A York shop that made international headlines by banning cheesy Christmas songs last year is now sponsoring a radio station that only plays festive hits.
Last Christmas, York Gin outlawed Mariah Carey, Slade and Wizzard from its shop on Pavement.
But today we can reveal it is the sponsor of our pop-up XmasMix Radio station, which will play back-to-back cheesy Christmas songs.
The U-turn is designed to raise Covid-hit spirits this festive season, at the end of such a challenging year.
The city’s Town Crier Ben Fry says the move has “literally saved Christmas for Mariah fans”.
Last year’s ban on Christmas hits was designed to spare shop staff from having to listen to the same tunes several times a day on a loop for weeks on end.
But this year the company says it wants to help everyone get into the Christmas spirit – and will be playing the XmasMix station in the shop.
Bosses have cleared the move with staff who want as much Christmas cheese as possible.
‘Bring on Mariah!’
Gin expert Alex Mather, who advises customers in the shop, said: “Anything jolly and happy has to be a good thing after the year we’ve all had.
“Last year seems like a lifetime ago, and the cheesy tracks ban is but a distant memory. The whole shop team says: Bring on Mariah and co this Christmas.”
York Gin co-founder Emma Godivala said: “This is the year of the U-turn, so we wanted to get in on the act. Seriously, though, 2020 has been frankly awful – with the pandemic, lockdowns, and so much uncertainty.
“In York, even our Christmas market has had to be cancelled.
“So when the call came to help bring some festive cheer, we knew we had to do a complete U-turn on last year and save Christmas in York.
“And we hope the Christmas station will lift the spirits of everyone, everywhere who loves Christmas.
“You can listen and dance along to XmasMix online from literally anywhere in the world!”
How to tune in
XmasMix Director and York Town Crier Ben Fry said: ‘We absolutely love Christmas in York and with everything happening we knew the city needed a Christmas radio station this year, but we couldn’t do it on our own.
‘So we approached York Gin, and their sponsorship has literally saved Christmas for Mariah fans all across North Yorkshire.’
The station will be broadcasting from 12 November until 26 December.
XmasMix Radio with York Gin will be available on DAB+ across North Yorkshire, smart speakers and the new YorkMix Radio app.
The Xmas station is a festive warm up for North Yorkshire’s new radio station YorkMix Radio which launches in January.