BOSSES at a shop that banned cheesy Christmas songs say they are stunned by the reaction - after the story went viral.

The York Gin shop will not be playing Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You or Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody, as it said it would ruin Christmas for shop floor staff who have to endure the music for eight hours each day.

The story took off over the weekend, sparking national newspaper headlines and mention by Zoe Ball on the Radio 2 Breakfast show.

Now York Gin says its move has also proved popular with staff from other York shops who are equally sick of the same old Christmas songs.

York Gin co-director Pete McNichol said: “I was at the gym when I heard Zoe Ball talking about York Gin - I almost fell off the running machine! What a fantastic amount of publicity we’ve had.

“And everyone who’s got in touch has been really supportive - especially other shop staff who say they hate the same old Christmas songs being played on a loop for weeks and weeks."

Last week the shop said it would play festive music, but only a more traditional offering.

Emma Godivala, co-director of York Gin, said the shop, a 16th century Tudor building in Pavement, does not suit modern music.

She said: “We do love Christmas, but we want our gin shop to be a cheese-free zone.

“We’ve tested lots of songs to see which sound OK 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.”

The shop has said it will play Christmas carols, seasonal ballets such as The Nutcracker and classics from Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

Mr McNichol added: “The York Gin shop will be an oasis of Christmas calm - we’ll start playing the festive songs from Thursday when St Nick’s Fair starts.”