While the original British Invasion is now just a few years south of 50, its music continues to endure. The Second Disc is pleased to report on a trio of new releases coming our way from two of the U.K.’s seminal artists, The Searchers and Petula Clark.

One of the best and most successful bands to come out of Liverpool, The Searchers may have toiled in the shadow of that other band from Liverpool, but hits like “Sugar and Spice,” “Pins and Needles” and “When You Walk in the Room” remain some of the strongest recordings to come out of the mid-1960s. Now, Universal U.K.’s Sanctuary arm is bestowing the band with the lavish box set treatment. Entitled Sweets, Spice, Sugar, Pins and Needles, the box turns the spotlight on 120 tracks over four discs. Those tracks include rough demos, BBC recordings, solo turns by group members and material from the late-1970s power pop discs released here in the USA on the Sire label, not to mention all of those classic hit singles.

This box set comes hot on the heels of a recent single-disc anthology which saw the band back in a Top 10 position on the British pop charts, but this box set should satisfy fans both abroad and stateside. The Searchers may have suffered for a lack of original songwriting, but the cover versions they chose were almost uniformly top-notch, whether emanating from the East or West Coasts of America. Sun-kissed songs like Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono’s “Needles and Pins” and Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room” both were reworked a la Merseyside, while the Brill Building catalogs of Pomus and Shuman (“Sweets for My Sweet”) and Leiber and Stoller (“Love Potion No. 9”) were likewise beneficiaries of the Searchers’ hitmaking prowess. Release date information and the track listing for Sweets, Spice, Sugar, Pins and Needles hasn’t been revealed to the public yet (although favorable reviews have shown up at both Record Collector and Mojo), but watch this space for such news when it arrives.

Under the pen name Fred Nightingale, Pye Records staff producer Tony Hatch wrote and produced one of The Searchers’ most enduring hits, “Sugar and Spice.” But Hatch’s biggest claim to fame may be the landmark recordings he wrote and produced for Petula Clark, often in tandem with then-wife and collaborator Jackie Trent, and sometimes with Petula herself. Clark was to Hatch what Dionne Warwick was to Burt Bacharach, or Nancy Sinatra to Lee Hazelwood: a muse and perfect interpreter. The Petula Clark Newsletter is reporting some most exciting news: Collector’s Choice is said to be preparing an entry for Petula in its acclaimed Complete Singles series. Past volumes have seen the singles of Paul Revere and The Raiders, Tommy James and The Shondells, Jan and Dean, and Gary Lewis and The Playboys collected; Clark’s large, diverse body of work is the perfect candidate for this expansive treatment.

The 2-CD set will comprise all of Petula’s American singles released on the Warner Bros. label, with many tracks different than their album counterparts. The B-sides frequently featured Clark's own compositions, with strong production from Hatch and company. (Hatch isn’t the only producer represented, however.) Like Collector’s Choice’s past complete singles sets, this should be a must-buy for any fan of the era. It’s currently unknown whether Warner-era EPs, promos or other ephemera will be included. But the label has offered exclusive Clark releases in the past, including last year’s collection of Christmas recordings and a love songs compilation, and neither release disappointed, so this set is likely to be filled with whatever material is available. The release date is rumored to be this fall, and more updates will be posted as they arrive.

But this isn’t the only exciting news for Petula Clark fans. Clark actually began her recording career in 1949 while in her teenage years, reinventing herself as the exciting mod girl of “Downtown” and “I Know A Place” under Hatch’s aegis in Swinging London circa 1964. After her impressive run of hit singles concluded, Clark remade herself yet again, turning her talents to the musical theatre stage. While in recent years she has starred in such productions as Blood Brothers and Sunset Boulevard, and even written a musical of her own (Someone Like You), Petula’s first stage triumph was headlining a 1981 London revival of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. While CBS/Epic recorded the production, it’s remained unreleased in the compact disc era. Joe Boy Records, typically devoted to the “Rehab Soul Movement,” has unearthed this long-lost LP and will be releasing it via “Pet Sounds International” on September 27 in the United Kingdom. As Maria, the role originated by Mary Martin and immortalized on film by Julie Andrews, Petula sings on 10 of the album’s 18 tracks. Other cast members include June Bronhill, Michael Jayston and Honor Blackman. As a special bonus, the CD will include both sides of the Epic single pressed to celebrate Petula’s run in the show: “Edelweiss,” from the musical, b/w the non-LP side “Darkness.”  The B-side is especially rare, and a welcome surprise.

