They called him Hansi, I call him a legend

THE Gentleman of Music, The Emperor of Elevator Music, The King of Easy Listening or just ‘Hansi’, however you knew James Last, you couldn’t fail to ignore his ‘Happy Music’.

Born Hans Last in Germany in 1929, both he and his brother Werner made music their life’s work and both were anglicised for the international market and Werner became ‘Kai Warner’.

Hans became ‘James Last’ but before too long his friends, anyone who simply enjoyed his music, knew him as Hansi.

Over an incredible five decades, this German bandleader broke record after record and shattered the conceptions surrounding music.

Nothing was off limits as Hansi ‘borrowed’ music from Mozart to Madonna and adapted it to his own ‘happy’ sound. In the process he served up an entire musical palette to audiences who might never have heard of Rihanna, Lady Gaga or even LMFAO.

And that was the mark of the man, he made music accessible to all, I’ve been to concerts where members of the older generation loved a particular new track but looked puzzled when told it was by The Wanted!

However, last night The Gentleman of Music moved on to become part of heaven’s orchestra, leaving me along with many thousands of fans distraught.

Quite simply, Hansi was my music teacher, my first musical memories are of James Last which is no surprise when you consider my dear mum was going to his concerts while pregnant with me.

There is a picture of a six year old me sitting on Hansi’s lap, I hope once this grief has subsided I’ll be able to find it and look at it with a smile on my face.

I’ve travelled thanks to James Last, seeing countries I may never have seen and learned more about music than I may ever have known.

Much more importantly, I’ve got to know hundreds and hundreds of people united by the love of the music of James Last. No not friends, more like an extended family.

To be at the historic Royal Albert Hall to witness a James Last concert was something to behold, to see the warmth this German was greeted with in a quintessentially English venue year after year reminded us to always make peace not war.

To have known the music of James Last was to have experienced an education in song, in verse but also in life.

I have tears in my eyes as I write this as 14 hours on I somehow still can’t believe it to be true.

But I also raise a glass to toast his memory and in keeping with the spirit of the man, I will do so with a ‘Happy Heart’.

Sleep well Hansi, may you Rest in Peace

What shall we do about Kevin - Part 158

JUST when you thought it was safe to take a peek at English cricket again we have part 158 of 'What shall we do about Kevin'.

You may remember parts 1 to 157 - the story of a talented but very arrogant batsman who could delight and frustrate in equal measure.

Our story appeared to have ended when Pietersen was sacked for not being a jolly good boy and...this will shock you....he was caught....whistling!

Banished, he sought a new career in foreign climbs where he could whack te ball as far as he liked. But then in part 156 the new king of English cricket proclaimed Kevin should be given a second chance.

And in part 157, our hero smashed 326 not out before his big meeting with Prince Andrew Strauss and Tom Harrison (who ?)

But that is where the tale now ends for Pietersen who was summoned to a meeting to be sacked again! 

Strauss weirdly blamed 'trust issues' like Pietersen had been adulterous or something and in the same breath offered him a role as an advisor?

The new head of English cricket doesn't trust Pietersen enough to play him but is happy for him to talk to cricketers picked for the team, go figure!

Quite simply the ECB, Strauss and Harrison look even bigger fools than already were. Quite an achievement when you consider the faux pas of recent weeks and months!

The bosses of English cricket know the way they disposed of Pietersen was wrong. It's just no one has enough guts to admit it.

So now we have this farce of Pietersen calling their bluff and doing everything asked of him only for the ECB to move the goal posts.

Meanwhile in Australia, 11 very competitive souls are looking on and laughing at English cricket, ready to beat it into oblivion this summer.

This is no longer a fairy story, more a case of a horrible history.

PM won't serve a third term...he's got to win a second first!

A PUZZLING annoucement from the Prime Minister during an 'at home' interview with the BBC, he won't serve a third term at Number 10...

Puzzling because of it's timing, why on earth would you on the verge of the election campaign proper say you only want the job for one more term then you'll be off?

