[1] Clarke played guitar in professional jazz ensembles, and from the late 1940s to mid 1950s he worked as a session musician for radio orchestras.
After the advent of television in Australia in 1956, Clarke started a recording studio and production company named The Jingle Workshop.
He performed in thousands of recordings for films, television programs, and commercials, playing guitar and/or synthesizer.
His students include Mick Harvey, Robert Goodge (of I'm Talking), Peter Farnan, Pierre Jaquinot, Laszlo Sirsom, Mark Cally, Anne McCue, Doug de Vries, Dominic Kiernan, Barry Morton, and Andrew Pendlebury (of The Sports).
He worked with Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Dizzy Gillespie, Stephane Grappelli, Stan Getz, and John Collins.