Hit the jump for a look at Petula Clark's Warner Bros. singles, plus the track listing and discographical information for Petula's The Sound of Music!
The Sound of Music – Original 1981 London Cast Recording (Joe Boy/Pet Sounds International, 2010)

1. Preludium
2. The Sound of Music*
3. Maria
4. A Bell is No Bell*
5. I Have Confidence*
6. Do-Re-Mi*
7. Sixteen Going on Seventeen
8. My Favorite Things*
9. The Lonely Goatherd*
10. How Can Love Survive
11. So Long, Farewell
12. Climb Ev’ry Mountain
13. Something Good*
14. Maria (Reprise)
15. Do-Re-Mi (Reprise)*
16. Edelweiss*
17. So Long, Farewell*
18. Climb Ev’ry Mountain
19. Edelweiss (Single Version)*
20. Darkness (B-side)*

Tracks 1-19 from CBS/Epic (U.K.) LP 70212, 1981
Tracks 19-20 from Epic (U.K.) single A-1475, 1981
* denotes track with Petula Clark, vocals

 

Petula Clark: The Complete Warner Bros. Singles Collection (Collector's Choice, 2010)

What follows is a hypothetical track listing for such a release. This discography has been compiled with invaluable help from petulaclark.net as well as from my personal collection.  It is not intended to be definitive, but should give fans an idea what to expect from the forthcoming release. Petula collectors, please use the “Comments” below to apprise us of any corrections and/or additions!

1. Downtown
2. You’d Better Love Me
3. I Know a Place
4. Jack and John
5. You’d Better Come Home
6. Heart
7. Round Every Corner
8. Two Rivers
9. My Love
10. Where Am I Going
11. A Sign of the Times
12. Time for Love
13. I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love
14. My Way of Life
15. Who Am I?
16. Love is a Long Journey
17. Colour My World
18. Take Me Home Again
19. This is My Song
20. High
21. Don’t Sleep in the Subway
22. Here Comes the Morning
23. The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)
24. Fancy Dancin’ Man
25. The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener
26. At the Crossroads
27. Kiss Me Goodbye
28. I’ve Got Love Working for Me
29. Don’t Give Up
30. Every Time I See a Rainbow
31. American Boys
32. Look to the Sky
33. Happy Heart
34. Love is the Only Thing
35. Look at Mine
36. You and I
37. I Don’t Know How to Love Him/Superstar
38. Maybe
39. No One Better Than You
40. Things Bright and Beautiful
41. The Song is Love
42. Beautiful Sounds
43. The Song of My Life
44. Couldn’t Sleep

Tracks 1-2 from Warner Bros. single 5494, 1964
Tracks 3-4 from Warner Bros. single 5612, 1965
Tracks 5-6 from Warner Bros. single 5643, 1965
Tracks 7-8 from Warner Bros. single 5661, 1965
Tracks 9-10 from Warner Bros. single 5684, 1965
Tracks 11-12 from Warner Bros. single 5802, 1966
Tracks 13-14 from Warner Bros. single 5835, 1966
Tracks 15-16 from Warner Bros. single 5863, 1966
Tracks 17-18 from Warner Bros. single 5882, 1967
Tracks 19-20 from Warner Bros. single 7002, 1967
Tracks 21-22 from Warner Bros. single 7049, 1967
Tracks 23-24 from Warner Bros. single 7073, 1967
Tracks 25-26 from Warner Bros. single 7097, 1968
Tracks 27-28 from Warner Bros. single 7170, 1968
Tracks 29-30 from Warner Bros. single 7216, 1968
Tracks 31-32 from Warner Bros. single 7244, 1968
Tracks 33-34 from Warner Bros. single 7275, 1969
Tracks 35-36 from Warner Bros. single 7310, 1969
Tracks 37-38 from Warner Bros. single 7484, 1969
Tracks 39-40 from Warner Bros. single 7343, 1969
Tracks 41-42 from Warner Bros. single 7422, 1970
Tracks 43-44 from Warner Bros. single 7467, 1970