You have an error in your SQL syntax near ') OR STRCMP(t1.splastname, "")< 0 ) AND t2.topicid = 7 AND t1.s' at line 7SELECT t1.speakerid, t2.topicid FROM speakers t1, speakertopics t2 WHERE t1.speakerid = t2.speakerid AND ( (STRCMP(t1.splastname, "") = 0 AND t1.speakerid < ) OR STRCMP(t1.splastname, "")< 0 ) AND t2.topicid = 7 AND t1.spactive = "T" ORDER BY t1.splastname DESC, t1.speakerid DESC LIMIT 1