DJ Charges Clubbers for Requesting 'Over-Played' Songs by The Killers, Kings of Leon and More: 'Polite Reminder'

An England DJ has found a solution for the dreaded “over-played” song requests that always arise during clubbing time. His clever fix? Charging clubbers a hefty fee.

Speaking to The Daily Gazette this month, Colin Gingell-Good, aka DJ Pressplay from Colchester, revealed that after 17 years of spinning records for parties, he’s created a price list as a “polite reminder” for club guests who demand to hear their favorite songs.

“The majority of people request songs they personally love, but it doesn’t always fit the vibe of the night or the crowd,” Gingell-Good, 51, said of his policy. “When I’m, for example, playing a disco and soul night, you won’t hear anything metal or something by the Foo Fighters, it just doesn’t fit.” 

As a “tongue-in-cheek joke,” the outlet noted that the DJ now charges various amounts for clubbers’ song requests to prevent the vibes from being interrupted — like up to £1,000 (a little over $1200 in the U.S.) to hear The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” (which he said is “over-played”) or £250 to request Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” and £500 for Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”

“It is more for those people who do not take no for an answer and to keep from having discussions as to why I won’t play a song,” Gingell-Good — who’s a resident DJ at Colchester’s live music venue Coda — explained to The Daily Gazette. 

Since advertising his joke sign, the DJ said he’s “had not one person requesting [“Mr. Brightside”], so it seems to work.” 

His list of prices also includes charges for birthday requests, songs that “do not fit the night” and even those who insist “you know better than the DJ.”

“Some people don’t understand why we DJs do this, and that we are playing songs to keep the vibe going," the DJ added to the publication. “The majority of people take it as a joke and can laugh about it.”