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40-546: Last is reported to have sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide in his lifetime (figures vary widely, for example British Hit Singles & Albums (2006) reports 100 million at that time), of which 80 million were sold by 1973 - and won numerous awards including 200 gold and 14 platinum discs in Germany, the International MIDEM Prize at MIDEM in 1969, and West Germany 's highest civilian award,

80-583: A "life threatening" illness had worsened (the exact details were never disclosed), and in early 2015 he announced his retirement from touring would take place following a final "goodbye tour", which commenced in Germany and ended in London. Last died less than three months later, on 9 June 2015 in Florida at the age of 86. Writing in The Independent , Spencer Leigh suggested that Last's Non-Stop Dancing albums "paved

120-614: A Number One hit ................. - qty, Act. .* Most Top Ten hits without a Number One hit .. - qty, Act. ..Most consecutive years on the charts ............. - qty, Act, period. ..Most weeks at Number One (for one disc) ...... - weeks, title, Act, year. .......................................................(by Act)....... - weeks, Act, year. .......................(by Act in one calendar year)...... - weeks, Act, year. ..Most weeks on charts - recordings (by title)..... - weeks, Act. ..Most popular songs (by title) ..... - times recorded, Act, chart place. Following

160-587: A number one hit by every other publicly available chart of the time, but not by Record Retailer and therefore not by British Hit Singles . Other records to which this applies include " 19th Nervous Breakdown " by The Rolling Stones , " Stranger on the Shore " by Acker Bilk and the Eurovision Song Contest entry " Are You Sure? " by The Allisons . Even after February 1969 the BBC-approved chart, as used by

200-567: The Record Retailer (later Music Week ) chart thereafter. It could be said that this division is misleading, since the Record Retailer chart was little known until it was adopted by the BBC in 1969 and that by adopting this chart as its standard, the editors had a non-consensual view. An example often given is the case of The Beatles ' second single " Please Please Me " which was recognised as

240-608: The Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ) in 1978. His album This Is James Last remained a UK best-seller for 48 weeks, and his song " Games That Lovers Play " has been covered over a hundred times. Last undertook his final tour months before his death at age 86, upon discovering in September 2014 that an illness (the exact illness was never disclosed) had worsened. His final UK performance

280-552: The double bass as a teenager. His home city of Bremen was bombed heavily during World War II , and he ran messages to air defence command posts during the raids. He entered the Bückeburg Military Music School of the German Wehrmacht at the age of 14 and learned to play bass , piano and tuba . After the end of the war, he joined Hans Günther Oesterreich 's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra. In 1948 he became

320-422: The "disputed" period of the 1960s, the samples sizes of the Record Retailer chart were considerably inferior to those of the other charts: around 30 shops in 1963 in comparison to more than 100 used by Melody Maker , and later around 80 in comparison to NME ' s 150 and Melody Maker ' s 200. As a result, the placings in that chart were more open to error and manipulation – a situation further worsened by

360-411: The "most commercially successful bandleader" of the second half of the 20th century, Last's extravagant spending and "incompetent" financial advice led him at one stage to the "brink of ruin." James Last did not make as big a fortune as his immense record sales would suggest. He fell victim to a number of investment fraudsters, starting with his tax advisor. He bought oil rigs, wineries and cotton fields in

400-509: The 1970s with guests including ABBA and Lynsey de Paul which was screened across Europe. Last's trademark sound employed big band arrangements of well-known tunes with a jaunty dance beat, often heavy on bass and brass. Though his concerts and albums were consistently successful, especially in the UK, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967 and 1986, which made him second only to Elvis Presley in charting records, he had relatively few hit singles. In

440-679: The 25th anniversary of the first UK singles sales chart, which was published in November 1952, by the New Musical Express . Subsequently, a new edition was published every two years, adding a few hundred titles to each edition. Keeping in line with the book's parent publication The Guinness Book of Records , each edition of British Hit Singles also contained a 'facts and feats' section, which included various lists of remarkable chart feats such as 'most hits', 'most no. 1 hits', 'most weeks on chart' or 'Least successful chart artist'. Also included in

