Universal's first thought is last. (Classical).

Universal Classics is putting its summer marketing firepower behind a two-disc compilation of classical arrangements played by the evergreen James Last and his eponymous big band. James Last--The Classical Collection is set for release on August 18 and will sell at two discs for the cost of one.

The artist universally known as Hansi stands high on the list of all-time best sellers, his albums having clocked up multi-million sales worldwide. Last's recordings have spent more than 450 weeks in the UK charts since the mid-1960s, their progress boosted, until recent times, by regular appearances on primetime television variety shows.

According to Mark Wilkinson, Universal's head of classics, the target audience occupies the 60-and-above age range. "These are people who may have James Last's Classics-a-Gogo or Classics Up To Date on vinyl or early-edition CD," he says. "We want to attract ...