"Downtown" is a song written and produced by English composer

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

. Its lyrics speak of going to spend time in an urban

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

as a means of escape from everyday life. The 1964 version recorded by British singer

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

became an international hit, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. Hatch received the 1981

Ivor Novello award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The song has been covered by many singers, including

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Pop music, pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the ...

and

the Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, " I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

recorded it on his album

Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album) ''Strangers in the Night'' is a 1966 studio album by Frank Sinatra. It marked Sinatra's return to number one on the pop album charts in the mid-1960s, and consolidated the comeback he initiated in 1965. Combining pop hits with show tunes and ...

in 1966.

Composition

first worked with Petula Clark when he assisted her producer Alan A. Freeman on her 1961 1 hit "

Sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

". In 1963 Freeman asked Hatch to take over as Clark's regular producer. Hatch subsequently produced five English-language singles for Clark, none of which charted. In late 1964 Hatch made his first visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, spending three days there in search of material from music publishers for the artists he was producing. He recalled, "I was staying at a hotel on

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and I wandered down to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and to

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

and, naively, I thought I was downtown. ... I loved the whole atmosphere there and the usiccame to me very, very quickly". He was standing on the corner of 48th Street in Midtown, waiting for the traffic lights to change and looking towards Times Square when "the melody first came to me, just as the neon signs went on." Hatch envisioned his embryonic composition "as a sort of

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

R&B song", which he thought to eventually pitch to

the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

: He had scored his biggest success to date with

the Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

' " Sugar and Spice" modelled on the Drifters' hit "

Sweets for My Sweet "Sweets for My Sweet" is a song written by the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, originally recorded by American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group the Drifters. In 1994, British reggae singer C. J. Lewis had a very successful Euro ...

", and had also produced a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the Drifters' " Up on the Roof" for

Julie Grant Julie Grant (born 12 July 1946) is an English pop music singer, who was mainly active during the 1960s. She had three hits on the UK Singles Chart with " Up on the Roof", "Count on Me" (both 1963) and "Come to Me" (1964). She also recorded a ...

. It has been said that Hatch gave Julie Grant the opportunity to record "Downtown" which Grant turned down, but this does not accord with Hatch's statement that he played "Downtown" for Petula Clark within a few days of conceiving the melody and only completed the song's lyrics after Clark had asked to record it. Hatch has also said that prior to Clark's expressed interest in "Downtown", "it never occurred to me that a white woman could even sing it." Hatch has subsequently denied originally offering "Downtown" to the Drifters. Within a few days of his New York City trip Hatch visited Paris to present Clark with three or four songs he had acquired from New York publishers for Clark to consider recording at a London recording session scheduled for 16 October 1964, which was roughly two weeks away. Hatch said of the meeting: "She was not very enthusiastic about he materialand asked me if I was working on anything new myself."''Daeida'' April 2010 p.2 According to Clark, besides the title lyric, Hatch had only written "one or two lines." Hatch recalled: "Reluctantly, I played her the tune of my New York inspiration and slipped in the word 'Downtown' in the appropriate places." Clark, who first heard "Downtown" from her kitchen, having stepped away to make a pot of tea, told Hatch: "That's the one I want to record." "Get that finished. Get a good lyric in it. Get a great arrangement and I think we’ll at least have a song we’re proud to record even if it isn’t a hit."

Recording

"Downtown" was recorded on 16 October 1964 at the Pye Studios in

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

. Thirty minutes before the session was scheduled, Hatch was still touching up the song's lyrics in the studio's washroom. Hatch said of his arrangement: "I had to connect with young record buyers... but not alienate Pet las older core audience... The trick was to make a giant orchestra sound like a rock band." Hatch insisted that all session personnel on his productions be recorded performing together. The session personnel for the recording of "Downtown" were assembled in Studio One of Pye Recording Studios and included eight violinists, two viola players and two cellists, four trumpeters and four trombonists, five woodwind players with flutes and oboes, percussionists, a bass player and a pianist.Harrington, Patrick and Bobby Graham, The Session Man; The story of Bobby Graham the UK’s greatest session drummer, Broom House, Monmouthshire, 2004 p. 107 Also playing on the session were guitarists Vic Flick,

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

and

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist. Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s ...