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480-499: The Book of British Hit Singles, suffered from errors. Reasons for these include low, late, unusable, or even complete lack of returns from record shops used to compile the chart. Typically only around 10% of stores sent in properly detailed sales information on time. The other major problem was "chart hyping". There were two main forms of this. The first was for record companies, or artists' management, to simply buy positions for their records in

520-459: The Hit Parade. The second was, knowing that only 10% of sampled stores reliably sent in sales info, to find out which stores those were, and then send in "customers" to buy out all the stock of a particular record in those specific stores in a particular week, thus artificially giving that record a high chart placing. As such, even through the 70s and 80s many books on British chart history referred to

560-668: The New Musical Express and/or Melody Maker chart. Co-founder Jo Rice has defended the book's choice of source material on the grounds that Record Retailer was the only chart to consistently publish a Top 50 from 1960 onwards. This can be substantiated by the fact that charts published in the NME were of a shorter format and other chart listings such as those in Melody Maker , became less and less informative although they were probably more accurate. Subsequent research has shown that during

600-653: The Official UK Charts Company teamed up with Random House / Ebury Publishing to release a new version of the book under the Virgin Books brand. Entitled The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles , it was first published in November 2008 with a separate albums book and second edition being published over the next couple of years. The first ten editions of The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles were compiled by Paul Gambaccini , Mike Read and brothers Tim Rice and Jonathan (Jo) Rice (known as GRRR). Read left

640-463: The U.S. under the titles The American Patrol on Warner Bros. Records around 1964. He also released a series of nine albums in a series called Classics Up To Date which served up arrangements of classical melodies with strings, rhythm and wordless chorus from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s. Last's 1965 album, Non Stop Dancing , was a recording of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and crowd noises. It

680-415: The UK charts since 1952 (albums since 1958), listing them in alphabetical order and by both artist and song title. The entries also included the date of chart entry, highest position, catalogue number and number of weeks in the chart. Short biographical notes accompanied many of the artists' chart details. The book's sources are the New Musical Express ( NME ) chart from November 1952 to March 1960, and

720-515: The UK, his only chart singles were "The Seduction", a cover version of the theme from American Gigolo (1980) composed by Giorgio Moroder , and "Biscaya" from the album Biscaya . His single "Mornings at Seven" became a familiar tune in Britain after the BBC used it as the theme music for an ice skating program. It was released on 7" vinyl in 1968 and has been included on By Request and Eighty Not Out . In

760-535: The US as depreciation assets. When he wanted to visit his wineries in 1985, it turned out that none of the projects existed. As a result, the tax breaks ceased and there were large additional claims. Last was barely prevented from selling his publishing rights. He took out a loan from the Hamburger Sparkasse and was not financially debt-free again until shortly before his 70th birthday. In September 2014 Last learned that

800-717: The US, where "The Seduction" became a Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart in May 1980. Last was somewhat more successful on the singles charts. In 2003, his song " Einsamer Hirte " (The Lonely Shepherd) which features the pan flute of Gheorghe Zamfir appeared on the soundtrack of the Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill Volume 1 . He won numerous popular and professional awards, including Billboard magazine's Star of

840-564: The Way" at No. 28, "The Seduction" at No. 32) and four on the Adult Contemporary/MOR charts ("Music from..." at No. 2, "Heart of Gold" at No. 17, "The Seduction" at No. 36, "Reach for a Star" at No. 20). Songs composed by Last which achieved success in the US include " Happy Heart " and "Music from Across the Way", both recorded by Andy Williams , "Games That Lovers Play", recorded by Eddie Fisher , and " Fool ", recorded by Elvis Presley . By