Puzzling because recent history shows PMs who set out their future plans tend to limp along until the end, see Tony Blair after he said in 2004 he wouldn't serve a full third term. He then faced mutiny and uncertainty regularly until he eventually departed in 2007.

Puzzling because the Conservatives love a good old bunfight over the leadership, a vote for the Tories in May will gurantee lots of jostling for position and in-fighting, particularly as Cameron named his chosen three; May, Osborne and Boris. Wonder what Sajid Javid and the other 'rising stars' think about his comments.

And puzzling because technically, the PM hasn't won an election yet, either in 2010 or the upcoming poll. His comments, however well intentioned, could be percieved as arrogance from a man who didn't win a majority in 2010.

Put simply the Conservatives are shooting themselves in the foot at every turn, every good sound bite and economic news they have is undone by strategic mistakes.

The Tories ought to be doing better, Labour are led by a man who simply hasn't sealed the deal with his core Labour vote let alone floating voters, the Lib Dems are near enough finished while the UKIP pint has been watered down in recent weeks.

It's as if the Tories don't understand that to obtain a majority Government they need to do better than 2010, a very hard challenge granted but the circumstances are there.

Cameron should have embarked on his 2010 'meet the people' strategy and debated Miliband head to head. Not doing so has render his 'weak' tag on Miliband virutally redundant.

Labour's task now is to weave a narrative which once again labels Cameron arrogant, point out he failed to win a majority in 2010 and question again why he won't debate his record.

If they are successful then Cameron will indeed not serve a third term, he won't get a second either!

Clarkson

JEREMY Clarkson has attracted more attention in the past week than the Islamic State, any of our politicians or the upcoming Budget.

Now what that says about our media remains to be seen but there has been a lot of talking about something where no one knows what ACTUALLY happened.

'Jezza punches producer' quickly turned into 'Jezza calls producer a effin this and that'.  

Two very different things, if he's punched Oisin Tymon then, as much of a fan of Top Gear and Clarkson as I am, I'm afraid it might have to be the end of the road for him.

If it's just a lot of shouting and swearing and loads of insults then surely things can be resolved. Almost every show on TV has probably seen heated rows at one point or another!

The problem in all this is the BBC itself. If we believe the media reports, Clarkson 'turned himself in' a week ago....one week! Ask yourself this if you'd been punched at work would you be happy if your boss waited a week before tackling it?

The BBC looked more concerned about cancelling Top Gear than actually looking into this and have now got themselves in an almighty mess.

The corporation thinks everything needs to be an inquiry, it doesn't. Take statements from everyone involved and who was there, build a timeline. 

Once the events of that night are clear, take the action needed. Simple

And on that bombshell it's time to end 

Bring em home!

REMEMBER the reason we've had so many Ashes series recently? It was to ensure we had 'proper' preparation for the Cricket World Cup.

Yes folks this is the result of 'proper preparation', batsman batting out of position, bowlers leaking runs and Sri Lanka chasing down 309 for the loss of just ONE wicket.

Forget Scotland, England have been an embarrassment at this World Cup, out batted, out fielded, out bowled and frankly outclassed.

Unbelievably despite making the same mistake at every World Cup since 1999, England are still playing one day cricket like we did in the 70s and 80s. Meanwhile the rest of the world learned from tournaments like the IPL and Big Bash.

So an English batsman will walk to the wicket and take a few balls to 'look at the bowling', when he reaches 10 not out off 20 balls, batsmen like Brendon McCullum and AB De Villiers are raising their bats for a 50 or getting very close.

This is despite having some power hitters like Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara in the line up, a line up which could also have had Kevin Pietersen had he not been sacked.

Quite simply, those playing for England now do so in fear and are made to toe the party line, buy into the head coach's love of statistics and most importantly not have an opnion.

Never in the history of sport has a man been sacked for having an opinion, Kevin Pietersen did. In sport if you don't deliver your dropped, not banned from ever being selected again unless you have committed a crime against the law of the land or cheated using drugs et al.

The perpetrators? Paul Downton, Andy Flower and James Whittaker - MD, former coach and head selector. Men who want to change the very notion of sport and only have the 'right sort of people' playing for the country.

