HOME > MUSIC

Little Tramp: The Concept Music and Petula's role

Little Tramp is a musical with a book by David Pomeranz and Steven David Horwich, and music and lyrics by Pomeranz. Inspired by the life of Charlie Chaplin and named after his most enduring screen creation, the show opens at the 1971 Academy Awards ceremony, where Chaplin, long exiled from the United States, returns to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. From there, the story unfolds in flashback: his early days in Hollywood, the rise of silent cinema, his turbulent marriages, clashes with the press, FBI scrutiny, and the creation of the Little Tramp.

The 1992 Concept Album

Album Cover

Album Reverse

Indonesian Cassette

In 1992, Pomeranz assembled a "dream cast" to record a concept album designed to generate interest in a full production. The line-up was exceptional:

Petula Clark as Hannah Chaplin
Lea Salonga as Oona Chaplin
Tim Curry as Tippy Gray (FBI agent)
Richard Harris as Chaplin at 82
Mel Brooks as Mack Sennett
Mel Smith as various comic roles
Treat Williams as J. Edgar Hoover
Johnny Logan as Sydney Chaplin
David Pomeranz as the Fanclub President
Peter Duncan as Chaplin in his middle years
Leonard Kirby as Chaplin at 9
Jonathan Rudoe Sydney Chaplin at 12

The album's release was widely reported.

In the U.K. the regional press described the album as a "star-studded recording", highlighting Petula, Mel Smith, Mel Brooks and Tim Curry among the headline names. The Manchester Evening News likewise emphasised the calibre of the cast and Pomeranz's determination to promote the project as a major new work, not merely a celebrity showcase.

Recording Little Tramp: Petula in the studio with Leonard Kirby and Jonathan Rudoe, capturing the tender family moment that became the heart of Something No One Can Ever Take Away.

Petula's Song in the Story
Petula's featured number, Something No One Can Ever Take Away, sits at one of the musical's most emotionally resonant moments. Hannah Chaplin, a struggling music hall performer trying to keep her family afloat, notices young Charlie and his brother Sydney looking dejected. When she gently asks what's wrong, they confess that the children at school mock them for their worn, ragged clothes. Hannah responds not with denial or false comfort, but with a reminder of what truly matters: that they possess qualities no hardship can erase. Petula recorded the song with Leonard Kirby (Charlie at 9) and Jonathan Rudoe (Sydney at 12), creating one of the album's most tender and grounded performances.

The 1994 ASCAP Workshop

The Fan Archive Collection is proud to own the original poster that hung in the ASCAP offices in New York for the 1994 workshop presentation of Little Tramp. The poster is signed by Petula and Andrea Marcovicci.

Andrea Marcovicci, David Pomeranz and Petula photographed at the ASCAP offices following the 1994 workshop presentation of Little Tramp, capturing the moment the creative team and its leading performers came together to celebrate the project.

On 7 April 1994, Petula reprised her role as Hannah Chaplin at a produced presentation of Little Tramp at the New York ASCAP offices, essentially a workshop performance for producers. She again performed Something No One Can Ever Take Away, mirroring her recorded role for the live presentation.

Andrea Marcovicci also took part, performing This Is What I Dreamed, which she later recorded for her album What Is Love on DRG Records.

Petula's involvement began and ended with the Little Tramp project, but her portrayal of Hannah Chaplin remains one of the recording's defining performances.

Collectors Note
The Little Tramp concept album was recorded and issued in December 1992 by Warner Music (WEA), with additional international releases in South Korea and Indonesia. All editions are now out of print, but copies remain readily available on resale sites such as eBay and Discogs, where the album continues to attract collectors of music theatre recordings and Chaplin related material.

Track Listing
1. In America Again - Richard Harris
2. Something No One Can Ever Take Away – Petula Clark, Jonathan Rudoe, Leonard Kirby
3. When The World Stops Turning – Richard Harris, Jonathan Rudoe, Leonard Kirby
4. Number One – Leonard Kirby, Mel Smith
5. 'Less It Ends With A Chase – Mel Brooks
6. The Tramp / He's Got To Be Someone – Peter Duncan, Mel Brooks
7. Chaplin Films – Ensemble
8. Thank You – David Pomeranz, Ensemble
9. Heaven – Johnny Logan, Ensemble
10. He's Got To Be Someone (Reprise) – Lea Salonga
11. Too Many Words – Peter Duncan
12. I Got Me A Red / There's Got To Be A Law – Tim Curry, Treat Williams, Peter Duncan, Ensemble
13. This Is What I Dreamed – Lea Salonga
14. Finale – Richard Harris, David Pomeranz, Lea Salonga, Ensemble

In December 1992, The Stage praised the album's score as "tuneful" and "reminiscent of the work of Leslie Bricusse", a comparison that carries a special resonance for Petula fans. Bricusse's songwriting shaped a key chapter of Petula's own career, and the connection subtly underlines why her performance as Hannah Chaplin feels so instinctively at home within the musical's emotional landscape.

Questions? Drop us an email: info@petula-archives.co.uk