James Last

It was a simple idea, but it made James Last hugely successful. He came up with the idea of arranging chart hits in an accessible, big band style and found a massive audience for what turned into an astonishing series of records down the years. In a career stretching back decades, he has sold over 100 million albums with more than 190 releases. Having showed great promise as a child, James joined a dance orchestra in 1946 when he was just 17, was voted best bassist in Germany three years running and went on to become the in-house arranger for Polydor Records. His first album set the tone, as 1965's Non-Stop Dancing featured a medley of popular chart numbers linked by an infectious dance beat and atmospheric audience sounds. With his years of experience in the business, he knew exactly how to shape his sound and was shrewd enough to spot that there was a gap in the market for his kind of unpretentious party music. Not only was he right, but it made him a superstar of the big band world. But it hasn't always been easy. Though he is fantastically popular, James has always been music's best-kept secret.