The problem is all successful teams have 'challenging' players within their midst. Shane Warne had an interesting life away from the cricket, did Australia ever drop him? Course not!

A clean slate is needed, we need to go back to picking the best players in an atmosphere where they can excel. Or what we called the 'Duncan Fletcher era'

As well as these awful men, Peter Moores also needs to be removed, how a man who wasn't deemed good enough for England head coach once actually has the job again is beyond me

In their place perhaps lets consider former England captains who went to the commentary box not executive box. Strauss for MD? Vaughan as coach and Hussain as chairman of selectors?

Think about it, former players driving the future of the English cricket team......awfully radical isn't it!

Or shall we leave it and let Bangladesh chase 300 next week and then lose by 100 runs to Afghanistan?

We can do better than this!

REVIEW: About Time we heard such great music

SIMON Bell's first release since 'Givin' It Plenty', the theme from No.1 Of The Secret Service in 1976 is entitled 'About Time', I wonder why it took so long.

This EP showcases the full range of his considerable vocal talent, from the deep, sorrowful and soul vocals to the high, punchy notes meaning About Time is a rollercoaster of human emotion.

The self-penned lyrics are emotive and strong and easily to pick up as Bell is a master of his craft and provides clear diction throughout.

About Time begins with 'Next To Me' a tale of love and loss, full of anger but also recrimination and loss, beautifully woven together with words and a fine sorrowful sound.

Play (If Life's a Game) is in a similar soulful vein and creates a very relaxed atmosphere which allows you as a music lover to take in the deep vocals.

Bell, together with producer Justin Whittingham, has put together a masterclass in EP recording, for as soon as you've relaxed into your chilled out zone, up comes Partner in Crime.

Within the first few chords, the atmosphere of the EP changes with a foot tapping, guitar heavy bouncy tune which fans of the Eagles might appreciate as the sound is quite similar.

For me Partner in Crime is the most addictive track on the EP, with just a few listens I was humming the tune when I finished the car journey.

To close a very fine EP, Bell wishes us a Happy New Year and returns to the sorrow and soulful sound which serves him well.

The track is very poignant and brings together nicely the mood around the change of year, one of celebration yes but also reflection and occasionally emotion.

Music can make you happy and make you sad, but it can also make you reflect and think.

About Time does that, based on this effort I reckon it's About Time we heard an album!

* About Time is available for download from iTunes, Amazon and all other music download sites.

General Election TV Debates – The Solution

This is less of a blog, more of an open letter to all the party leaders and to the broadcasters, a solution to your current ‘dilemma’ over the proposed debates.

STRUCTURE – one debate between David Cameron and Ed Miliband and one between Cameron, Miliband and Clegg. Instead of inviting just Farage to the last one, invite him, Natalie Bennett from the Greens and George Galloway from Respect. It’s not beyond podium builders to come up with seven platforms you know!

Every party which is represented in Westminster and could feasibly field candidates in every constituency across the UK would then have a platform.

SCOTLAND, WALES AND NI – For a party very keen to distance itself from the ‘Westminster elite’, the SNP has spent a lot of time demanding to be in the debates. Why? People in England cannot vote for them. Same with Plaid Cymru and the various Northern Ireland parties, should they have a platform? No.

Instead, why not have country specific debates. I mean wasn’t the whole point of the Scottish devolution vote to ensure the Scottish voice was heard. Why not have a debate between the SNP, Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Liberal Democrats? Sky ran one the last time and it proved very successful.

Surely the voters in those countries want to know what the various parties are going to do for the country if returned to Westminster? It’s not about exclusion it’s about issues that matter to those in the respective countries are addressed.

AND IF THEY DON’T AGREE – empty chair them, this applies to the PM if he is indeed ‘chicken’ but also call Miliband’s bluff as well. Quite simply if an invited guest doesn’t turn up, leave the podium empty and let the British public draw their own conclusions.

Simple? Yeah pretty much, so is there any chance you lot can get on and sort it out because frankly there are one or two hugely more important issues affecting us at the moment!