, as well as drummer Ronnie Verrell, while

the Breakaways The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premier session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little-known girl group singles. Career The original members were Vicki H ...

provided the vocal accompaniment. Bobby Graham was also credited as being the drummer on the session. Brian Brocklehurst stated in 1995 that he played upright bass at the session. Hatch's assistant Bob Leaper conducted. According to Petula Clark, the session for "Downtown" consisted of three

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each ...

s with the second take ultimately chosen as the completed track yet, elsewhere, an "extended" version consisting of an instrumental and backing vocal track most likely from a session tape, makes this claim questionable.

Impact

Tony Hatch would recall playing the completed "Downtown" track for

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

executives saying: "Nobody knew what to make of it and no release date was set. Then Pye's general manager called and said Joe Smith –

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

' head of A&R – was in London looking for British material. When Joe heard Pet las record, he loved it and scheduled the single for urgent release in the nitedStates". When Hatch, surprised by Smith's enthusiasm for releasing "Downtown" in the US, asked if Smith didn't consider "Downtown" to be a "very English record" Smith replied: "It's perfect. It's just an observation from outside of America and it's just beautiful and just perfect." In the wake of Smith's interest "Downtown" was released in the UK in November 1964. It entered the UK Top 50 dated 14 November 1964, ending a virtual two-year UK chart absence for Clark; of the ten singles she had released in the UK during that period only one, "

Chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

", had appeared in even the lower charts (No. 39 in early 1963). "Downtown" rose to No. 2 UK in December 1964, remaining there for three weeks, kept out of the No. 1 position by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

I Feel Fine "I Feel Fine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in November 1964 as the A-side of their eighth single. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The recording includes one o ...

". "Downtown" reached No. 2 in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and No. 1 in Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and South Africa, and was also a hit in Denmark (No. 2), India (No. 3), the Netherlands (No. 4) and Norway (No. 8). But "Downtown" had its greatest significance in the reception it was afforded in the United States, where it was released by Warner Bros. in November 1964: after early regional break-outs, notably in Detroit, Miami, and Washington D.C., "Downtown" debuted at No. 87 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' issue dated 19 December 1964. Despite the Christmas season typically being the worst time to break a new hit, "Downtown" shot up to No. 41 in its second week on the Hot 100 chart ascending in its third and fourth charting weeks to respectively No. 12 and No. 5; then after a subsequent single point advance to No. 4 "Downtown" leapt to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated 23 January 1965, retaining that position a further week before being overtaken by the ascendancy of

the Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

' "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers. This version, produced by Spector, is cited by some music critics as the ultimat ...

". The song became the first No. 1 hit for the year 1965. Petula Clark thus became the first UK female artist to have a US No. 1 hit during the rock era and the second in the annals of US charted music,

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

having hit No. 1 in the US with "

Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart "Auf Wiedersehen", or "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart", is a song written by German composer Eberhard Storch around 1950. Storch wrote the song in the hospital for his wife Maria as he was ill for a long time. It was originally sung in German by Rud ...

" in 1952. "Downtown" also made Clark the first UK female artist to have a single certified as a

Gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

for US sales of one million units. On Billboard's annual Disk Jockey poll, "Downtown" was voted the second best single release of 1965 and Petula Clark was voted third most popular female vocalist. "Downtown" would be the first of fifteen consecutive hits Clark would place in the US Top 40 during a period when she'd have considerably less chart impact in her native UK, there reaching the Top 40 eight times. Petula Clark, who had been playing to her French-speaking fans in small venues in Quebec when "Downtown" entered the US charts, swiftly cut non-English versions of the song for the markets in France, Italy and Germany; the absence in each region's language of a two-syllable equivalent of "downtown" necessitated a radical lyric recasting for the versions aimed at France ("Dans le temps"), Italy ("Ciao Ciao", winning the

Festivalbar The Festivalbar () was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by ...

, a juke-box contest) and Spain ("Chao Chao") which respectively charted at No. 6, No. 2 and – for three weeks – No. 1: "Dans le temps" also reaching No. 18 on Belgium's French-language chart. The title and lyric "Downtown" was retained for an otherwise German version which was the most successful foreign-language version, reaching No. 1 in Germany, No. 3 in Austria, and No. 11 on the charts for the Flemish region of Belgium. In 2013, Petula Clark rerecorded that song for her album ''Lost in You'', with new arrangements, as a ballad and with a soft voice, giving it a new life.

Popular culture

In the 1978 film,

Jaws 2 ''Jaws 2'' is a 1978 American horror thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws'' (1975), and the second installment in the ''Jaws'' franchise. The film stars Roy ...

