DJ demands money from club visitors because they requested songs to be played too often

An English DJ has found a solution to the dreaded “overplayed” song requests that always come up when clubbing. His clever solution? He charges clubbers a hefty fee.

Speak with The Daily Gazette This month, Colin Gingell-Good, aka Colchester-based DJ Pressplay, announced that after 17 years of spinning records at parties, he had created a price list as a “polite reminder” to clubbers who insist on hearing their favourite songs.

“Most people want songs that they personally like, but they don’t always fit the mood of the evening or the audience,” says 51-year-old Gingell-Good about his approach. “For example, if I play at a disco and soul evening, you don’t hear any metal or anything like the Foo Fighters, it just doesn’t fit.”

In an “ironic joke”, the outlet pointed out that the DJ now charges different amounts for club-goers’ song requests so as not to spoil the mood – for example, up to £1,000 (just over $1,200 in the US) to hear The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” (which he said was “overplayed”), £250 for a requested Kings of Leon song “Sex on Fire” and £500 for Oasis’ “Wonderwall”.

“It’s more for the people who don’t take no for an answer and want to avoid discussions about why I’m not playing a song,” Gingell-Good – the resident DJ at live music venue Coda in Colchester – explained to The Daily Gazette.

The DJ said that since he started promoting his joke sign, “not a single person has asked for ‘Mr. Brightside,’ so it seems to be working.”

His price list also includes charges for birthday wishes, songs that “don’t fit the evening,” and even those who insist “you know better than the DJ.”

“Some people don’t understand why we DJs do this and that we play songs to keep the mood going,” the DJ added to the publication. “The majority of people think it’s a joke and can laugh about it.”