York shop bans Christmas pop hits – because they ‘sound weird’
If you’re in need of a respite from Wham! and the Wombles while out Christmas shopping, there’s now a place you can go.
The York Gin Shop has banned all modern festive pop songs from its in-store playlist.
Yep, that means no Maria Carey, Wizzard, Slade, Cliff, Macca or Shaky.
The team say they’re doing it to help staff morale and customer satisfaction – and because modern songs ‘sound weird’ in their 16th Century Tudor building on Pavement.
York Gin Director Emma Godivala said: “We do love Christmas, but we want our gin shop to be a cheese-free zone.”
Stir crazy
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We’ve tested lots of songs to see which sound okay and which sound weird. And there’s a cut-off in the 1960s. Anything after that has been banned.
Our lovely team are happy with the decision – they say lots of other shop staff are already going stir crazy with the same Christmas hits being played on a loop.
That said, if Mariah appeared in the shop, we might just overturn the ban for a while and play All I Want For Christmas Is You.
York Gin’s Christmas Top 10
- J.S. Bach, Christmas Oratorio (1734)
- Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker (1892)
- Vivaldi, Four Seasons – Winter (1725)
- Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt (1953)
- Silent Night (1818)
- Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful), 17th Century
- Coventry Carol, 16th Century
- In The Bleak Mid-winter (1906)
- White Christmas, Bing Crosby (1942)
- Baby It’s Cold Outside, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan (1949)
The York Gin shop has over 200 songs on its playlist including all the classic Christmas carols, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald – and music from Christmas ballets like The Nutcracker.
Shop manager Sandie Tanner-Smith said: “We’re confident we’ll have the happiest staff and customers around – our playlist is big enough to make sure no-one hears the same Christmas song more than twice in a week.
“Offering free samples of our award-winning gins always makes for happy customers too!”