THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

838-Petula Clark-Downtown.

1964-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 1.58.In America ‘Downtown’ is the heart of the city where the action happens. The word isn’t used much in Britain, but it generally means the less affluent part of town.

The writer of the song Tony Hatch used the word in the American meaning, he recalled,’ I was staying at a hotel on Central Park, and I wandered down to Broadway, and to Times Square, and naively, I thought I was downtown. I loved the whole atmosphere there, and the music came to me very, very quickly.’

Tony Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex,England, in 1939, after the success of ‘Downtown’ he would go on to write many more of Petula Clark’s 1960 hits, including ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway,’ and ‘The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener.’ Hatch is also responsible for writing several movie, and television themes, which include, the themes from ‘Neighbours,’ Crossroads,’ and ‘Emmerdale Farm.’

Petula Clark was born Sally Olwen Clark in Epsom, Surrey, England, in 1932, it is said her father chose her stage name from two of his old girlfriends,’Pet, and ‘Ula.’ Clark had her first UK hit in 1954 with ‘The Little Shoemaker,’ but her music career was on the wain until ‘Downtown’ broke her in America, going on to be Number 1 on Billboard, in early 1965.For the rest of the decade, her songs were far more successful in The States, than in the UK, where she achieved a further 13 top 40 singles.

‘Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city, linger on the sidewalk, where the neon signs are pretty.’