, as Police Chief Martin Brody enters the brand new

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

hotel prior to its grand opening ceremony on Amity Island, an instrumental version of the song (performed by the Amity High School Band) can be heard. In the 1991 film, ''

Flight of the Intruder ''Flight of the Intruder'' is a 1991 war film directed by John Milius, and starring Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, and Brad Johnson. It is based on the novel of the same name by former Grumman A-6 Intruder pilot Stephen Coonts. The film received ...

'', Brad Johnson and

Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...

sing the chorus portion of "Downtown" as they are flying their A-6 Intruder back to the aircraft carrier after the unauthorized bombing of the "Sam City" section of

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

. In the 1996 ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' episode "

The Bottle Deposit "The Bottle Deposit" is a two-part episode, the 131st and 132nd episodes, and 21st and 22nd episodes of the List of Seinfeld episodes, seventh season, of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', first aired on May 2, 1996. It was originally an hour-long epi ...

", the song is referenced by

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rel ...

's supervisor Wilhelm when discussing a project Costanza is in the dark about, prompting George Costanza and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

to analyze the song's lyrics for clues. The song is on the soundtrack of the 1999 film '' Girl, Interrupted'' and is sung in character by

Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...

and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

. The song is featured prominently in the beginning of the 2006 '' Lost'' episode "

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

". The song plays on a loop in a scene from the 2019 film ''

Escape Room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...

''. Immediately before the

2020 Nashville bombing On December 25, 2020, Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a recreational vehicle (RV) bomb in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States, killing only himself and injuring eight others, damaging dozens of buildings in the surrounding area. The i ...

, the song was played from the vehicle which exploded, followed by an audio warning to "evacuate now". Clark released a statement expressing her "shock and disbelief" at the explosion in Nashville. The song is featured in the

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

Last Night in Soho ''Last Night in Soho'' is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed and co-produced by Edgar Wright, and co-written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It stars Thomasin McKenzie as a naive teenager who moves to London to study fashio ...

'' performed by actress

Anya Taylor-Joy Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. Born in Miami and raised in Buenos Aires and London, she left school at the age of 16 to pursue an acting career. After a series of small television roles, her Breakthrough ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

Downtown '88

The original 1964 recording was remixed and released in 1988 as "Downtown '88" which became a top ten UK hit. The track also charted in Australia (No. 58), Belgium (Dutch chart No. 19), Finland (No. 3), Germany (No. 13) and Ireland (No. 14). Clark recalled: "The first time I heard the '88 remix of 'Downtown' I was in my car. I thought: 'This sounds familiar. I wonder who's singing this?' and it turned out to be me! They'd wiped out the orchestra and put on some kind of ticka-ticka-tick thing. I don't know what the hell it was, but it turned into a hit. They don't have to ask my permission, if you know what I mean. But it's fine. I find it rather flattering, actually. And quite amusing." Clark promoted "Downtown '88" in a live performance on 15 December 1988 broadcast of ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' (''TOTP'') – the track had been aired on the preceding ''TOTP'' broadcast of 8 December 1988 and had moved from No. 37 to No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart dated (i.e. for the week ending) 12 December 1988: Clark's live ''TOTP'' performance evidently facilitated the rise of "Downtown '88" to No. 13 on the UK chart dated 17 December 1988, while the track reached its No. 10 peak on the UK chart dated 24 December 1988, that being the singles rankings for the first full week after Clark's ''TOTP'' live performance of "Downtown '88".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other re-recordings

In October 2011, Clark recorded several lines of "Downtown" for inclusion in the remake by Irish band

which was credited to the Saw Doctors featuring Petula Clark – (see below). Clark's own 2013 album release ''Lost in You'' features a new version of "Downtown": Clark said she was uninterested when it was first suggested she again record "Downtown", then "I was played this beautiful nstrumentaltrack ...And I said it was lovely, and they told me it was ntended for'Downtown.' I got to the microphone and I didn't know how I was going to sing it, and it really feels like a new song." Reviewing ''Lost in You'' for MusicOHM.com, Philip Matusavage writes of the "Downtown" remake: "already a song loaded with melancholy, the stately version here acquires new meaning with its weary but amiable delivery summoning forth powerful nostalgia and the sense of someone fondly remembering their youth."

Dolly Parton version

recorded "Downtown" in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1983 in the sessions for her covers album ''

The Great Pretender "The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successf ...

