Celebrities petition for making Petula Clark a dame

This classy lady should have received this honor long ago...

Sunday 8th July, 2007 : Sir Michael Caine, Sir Tim Rice, Susan Hampshire and impresario Bill Kenwright are among celebrity fans of Petula Clark who have lent their support to an online petition on the Downing Street website for making the veteran singer-actress a "Dame".

The celebrities feel that the Petula should be honoured in recognition of her glittering career that has spanned more than 60 years. Petula is the most successful British female solo recording artist to date, and she is still touring and recording at 74. She holds the distinction of having the longest span on the international pop charts of any artist - 51 years - from 1954, when The Little Shoemaker made the UK Top 20, through to 2005.

She started her career during the Second World War as a child singer entertaining the troops, moving into films including The Card, in the late 1940s and 1950s, and hit the height of her career in the 1960s when she became a pop success with songs such as Downtown. Her career has continued in musicals like 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'Blood Brothers'.

"It is a travesty that Petula has not yet been honoured after such a long and distinguished career. The fact that these big names are lending their support shows how much she is regarded among the theatrical community," the Daily Express quoted an insider as saying.

Leo Sayer lyricist Don Black, songwriter Tony Hatch, and former EastEnders star Wendy Richard are the other celebrities who are among the 500 names on the petition. "Hopefully the petition will help bring Pet the damehood she so richly deserves," said the insider.

Celebrities petition for making Petula Clark a dame