
Une Carte D'Amitie (Franck Thomas, Paul de Senneville, Olivier
Toussaint) 2:25
Accordons Nos Violons (Yves Dessca, P Bresticker, M Nannini) 2:52
Dans La Ville (Jean Loup Dabadie, P Clark) 2:42
Thank You My Lord (Michaele, Olivier Toussaint, Paul de
Senneville) 3:10
Side Two:
Coup De Tete, Coup De Foudre (Yves Dessca, P Mac Aulay, M Greenway)
3:43
Un Enfant Le Sait (Franck Gerarld, Van Morrisson) 3:46
Beau Comme Le Retour D'Un Fils (Yves Dessca, M Louis St Louis) 3:35
Swiss Valley (Michaele, P Clark) 3:08
Il Est Temps (P Delanoe) 3:15
The
Canadian Variation
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Reverse Cover
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In 1975, Kebec Disc issued a Canadian edition of the album, replacing
Une Carte D'Amitié with Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit
Malheureux, a new Progenar recording also released as a single. This version later became one of the tracks transferred from vinyl for the 2001 French
Reader's Digest set.
The
Tracks:
Side One:
Bleu, Blanc, Rogue (Al Grant, Paul de Senneville) 2:43
Je Voudrais Qu'il Soit Malheureux (Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil) 2:58
Accordons Nos Violons (Yves Dessca, P Bresticker, M Nannini) 2:50
Dans La Ville (Jean Loup Dabadie, P Clark) 2:40
Thank You My Lord (Michaele, Olivier Toussaint, Paul de Senneville ) 3:05
Side Two:
Coup De Tete, Coup De Foudre (Yves Dessca, P Mac Aulay, M Greenway) 3:40
Un Enfant Le Sait (Franck Gerarld, Van Morrisson) 3:40
Beau Comme Le Retour D'Un Fils (Yves Dessca, M Louis St Louis) 3:35
Swiss Valley (Michaele, P Clark) 3:10
Il Est Temps (P Delanoe) 3:15
Singles
and Alternate Takes
The AZ singles document both the releases and the survival of their sources. Some singles differ from their album counterparts, with alternate takes issued on 45rpm. In several cases, only the vinyl issues remain; in others, later CD appearances rely on whatever sources were available at the time.
The Schönberg/Boublil productions (Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux and
Hasta Manana) also sit within this pattern, with surviving audio drawn from reissues rather than original tapes.
By 1975, this core AZ period effectively concludes.
A Late Addition: The 1984 Recordings
Although often grouped with the AZ material,
Glamoureuse and Mister Orwell (recorded at Trident Studios
in London and issued in France in October 1984) belong to a much later, separate arrangement. Produced by Luc Plamondon and Jamie Lane, they were released on AZ as a
one off project rather than part of the original 1972–75 cycle. They function best as a postscript to the AZ story,
connected by label, not by era.
How
the Recordings Survive Today
The AZ material has resurfaced across various European and Canadian CD releases, including
Reader's Digest, Bear Family, Lions Soleil, Sanctuary/BMG, and Sony/BMG.
Because not all original sources have been located, these compilations often represent the only accessible versions,
and in a few cases, the only surviving audio at all. Where vinyl transfers have been used, the sound quality varies considerably, and some restorations are noticeably poor, reflecting the limitations of the available sources rather than the recordings themselves.
1. Petula Clark:
Reader's Digest (France, 2001)
AZ tracks included:
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge (album take)
Il Est Temps
Thank You My Lord (album take)
Swiss Valley (vinyl sourced)
Un Enfant Le Sait
Beau Comme Le Retour D'un Fils
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux (vinyl sourced)
Glamoureuse
Mister Orwell
Collector notes:
First CD appearance for the vinyl‑only survivors (Swiss Valley, Malheureux).
Now highly collectable.
2. Elvis Made in France: Various Artists (Bear Family, Germany, 2002)
AZ track included:
Coup De Tête, Coup De Foudre
Collector notes:
Only one AZ track, but excellent sound quality typical of Bear Family.
3. Mes Plus Grands Succès: Petula Clark (Lions Soleil, Canada, 2002)
AZ tracks included:
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge (album take)
Il Est Temps
Un Enfant Le Sait
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux
Glamoureuse
Mister Orwell
Collector notes:
Strong Canadian compilation with a good spread of AZ material.
4. Kaleidoscope: Petula Clark (Sanctuary / BMG, France, 2003)
AZ tracks included:
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux
Mister Orwell
Collector notes:
Small AZ presence, but useful for collectors completing digital sources.
5. Une Baladine (Best Of 3CD): Petula Clark (Sony Music / BMG, France, 2010)
Reissued as La Sélection: Best Of in 2013
AZ tracks included:
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge (album take)
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux
Collector notes:
Later Sony / BMG anthology; includes two key AZ titles.
