“Kiss Me Goodbye” is a Les Reed/Barry Mason composition recorded in 1968 by Petula Clark. After recording the Reed/Mason composition “The Last Waltz” for her 1967 album The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener Clark had rendered that song as “La derniere valse” for release in France to serve as the follow-up to her #1 hit “C’est Ma Chanson.” The success of “La derniere valse,” which reached #2 in France in January 1968, encouraged Clark to record an original Reed/Mason composition: “Kiss Me Goodbye” in a session at Pye Studios in Marble Arch produced by Tony Hatch although the arranging/conducting duties were assigned Les Reed who played piano; the track also featured Big Jim Sullivan on guitar. Hatch also produced the B-side: “I’ve Got Love Going For Me,” a composition by Clark herself, with Hatch’s assistant Johnny Harris as arranger/conductor.
Released in February 1968, “Kiss Me Goodbye” rose swiftly up the Billboard Hot 100 to enter the Top 20 at #16 on the chart dated 23 March 1968 representing a considerable comeback for Clark whose last two U.S. singles had been Top 20 shortfalls. However despite being showcased on Clark’s 2 April 1968 Petula NBC-TV special, “Kiss Me Goodbye” would rise no higher than #15 — although the track was ranked as high as #12 in Cash Box and #10 in Record World) — and would mark Clark’s final appearance in the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 where the follow-up “Don’t Give Up” would peak at #37. (“Don’t Give Up” would peak at respectively #27 and #23 in Cash Box and Record World: in all three trades it would be Clark’s last Top 40 hit.)
In the UK, “Kiss Me Goodbye” just reached the Top 50 dated 9 March 1968, effectively punctuating Clark’s British hitmaking career. The track charted in several European territories but despite its pronounced continental flavour “Kiss Me Goodbye” attained a Top 20 European chart placing only in Belgium. In Italy, a version which retained the lyric “kiss me goodbye”, but otherwise featured Italian lyrics written by Misselvia, was released as “Kiss Me, Goodbye” and assisted by the Clark’s performance on Italian television provided the singer with her final Italian chart entry at #26. Clark similarly also recorded a German language version of the song which retained the “Kiss Me Goodbye” title with lyrics otherwise rendered by Hans Bradtke; this version reached #36 in Germany, Clark’s final chart single there (except for the 1988 remix of “Downtown”). Clark also recorded a rendering of “Kiss Me Goodbye” for the French market by lyricist Pierre Delanoë: “Dis-moi au revoir”, which failed to chart.

By Petula Clark

Lyrics