'', a

Val Garay Val Garay (born May 9, 1942) is an American recording engineer and record producer who has worked with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Kim Carnes, The Motels, Neil Diamond and others. Garay also co-founded Los Angeles recording studio Record One ...

production which focused on hits from the 1950s and 1960s. "Downtown" served as the album's second single release in March 1984 reaching No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' C&W chart and crossing over to No. 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart: to date "Downtown" marks Parton's final solo Hot 100 appearance. Parton's version altered some of the lyrics: "Listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova" became "Listen to the rhythm of the music that they're playing". Petula Clark has described Parton's take on "Downtown" as "cute, because she didn’t even try to sound like my recording."

Charts

Emma Bunton version

Background

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

announced 20 October 2006 that

would record a remake of the

hit "Downtown" to be the 2006 official BBC

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

single, with Bunton quoted as saying: "I've always loved 'Downtown'...and I'm really looking forward to putting my own stamp on it. The track's good fun and one everyone will know." Bunton, whose admiration for Petula Clark was evident on the 2004 '' Free Me'' album, recorded "Downtown" at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

' Lyndhurst Hall location with Simon Franglen producing; the orchestra for the track was recorded at Angel Recording Studios with Gavin Wright conducting. The track was released on 13 November 2006 and Bunton premiered her version of "Downtown" on the 2006 ''Children in Need'' telethon which began broadcast 17 November 2006. Although Bunton said that she knew "Downtown" composer

"quite well", Petula Clark said that neither she .e. Clarknor Hatch had prior knowledge of Bunton's remake. Clark also stated that she considered Bunton's remake to be an "outright copy" of Clark's original recording: "I could ask: 'What's the point'...but Emma's recording is wonderful and...for a great cause" (i.e. Children in Need).

Impact

"Downtown" by Emma Bunton debuted on the UK singles chart 25 November 2006 at No. 24. Central FM noted Bunton's chart debut, declaring "Downtown" "the song she was born to cover...One of the all time great pop songs, Downtown'was long overdue for a revival and Emma Bunton pays it the respect it deserves." The Spanish radio station predicted "Downtown" would rise to the Top 3 in its second week and the single did indeed jump to No. 3 on the chart for 2 December 2006 having sold 30,582 units in the relevant week: the mid-week stats had ranked "Downtown" at No. 2 behind "

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

" by

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

but on the chart for the full week Bunton was bested not only by Take That at No. 1 but by the previous week's No. 1, "

Smack That "Smack That" is a song by Senegalese-American singer Akon featuring American rapper Eminem from the former's second studio album ''Konvicted'' (2006). Produced by Eminem, it was written by the artists alongside Mike Strange and Luis Resto (music ...

" by

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

, which outsold "Downtown" by 57 copies. While affording Bunton her highest charting single since her No. 1 solo debut " What Took You So Long?" in 2001, "Downtown" would prove to have little staying power, spending only three weeks in the Top 20, performances by Bunton on a Christmas Day broadcast of ''Top of the Pops'' and '' New Year Live'' failing to significantly buoy its popularity. Total UK sales for "Downtown" by Emma Bunton were tallied at 77,039 units.

Music video

Directed by Harvey & Carolyn, (the directors who also directed her video for her single "Maybe") the sexually suggestive music video for the single is set in a hotel bedroom featuring Bunton as a

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

. It includes appearances from contestants from the BBC's reality television show ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' and features cameos from Matt Dawson,

Louisa Lytton Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Ruby Allen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in the ITV police procedural series ''The Bill'' (2007–2009). She also ...

Carol Smillie Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...

, Spoony,

Mark Ramprakash Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer and cricket coach. Outside of cricket, Ramprakash won the Strictly Come Dancing series 4, fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006. He is currently the Pr ...

, Claire King,

Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel (born 18 November 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During eight seasons at English club Manchester United, he won 15 trophies including five Premier League titles, three FA C ...

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is a jud ...

, Anton du Beke,

Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2017. From 2005 to ...

Erin Boag Erin Boag (born 17 March 1975) is a professional ballroom dancer. She has danced from the age of three, originally starting ballet and later moving into ballroom, Latin and jazz. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, she moved to Australia as a teenage ...

Lilia Kopylova Lilia Andreyevna Kopylova (; born 18 June 1978) is a Russian professional dancer. With her husband Darren Bennett, she has been competing as an amateur since July 1997 and as a professional since May 2003. The couple has achieved considerable ...

, Karen Hardy, and Darren Bennett. According to Mark Ramprakash the video was shot at "a big house near

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...

