Last learned how to play piano as child, switching to bass as a teenager. He joined Hans-Gunther Oesterreich's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra in 1946, when he was 17 years old. In 1948, he became the leader of the Becker-Last Ensemble, which performed for seven years. During that time, he was voted as the best bassist in the country by a German jazz poll for three consecutive years, from 1950-1952. After the disbandment of the Becker-Last Ensemble, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records, as well as for a number of European radio stations. For the next decade, he helped arrange hits for artists like Helmut Zacharias and Caterina Valente.
Last released his first album "Non-Stop Dancing" in 1965. The record of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and joyous crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next four decades, Last has released over 190 records, including several more volumes of Non-Stop Dancing. On these records, he varies his formula by adding different songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers like Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.
Though his concerts and albums are consistently successful — especially in England, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967-1986, which made him second to Elvis Presley in terms of number of charting records — he has only had two hit singles with "The Seduction," the theme from American Gigolo (1980) and Biscaya from the album "Biscaya".
He has won numerous polls and prizes, for example Billboard magazine's "Star of the year" trophy in 1976, and has been honored for his lifework with the German ECHO prize in 1994.
The song "The Lonely Shepherd", written by Last and performed by Gheorghe Zamfir and the James Last Orchestra, was featured in the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003).
Personally, he divides his time between Florida and Germany. He gives much credit to his wife and son, who helps with the music.
Gimme Gimme Gimme
James Last Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the phone
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Movie stars
Find the end of the rainbow, with that fortune to win
It's so different from the world I'm living in
Tired of T.V.
I open the window and I gaze into the night
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
The lyrics to James Last's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" speak to the isolation and loneliness that can come with being single and alone at night. The singer is watching TV in their apartment and feeling depressed by the autumn winds blowing outside, and the fact that no one is around to hear their prayer. They long for someone to chase away these shadows and to take them through the darkness, to the break of the day. They want a man after midnight, someone to share their evening with and make them feel less alone.
The song taps into universal feelings of longing and loneliness, and the desire for human connection. The lyrics are straightforward and relatable, and the melody is catchy and upbeat. The repetition of the phrase "gimme gimme gimme" emphasizes the singer's desperation and desire for companionship.
Interestingly, the song also has a disco-style beat and instrumentation, which was popular at the time. It was originally recorded by ABBA, and James Last's cover version was released in 1980. The song has since become a classic of the disco era, and it continues to be popular on dance floors around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Half past twelve
It's midnight
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
I'm home alone, watching TV
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
I don't like being alone
Autumn winds
It's windy outside
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room
I'm looking around the room and noticing the wind blowing outside
And it makes me so depressed to see the phone
I feel sad when I see my phone, because no one is calling me
There's not a soul out there
There's no one outside
No one to hear my prayer
No one is listening to me
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
I want a man to be with me at midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
I want someone to help me feel better and not be so sad and lonely
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
I want someone to make me feel happy and take me through the night until the morning comes
Movie stars
Famous people in the movies
Find the end of the rainbow, with that fortune to win
They have a lot of money and success
It's so different from the world I'm living in
Their life is different from mine
Tired of T.V.
I'm tired of watching TV
I open the window and I gaze into the night
I'm looking out the window at the dark night
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight
There's nothing interesting to look at and no one is around
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
I still want a man to be with me at midnight
There's not a soul out there
No one is outside
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
I really want a man to be with me
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
I want someone to make me feel happy and take me through the night until the morning comes
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
I'm still wanting a man to be with me at midnight
Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away
I really need someone to be with me and help me feel better
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
I'm still hoping for a man to be with me
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
I want someone to make me feel happy and take me through the night until the morning comes
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Benny Goran Bror Andersson, Bjoern K. Ulvaeus
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jesus Mario Macias Gonzalez EL ITA
SIMPLEMENTE. ¡ EXELENTE ! James Last. ¡ EN MEMORIA ! 2/26/19.
Gerardo Cartas
Impresionante arreglo. Muy bien.
Norberto Sison
Don't you just love how the string section can play and dance to the rhythm while still seated?
uroswolf
you can simply feel da' beat... amazing!
LUIS ANGEL ANCO RIVERA
me gusta mucho es muy linda la musica
hunmanusa
God bless you James--you'r the best ever!!!!
Maruja Aparicio
Como siempre fantàstico
תמר הילמן
ג'ימס לאסט מצליח בקלות בלי מאמץ לחזור על אותו מיקצב ומנגינה פעמים אין ספור .בהרמוניה מקורית ...שרק רוצה לשמוע אותה כל פעם מחדש...ולחשוב שזו פעם ראשונה !
תמר הילמן
מנצח אופטימי ורב עוצמה שמפתיע ברוחו כאשר הוא סוחף את הצופים בו איתו בהתלהבות !!!
תמר הילמן
הכי מהנה לראות את כל הכלים משתתפים בחגיגה שהמנצח על התזמורת מוביל את האורקסטרה והקהל בהינף יד !!!