JAMES LAST STORY - 1977
New Releases
2371 768 James Last Plays Robert Stolz
2371 786 Non Stop Dancing 77/2 (No 19)
2371 830 Western Party (Country & Square Dance Party)
2371 835 Auf Last Gehts Los
2371 843 My Favorite Songs
2371 856 Memories Of Russia (Russland Erinnerungen)
2371 860 Sing Mit 6
January
ON THE ROAD - SWITZERLAND
January 20th Bern
January 21st Zurich
January 22nd Basel
January 23rd Montreux
ON THE ROAD - GERMANY
January 24th Freiburg
January 25th Ulm
SING MIT PARTIES
January 26th Munich
January 27th/28th Ernst Mercke Halle, Hamburg
April/ May
TWO CONCERTS IN DUBLIN
April 13th & 14th Dublin
UK TOUR
Saturday April 16th: Eastbourne, Congress Theatre
Sunday April 17th: Leicester, De Montfort Hall
Monday April 18th: London, Royal Albert Hall
Tuesday April 19th: London, Royal Albert Hall
Wednesday April 20th: London, Royal Albert Hall
Thursday April 21st: London, Royal Albert Hall (Dance)
David Longman, of Music Week writes:
For nearly five and a half hours James Last and Acker Bilk alternated on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, for their evening of dance music. The hall, with it's contral area converted to a dance floor, was a mass of colour and lights, with coach loads of Last fans travelling from as far away as Sunderland to share in this evening.
With BBC cameras placed at stratrgic intervals, recording for a television special to be shown later this year, it was possible to sense the added enthusiasm with which Last was playing, and Bilk, although not being recorded, lived up to his reputation of being an accomplished performer. The shame for Bilk fans, was the man from Somerset repeatedly used swear words - not strong ones, but ones which did appear to cause offence, were totally unnecessary.
Acker Bilk opened the evening, and after only a few chords, the dance floor was awash with dancers, and there was hardly a space to be seen all evening. Before handing over to Last for the fist time, he did versions of Sweet Georgia Brown, See Baby Tonight, Savoy Blues, When Your Smiling and a haunting A Taste Of Honey, a perfect clarinet piece.
The changeover to Last was accomplished with clockwork precision, with one band slowly blending with the other. The lights were turned up, and the volume increased, and the evening was beginning to warm up.
It would be impossible to pick the best songs from James Last, as he is such a seasoned performer, and his orchestra exacted every note with such clarity. The second appearence by the German band leader opened with Isaac Hayes music, the Theme From Shaft. He was relying on the brass section, and it wasn't until near the end of the evening that the string section emerged from the cloisters of the hall to make the sound complete,
In terms of material, most of the performance seemed to come from the orchestra's non stop dancing albums. In the evning, all eighteen such albums must have received some exposure.
For the third James Last appearence, and with the film cameras returning to life, the singers arrived on stage. For many this last period was to be the climax of the concert. With everybody asked to sit where they had been dancing, the lights were turned down and Don't Cry For Me Argentina rang out. It was a superb rendition, and as much as Last tried to keep the audience seated, after the final note was struck, they rose to their feet to applaud.
There were to have been more choral numbers, but the crowd wanted to dance, and with a few seconds hesitation, the orchestra returned to the up tempo theme.
It was a glorious evening, and all the performers honestly deserved a standing ovation. Even at £7 a ticket, it represents a new high in value for money.
Friday April 22nd: Sheffield, City Hall
Saturday April 23rd: Southport, Southport Theatre
Sunday April 24th: Blackpool, Opera House
Monday April 25th: Glasgow, Kelvin Hall
Tuesday April 26th: Aberdeen, Capitol Theatre
Wednesday April 27th: Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Thursday April 28th: Newcastle, City Hall
Friday April 29th: Bridlington, Spa Royal Hall (Dance)
Reginald Brace (journalist), comments on the Bridlington dance night, and talks to Hansi and guest bandleader Kenny Ball.
James Last and Kenny Ball at Bridlington Spa Ballroom was in no sense a battle of the bands, but it did provide and intriguing comparison in the life styles as the two groups played alternative sets for 2500 customers, who paid £7.50 each to dance and listen.
Last's army grew as the evening wore on until there were more than 40 musicians and singers on the specially constructed bandstand. Ball's magnificent seven, wildly outnumbered, had a smaller platform tucked away in a corner, from which they blew their jaunty Dixieland.
James Last played the music that had made him a millionaire and one of the most successful band leaders in the history of popular music. His presentation was breathtakingly efficient. A battery of lights bathed his musicians in ever changing colours. The sound coming through two ten foot high speakers was carefully controlled replica of Last on record.
Everything was so highly organised it was hard not to think in terms of military discipline, despite the infectious jolity of it all.
Other big bands have gone for the easy listening market which Last dominates, but nobody has ever conquered it so completely. I put the question to the Partyking "What's The Secret?"
He replied, "What we like to do is to make music for the normal people to enjoy after a hard day's work. It has nothing to do with age. It has a lot to do with enjoyment. People go to the Opera and just listen. People come to see us to have a good time. This is one of two dances on this tour. The other at the Royal Albert Hall was the highlight of my life. We like to see everybody happy and singing, joining in. The band enjoy it, and the people realise that."
One of the reasons the big band died was the enormous expense of keeping them on the road. Last manages to do it and be a millionaire as well. "Yes, keeping a band this size is expensive. But we enjoy getting out of the recording studio and meeting people. We've played in Russia, the whole of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Japan."
The hardest part of this life as a bandleader was writing the arrangements. Last does them all. With about ten new albums a year, it's a job which takes a greedy toll on his time.
Last taking a quick breather as we talked bared a bronze torso which he acquired on holiday in Las Vegas with the rest of the band. Last, of course, was the host.
Kenny Ball laughed when I told him about the Last band's holiday in the States. "I've no plans to take my band away" said Ball. "But we might have a day trip to Skegness." Things were looking up for the Jazzmen. "No seriously, we've got this booking next year at the Royal Albert Hall, and James Last will be the supporting group" The dressing room heaved with laughter.
Ball along with his Jazzmen, appear on BBC TV every Saturday night At The Mill, with tours lined up, including dates in Australia and Hong Kong. What did he think of Last's musical panzer division? "Incredible" said Kenny, and he meant it. "The musicianship is superb, and the sheer presentation is overwhelming. You know they've been working on it since two o'clock this afternoon. It's all very impressive. He sets his sights at a wide market, and it seems to work extremely well."
Andy Cooper, one of the Jazzmen, reappeared with the news from the ballroom."I can't believe it, he's playing Daisy Daisy, and the violinists are swaying side to side."
"I reckon you lot would sway side to side, for holidays in Florida", said Ball.
Ball went into a huddle with Harry Reynolds, his Scottish personal manager, to work out the numbers for the final set. The set went down extremely well. Ball was given an ovation as he handed over to the glitter of the James Last Band, and a grandiose arrangement of Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Kenny signed autographs, accepted congratulations and wandered out into the cool of the early morning air.
Ball's final comments were "Give me a hundred thousand quid and we'd get it right. The only way I can increase the size of my band is to have a few drinks. Then I see three of everybody. But we didn't do so badly, did we?"
Saturday April 30th: Manchester, Bell Vue
Sunday May 1st: Birmingham, Hippodrome
Monday May 2nd: Brighton, The Dome
Tuesday May 3rd: Bristol, Colston Hall
Wednesday May 4th: Bournemouth, Winter Gardens
Tickets for the Royal Albert Hall Dance are £7.00 each.
Tickets for the Royal Albert Hall Concerts are £7, £6, £5, £4, £3 & £2 standing.