Last Party
by Mika

Album: No Place In Heaven (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This tender ballad is a tribute to Freddie Mercury, an artist Mika has often been compared to. It was made available as an instant grat track for fans who pre-ordered his No Place In Heaven album via iTunes.
  • The song's performance video is a simple montage shot by Mika's friend Peter Lindbergh. It was the first time the celebrated fashion photographer has ever collaborated with a music artist. "This collaboration was born naturally and out of friendship," said Mika. "Peter wanted to capture me in complete honesty, and as naturally as possible. Simplicity and emotion being one of the hardest things to achieve, it was only with someone like Peter that I could let my guard down so much."

    "The photos were done first and then came the idea of bringing them to life with 'a photo that talks to you,' he continued. "We booked the same studio and with the same crew we shot the 'Last Party' video a few weeks later. Working and knowing Peter is an honor."
  • Mika explained the song's meaning to Billboard magazine: "It's about, in a sense, Freddie Mercury when he found out he was HIV positive, and had this very strong reaction that kind of manifested into him closing himself up in a nightclub for a couple days and having this mad party," he said. "It's probably a myth, I don't know how true it is, but certainly it's a story that's quite well-known."

    "It made me think about when you find out terrible news, how do you deal with it?," Mika continued. "I wanted to put that into a song as best I could, and tried to make it as intimate as possible and this thing that I crafted and the way I produced it, I tried to make it as out-of-context of contemporary pop music as I could make it. And it's weird because with pop music, you have a particular opportunity to describe the things that are really hard to describe a normal daily life or normal words."

    "This strange combination of terrible news and that rush of adrenaline - I know because in my life I've had all these awful things happen but this strange rush of adrenaline at the same time and trying to convey that in a song is almost one of the most representative ways of that strange clash of emotions."
  • Mika knows Freddie Mercury's former Queen bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor, personally. He feared they might feel the song was invading sacred territory and would endanger his relationship with them. However, he sent them the track in advance, and they loved it and gave him their approval.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.