DJ stages lock in to play 'Last Christmas' on repeat

The DJ felt people were not getting sufficiently into the Christmas spirit. Photo / YouTube

A radio DJ really got into the Christmas spirit when he barricaded himself inside a studio and played Wham!'s Last Christmas 24 times.

DJ Joe Kohlhofer, from the Austrian radio station Antennae Carinthia, began his morning show with the popular festive hit and then played it on repeat.

He refused to let other staff in after he told his helpless co-host Patricia Jordan he would be doing the show on his own.

The 27-year-old DJ started his regular 8am show by announcing he felt people were not getting sufficiently into the Christmas spirit, and that as a remedy he intended to play the song non-stop throughout his two-hour show.

More than 100 fed-up listeners rang the station begging him to stop playing the classic song sung by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, according to Austrian media reports.

The radio station's Facebook page was inundated with more than 500 protests.

"The message was clear: we had to stop the crazy host," an unnamed colleague told Kurier newspaper.

Kohlhofer eventually stopped played Last Christmas when his 4-year-old daughter was put on the line and asked him to stop.

"I wanted to play it all day, but because I love my daughter so much I gave in to her request," he said.

Even then, he played the song one final time after seeing he'd "only" managed 23 renditions.

He has been sharing photos of his stunt on Facebook, with his fans divided about his antics.

"Last Christmas, once is enough! Please now [some] other music please!!!!" commented one.

Another added: "Again Last Christmas... This is now almost a bit too much!"

One listener joked: "So I can't go to the toilet? I'm scared that I'll miss more Wham!"

The station claimed the stunt, which went on for almost two hours, was not planned in advance and later posted a photo with his mouth taped shut on Facebook.

"After playing Last Christmas 24 times in two hours, the Antennae team would once again express our sincere thanks to Joe Kohlhofer! We wish him a happy holiday... in the foyer," the station said in a Facebook post [translated].

It is unlikely he will face any disciplinary action for the stunt.

Bizarrely, this is not the first such stunt in the German-speaking world to involve Last Christmas.

Three years ago a DJ in Germany played the song 14 times in a row before his radio station solved the problem by taking him off air.

It is believed Kohlhofer now holds the somewhat undistinguished world record for the most times the song has been played in a row on radio.

But he may find there is a price to be paid for his newfound fame, after the station's deputy director found a punishment to fit the crime.

Impressed with Kohlhofer's Christmas spirit, he said the DJ would be now working on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

- Telegraph Group Ltd