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880-608: The Year trophy in 1976, and was honoured for lifetime achievement with the German ECHO prize in 1994. His song "Music from Across the Way" (recorded by Andy Williams in 1972) is a melody with a classical feeling and was a worldwide hit; it was the only other Last single apart from "The Seduction" to reach the U.S. Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 84 (and No. 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart) in late 1971. (His only other U.S. chart single

920-546: The book (2005) was billed as a "Special Collector's Edition" as it featured detailed information on the 1,000 Number Ones in the UK Singles Chart from Al Martino 's " Here in My Heart " on 14 November 1952 to Elvis Presley 's "One Night / I Got Stung" (Limited Edition Collector's re-issue), 22 January 2005. The 19th edition (2006) was the last in the series. A supposed 20th edition was due to be published in 2007, but apparently

960-594: The book. Non Stop Dancing 65 Non Stop Dancing '65 is a 1965 album by the James Last Band , conducted and arranged by James Last , engineered by Peter Klemt , recorded at Polydor studios in Hamburg, Germany. This album was the first in a series of about 30 Non Stop Dancing albums. The final official entry of the series was in 1984, although Last continued to make a few similar albums (Für alle, 1985; Dance, Dance, Dance, 1988; New Party Classics, 2002). From

1000-486: The books were photographs (often with captions) and introductions written by the four authors. They also wrote a bi-annual lookback on the major developments in the UK charts in the two preceding years. The series was soon regarded as the number one source for music and chart reference, thanks to the commercial success of the books and its various sister publications (see below). The series' 10th edition, published in June 1995,

1040-504: The former Soviet Union , the US and UK, and his native Germany, where it became "the archetypal soundtrack of any German cellar bar party", and made him the "most commercially successful bandleader" of the second half of the 20th century. Last's composition Jägerlatein is known in Ireland as the theme tune to The Sunday Game , a live sporting show which follows GAA hurling and Gaelic football All Ireland Championships since 1979. Last

1080-418: The larger number of records listed in the chart. The first edition was published as The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles in November 1977. It was not the first Guinness music reference publication, as the previous year a book called The Guinness Book of Music Facts & Feats had been published. It also contained feats from the world of classical music . The first edition was issued to coincide with

1120-621: The leader of the Last-Becker Ensemble , which performed for seven years. He was voted as the best bassist in the country in a German jazz poll for 1950, 1951 and 1952. When the Last-Becker Ensemble disbanded, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records , as well as a number of European radio stations. During the next decade he helped arrange hits for artists such as Helmut Zacharias , Freddy Quinn , Lolita , Alfred Hause and Caterina Valente . Last first released albums in

1160-1359: The original publishers lost interest in chart reference books after their contract with The Official Charts Company expired, which saw that organisation sell the contract to Virgin . Part 1 Alphabetical by Artist Part 2 Alphabetical by Title................................- Act, (position) & year of chart entry Part 3 Facts and Feats ............. (headings shown on front index sheet - not listed *) ..The first ever chart ...........................................- 14 November 1952 NMExpress ..Most weeks on chart ........................................ - rank, Act, weeks. ..Most hits .......................................................... - qty, Act, any supporting artist(s). ..Most Top Ten hits ............................................ - qty, Act, any supporting artist(s). ..The Number One hits ...................................... - by year, by month, title, Act. ..Most hits in one year ...................................... - Act, qty. ..Most Number One hits ..................................... - qty, Act. ..Number One hat-tricks ..................................... - Act, qty, title thro' to title. ..One-hit Wonders ............................................. - Act, weeks. ..Least successful chart acts ............................. - (1 week @ 50) Act, title, year. ..Most hits without

1200-484: The success of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles series, the original authors and Guinness quickly turned to other charts-related books and projects. The following books were written by them: In the late 1990s and 2000s several other merchandise was produced, such as karaoke CDs, a calendar, a DVD quiz ( British Hit Albums and Singles No. 1 Music Quiz ) and a series of themed compilation CDs with original hits from

