It seems not everyone enjoys certain songs being on repeat during the holiday season. According to NME, a couple that is based in Oxford, UK have a strong dislike for Wham!’s rendition of “Last Christmas.” Hannah Mazetti spoke with South West News Service and noted that the hate for the song started 13 years ago, when she worked at a local cafe. “The owner of the cafe had planned for a super cosy holiday season and had his own made CD with a number of ‘hits’ on it,” she explained. “He was only in now and then, so he didn’t fully appreciate the agony the rest of the staff felt when ‘Last Christmas’ played for the 111th time of the working day.”
Her husband Tomas is the one who sparked the idea to buy the rights to the song. Shortly after, they began asking friends if they had felt the same way. By the time the holiday season came around, they were reminded of how much the song got overplayed. “Then someone told us it was theoretically possible to buy the rights to the song and then take it off all streaming platforms! We asked around among our friends and word spread. It’s fun because people either love or hate the idea! Maybe next Christmas will be the last Christmas!”
As of now, 330 people have contributed to the fund, with a total of £51,500. It costs around £15-20million to purchase the rights. Reactions to having the song not be played anymore have been mixed.
“50 per cent get really angry and 50 per cent get really happy,” she said. “Some people seem to love to hear the song 500 times a day. And those people are our enemies.”
While this may take some time to raise enough to no longer have the song be played, people can stull enjoy it while they can. The song is loved by many,including covers of the song by musicians. Future Islands covered it this year, along with Boris, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen and The XX covering it in previous years.