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Petula … and Songs of Love is a one-off BBC Two special built around themes of romance, memory and emotional storytelling. Created to coincide with the release of Petula’s 1978 album Destiny, the programme blends new material with classic repertoire, all staged with the warmth and polish characteristic of Yvonne Littlewood’s productions. Moving between intimate studio performances, a nostalgic music-hall sequence and more dramatic set-pieces, the special showcases Peter Knight’s rich orchestral arrangements and Petula’s late-70s artistic confidence. The musicians-in-vision moments add a sense of immediacy, while the music-hall medley highlights her versatility, and the stillness of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina provides one of the programme’s emotional peaks. As a standalone production, it forms a natural bridge between the theatricality of her 1974 series and the more album-focused television work that followed later.

The special also features three of Petula’s own compositions from the Destiny album “What Am I Doing Here,” “Sunbeam,” and “You’re My Destiny” giving the programme a direct link to her songwriting during this period.

Although modest in scale, Petula ...and Songs of Love offers a clear sense of how the production was shaped in the studio. Petula moves through a series of self-contained sequences, each with its own visual identity from the period staging of the music-hall section to the more contemporary settings used for the Destiny material. Occasional costume changes and simple camera techniques help mark these transitions, while the musicians-in-vision moments underline the programme’s live studio character. The later numbers introduce a more dramatic tone, including the still, focused staging of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, before the programme returns to lighter material for its close. Taken together, Petula ...and Songs of Love provides a concise snapshot of Petula’s television work in the late 1970s and the production style typical of BBC variety at the time.

BROADCAST DETAILS:

• Broadcast Date: Friday 10 February 1978, 21:50

• Broadcast Time: 21:50 pm

• Channel: BBC2

• Repeat: Friday 5 January 1979, 22:10

PRODUCTION:

• Telerecorded: 22 - 25 November 1977

• Venue: BBC Television Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush Green, London

• Duration: 45'39"

• Producer: Yvonne Littlewood

• Musical Director: Peter Knight

• Choreography: Gillian Lynne

• Design: Roy Jones

• Lighting: George May

• Sound: Richard Gough

• Vision: Connel Miles

• Cameras: Vincent Logan, Barrie Young

TAKING PART:

• Petula Clark

• Peter Knight - Musical Director

• Art Day - Musical Associate

• Jack Mandel – Rehearsal Pianist

• 30 Musicians (contracted for the production)

• Steve Gray - in vision on I’m Not in Love and I Didn’t Mean to Write This Song Today

• Pete Morgan - in vision on I’m Not in Love and I Didn’t Mean to Write This Song Today

• “Foggy” Little - in vision on I’m Not in Love and I Didn’t Mean to Write This Song Today

• Richard Hitchcock - in vision on I’m Not in Love and I Didn’t Mean to Write This Song Today

• Alf Bigden - in vision on I’m Not in Love and I Didn’t Mean to Write This Song Today

• The Gillian Lynne Dancers

• Kay Garner - out of vision vocalist

• Clare Torry - out of vision vocalist 

• Jacquie Sullivan - out of vision vocalist

• Neil Lancaster - out of vision vocalist

• Tony Burrows - out of vision vocalist

• Nick Curtis - out of vision vocalist

MUSIC PERFORMED (as broadcast):

• Petula Clark with Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  Smiley - 03'04"
  Wempsey - arr. Steve Gray
  
  Piano Link into “I’m Not in Love” Steve Gray on Piano - 00'12"
  
  Petula Clark with Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight with OOV singers and in vision musicians
  I’m Not in Love - 3'50"
  Stewart, Gouldman - arr. Steve Gray

• Petula Clark with Orchestra and OOV singers
  I Really Didn't Mean To Write This Song Today - 3'30"
  Boyce, Hartley - arr. Steve Gray

Link into Music Hall Medley - Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight - 0'24"

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight - Music Hall Medley (over film)
  The Boy In The Gallery - 0'32"
  Ware - arr. Peter Knight 
  I Was A Good Little Girl - 0'58"
  Harris, Tate - arr. Peter Knight
  Joshua - 0'43"
  Arthur, Lee - arr. Peter Knight
  Wating At The Church - 0'35"
  Leigh, Pether - arr. Peter Knight
  You Made Me Love You - 1'32"
  McCarthy, Monaco - arr. Peter Knight
  Coda: The Boy In The Gallery - 0'32"
  Ware, arr. Peter Knight

• Music Stings in 'Telegram' sketch -the Orchestra - 0'10"
  Knight

• Link into Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight - 0'45"

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  Don't Cry For Me Argentina - 4'33"
  Webber, Rice - arr. Harold Wheeler, adapted by Peter Knight

• Incidental music into “Sunbeam” - the Orchestra - 1'47"
  Knight

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  Sunbeam - 2'38"
  Clark, Galbraith - arr. Steve Gray

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  What Am I Doing Here - 3'14"
  Clark - arr. Steve Gray

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  If You Leave Me Now - 4'00"
  Cetera - arr. Steve Gray

• Link into A Paris - Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight - 0'18"
  Arr. Peter Knight

• Petula Clark and Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight
  A Paris - 2'30"
  Lemarque - arr. Peter Knight

• Petula Clark with Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight and OOV singers
  You're My Destiny - 3'00"
  Clark - arr. Harold Wheeler

• Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight - T/J's spread over Petula Clark
  Reprise: You're My Destiny - 0'52"
  Arr. Harold Wheeler

Archive Holdings:

A complete recording of this episode is held within the BBC Archives. The Fan Archive Collection also preserves a private reference copy (shelf mark 146 and 152). All recordings remain under copyright, and we are unable to provide access or supply copies.

Survival Status:

This episode survives in full. The BBC holds the master recording, and the Fan Archive Collection maintains a documented reference copy. No missing segments, edits, or partial-survival issues are known.

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