". The video drew negative reaction for evidently skewing the phrase "go downtown" into a sexual term. Bunton would constantly evade or deny this allegation, as when Michael Baggs of

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael C ...

put to her: "The dancers in the 'Downtown' video seem to know you very well indeed. So well that they are all pointing at your fanny. Was this your idea?", Bunton's response being: "I don't understand where this has come from. It is a dance routine and it is nothing to do with anything like that. It is everyone else's dirty little minds. Especially yours. It worries me because it is a classic and you can't make classics rude." Singer

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, author and actress. She is best known for her signature ballads, " Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date, as well ...

who recorded "Downtown" for her 2007 album ''

Uncover Me ''Uncover Me'' is the seventh album from Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden, released in 2007. "Counterfeit Heart" is the only track written by Jann Arden (co-written with SHeDAISY's Kristyn Osborn). Three additional tracks from these session ...

'' reacted to Bunton's "Downtown" video with the statement: "Petula Clark would slap unton'sface" though in fact Clark herself would state to being untroubled by Bunton's evidently salacious interpretation of "Downtown": "It's a pop song, for God's sake. It's not a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Saw Doctors version

In October 2011, Irish band

remade "Downtown" with Petula Clark singing some lines: the track is credited to the Saw Doctors featuring Petula Clark. According to Saw Doctors' member Leo Moran the group habitually played snippets of well-known songs during their encore numbers: "One night for no particular reason we did 'Downtown' and you could see people loved it. All ages. You could see it brought joy to people’s faces."Worcester Telegram 1 March 2012 "Saw Doctors Headed to The Hanover Theatre" Some time later the Saw Doctors learned their producer Philip Tennant was friends with Petula Clark's manager John Williams and an invitation was conveyed to Clark to sing on a Saw Doctors' remake of "Downtown"; Clark being agreeable, a session was booked in a London recording studio to allow the Irish group to liaison with the European-based Clark and "Downtown" was recorded over two days with Clark arriving to record her vocal on the second day. Moran recalls: "We he Saw Doctorsdid a whole lot of work the first day. etula Clarkcame in the second evening and we discovered that the song was in the wrong key. So we had to scrap all of the first day's work and put down the backing track with Petula because she only had a few hours that evening and wasn’t able to come back the following day. It was exciting, exhilarating, scary and privileged … rolled into one." Top Irish

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Eugene O' Connor (''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

'') directed the video for the Saw Doctor's "Downtown" which was uploaded to YouTube on 17 November 2011. Shot on the nights of 9–10 November 2011, the video focuses on the band's members walking through the town center of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

(lead vocalist Davy Carton is also seen briefly riding in a car). Footage of Clark was shot in Paris and spliced into the completed video in which she mainly appears on the screens of televisions displayed in a shop window (the shop is in fact clothing retailer Anthony Ryans) outside of which the Saw Doctors perform on the street in the company of eight members of the Galway City Cougars

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

squad and also a fire juggler. Radio presenter

Ray Foley Raymond Foley is an Irish television host and radio presenter. Having worked at Dublin's 98FM and SPIN 1038 early in his career, Foley moved to Today FM in 2004. In 2006, he moved to midday and presented ''The Ray Foley Show'', with sidekick ...

(

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

) began a campaign to make the Saw Doctors' "Downtown" the Christmas No. 1 in Ireland for 2011 encouraging sales of the track upon its 16 December 2011 release with the intent of propelling it to the No. 1 position on the Irish Singles Chart for the week ending 22 December 2011 and the Saw Doctors' "Downtown" was indeed No. 1 on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Ireland for the relevant period. However, on the Irish Singles Chart dated 22 December 2011 the track debuted at No. 2 with "

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

" by

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

retaining the No. 1 position largely because of "Cannonball"'s greater availability as a CD single – 10,000 units as opposed to "Downtown"'s 2000 – making "Cannonball" a more attractive prospect for gift-buyers. On the Irish Singles Chart dated 29 December 2011 "Downtown" by the Saw Doctors featuring Petula Clark was ranked at No. 43 in its second and final week on the chart.

References

External links

Downtown lyrics at Dolly Parton On-Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downtown 1964 songs 1964 singles 1984 singles 2006 singles Songs written by Tony Hatch Petula Clark songs Dolly Parton songs Emma Bunton songs Irene Cara songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Australia Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Pye Records singles Warner Records singles RCA Records Nashville singles Universal Music Group singles Songs about New York City