English Language Counterparts (1973)
Two of the AZ era titles also exist in English language versions recorded in 1973:
“Thank You My Lord” and “Swiss Valley.” These recordings were not issued at the time and remained unreleased for more than three decades. They finally appeared in the United States on the 2009 Collectors' Choice album
Open Your Heart, providing the first official release of the English counterparts to these French language titles.
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Unofficial
Issues and Collector Circulation
Alongside the official releases,
two unofficial editions have circulated among collectors. In 1976, the Petula Clark Fan Club issued a private cassette compiling the AZ album with four additional tracks, produced in limited quantities for members only. Decades later, in 2007, a French bootleg CD appeared, gathering the AZ titles with bonus tracks into a single package. Although unauthorised, it has become widely sought after because it offers a convenient way to access material that had long been scattered across vinyl, cassettes, and
out-of-print compilations. These editions sit outside the formal discography but form part of the way the AZ recordings have been preserved, traded, and rediscovered.
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Advert for the
privately issued cassette
from the Fanclub newsletter
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The AZ recordings
represent one of the most fragile parts of Petula Clark's own archive, with scattered sources and missing tapes making preservation an ongoing task.
For collectors, this era is more than a set of releases, it is a reconstruction project and a window into a period where Petula recorded on her own terms.
Collectors
Quick Reference:
Essential Variants:
Bleu Blanc Rouge (SG 423, 1972)
Pink label = album take
Purple engraved label = alternate single‑only take (tape missing)
Thank You My Lord (SG 444, 1973)
Alternate single only version (tape missing)
Variation is tied to the single itself, not label colour
Vinyl Only Survivors:
These tracks survive only via vinyl transfer (no tape source located):
Swiss Valley
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux
Both transferred for the 2001 French Reader's Digest set.
International Issues of Note:
Canada (MGM / Kebec Disc)
Bleu Blanc Rouge / Il Est Temps
Thank You My Lord / Dans La Ville
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux / Hasta Manana
Lebanon (Disc'AZ AZ 9027)
Thank You My Lord / Swiss Valley
Unofficial / Collector Circulation
1976 Fan Club cassette: AZ album + 4 bonus tracks
2007 French bootleg CD: gathers AZ material + 3 bonuses
Most Important Items for Completists
Purple engraved Bleu Blanc Rouge (alternate take, tape missing)
SG 444 Thank You My Lord (alternate take, tape missing)
Original 45s of the vinyl only survivors
1976 Fan Club cassette
2001 Reader's Digest 3 CD set (key digital source)
The
Fan Archive Reference Edition
For the reasons set out above, the AZ material existed for years only in scattered form: a single LP here, a few singles there, and later a handful of uneven CD transfers. With no complete or consistent edition available, the Fan Archive eventually created its own reference copy. The aim was not to “improve” the catalogue, but simply to preserve it: clean transfers from our own mint copies of the vinyl issues, gathered in one place, with artwork to match. It is a practical solution to a gap in the official discography,
a working archive copy built because no commercial edition exists.
Fan
Archive Reference Edition Tracklist:
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge 02:50
Une Carte D'Amitié 02:21
Accordons Nos Violons 02:55
Dans La Ville 02:43
Thank You My Lord 03:10
Coup De Tête, Coup De Foudre 03:45
Un Enfant Le Sait 03:45
Beau Comme Le Retour D'Un Fils 03:41
Swiss Valley 03:13
Il Est Temps 03:18
Bonus Tracks:
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge (Alternate take) 02:40
Thank You My Lord (Alternate take) 03:12
Hasta Mañana 03:01
Je Voudrais Qu'Il Soit Malheureux 03:00
Total
playing time: 43 minutes
Creating Your Own Archive Copy
For collectors who enjoy the process as much as the result, the AZ era lends itself perfectly to building a personal edition. The original releases are scattered across LPs, singles, and a handful of uneven CD appearances, and no complete official set has ever been issued. That gap invites creativity. With a clean transfer of your own vinyl, a bit of careful sequencing, and artwork that reflects the period, it is entirely possible to assemble a version that suits your shelf and your ears. Many fans have done exactly that over the years,
not to replace the originals, but to bring this elusive chapter together in one place. If the edition you want does not exist, there is nothing stopping you from making your own, just as we have.
As with all areas of Petula's recorded legacy, the AZ period rewards careful attention to detail. The distinctions between album and single takes, the pink and purple label variants, the
vinyl only survivors, and the international issues together form a small but significant body of material that invites close study. We hope this resource has been both useful and enjoyable. If you hold additional information, corrections, or insights into these recordings, we would welcome your contribution; the archive is always strengthened by shared
knowledge and views.
Questions?
Drop
us an email: info@petula-archives.co.uk