1240-497: The team in the mid-1980s (with the book copyright now belonging to GRR Publications Ltd) and the other editors resigned in 1996. Chart editor for many editions was David Roberts. British Hit Singles & Albums was generally considered to be the authoritative reference (and only) source for both the UK Singles Chart (since its inception in 1952) and the UK Albums Chart . It listed all the singles and albums ever to have been in

James Last - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-484: The time of his farewell tour in the spring of 2015, Last was reported to have sold well over 100 million albums. His signature piece was " Orange Blossom Special ". He played this at almost every concert. He encouraged the band to have fun with it and sometimes the band members would go into the audience and make a conga line with duck head umbrellas. It was always a popular piece at his concerts. In February 2015, after almost 50 years on tour, James Last announced that he

1320-422: The way for disco and dance mixes". Asked if he minded being labelled the "King of Corn", Last reportedly replied "No, because it is true." List of awards: Productions of James Last: (As Hans Last, Orlando and James Last) British Hit Singles %26 Albums British Hit Singles & Albums (originally known as The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums )

1360-623: Was a double-sided entry featuring remakes of the Village Stompers' " Washington Square " and Creedence Clearwater Revival 's " Proud Mary ", which reached No. 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart in early 1971). Last was awarded the Carl Alan Award by Princess Margaret for being the leader of the most popular dance band of 1981. In Canada, he had three hits on the RPM Top Singles charts (" El Cóndor Pasa " at No. 46, "Music from Across

1400-410: Was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next four decades, Last released over 190 records, including several more volumes of Non Stop Dancing . On these records, he varied his formula by adding different songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers like Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto . He also had his own successful television series throughout

1440-923: Was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of the Guinness breweries, Guinness Superlatives. Later editions were published by HiT Entertainment (who had bought the Guinness World Records brand). It listed all the singles and albums featured in the Top 75 pop charts in the UK . In 2004 the book became an amalgamation of two earlier Guinness publications, originally known as British Hit Singles and British Hit Albums . The publication of this amalgamation ceased in 2006, with Guinness World Records being sold to The Jim Pattison Group , owner of Ripley's Believe It or Not! . At this point,

1480-561: Was born to Louis and Martha Last in Bremen , Germany . He was the younger brother of Robert Last and Werner Last (aka Kai Warner ). His father worked for the public utility of the city of Bremen and Last grew up in the suburb of Sebaldsbrück. He began studying the piano at age 10, although he could play simple tunes such as the folk song " Hänschen klein " when he was 9. His first music teacher felt he lacked any musical talent. Last started playing more actively with his second tutor and switched to

1520-761: Was finally bidding adieu to the stage. The last concert of his Non Stop Music James Last in Concert 2015 farewell tour took place in Lanxess Arena in Cologne on 26 April 2015. Last married his first wife, Waltraud, in 1955; they had two children, Ronald and Caterina. After 42 years of marriage, Waltraud died in 1997. Two years later, Last married Christine Grundner from Bavaria . Last and Christine divided their time between homes in Florida and Hamburg . He gave much credit to Christine and son Ronald for help with his music. Despite being

1560-446: Was his 90th at London's Royal Albert Hall , more than any other performer except Eric Clapton . Last's trademark sound employed big band arrangements of well-known tunes with a jaunty dance beat, often heavy on bass and brass. Despite at times being derided by critics and purists as the "king of elevator music " or "acoustic porridge ", his style and music were popular in numerous countries and cultures, including Japan, South Korea,

1600-543: Was the last to feature its original authors Rice, Rice and Gambaccini. From the 11th edition onwards, the book was compiled by in-house editors at Guinness Publishing and, later, by David Roberts who had already been a chart editor and designer for the original team. From the 12th edition onwards (published in 1999), the book was published every year rather than bi-annually. In 2004, the book merged with The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums to form The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums . The eighteenth edition of

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