Ah wedding parties. I used to do mobile DJing for a spell and can empathise with people who have had experiences of booking DJs and asking them to do certain things, not do certain things and then getting the complete opposite on the night.
One bit of advice would be take care if you do want something in particular and think first before allowing the venue to book your DJ. Where possible, speak to the DJ beforehand. A lot of venues use agencies and in some cases they'll put a different bloke/lady in the venue every weekend so it's pot luck who you get and a big risk because venues and agencies don't always pass information like the first dance or special music requests down. I once did a last minute wedding party on an agency's behalf and couldn't get any information about the first dance or music requests from the venue or the agency. Fortunately I had the first dance but it's not a track I'd say every DJ would carry with them - U2's 'All I Want Is You.'
Sadly some of these songs that are mentioned are too frequently requested. When I used to DJ, I'd do my best to avoid playing 'Come on Eileen,' 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' UB40's 'Red Red Wine,' stuff from Grease, 'Love Shack' 'Mustang Sally,' etc. However you'd then get people moaning, "oh why can't you play Dexy's," or saying, 'you've got to play more ABBA,' blah blah blah.
I've heard some howlers at weddings including one couple having their first dance to "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge
The number of people who think Band of Gold or Every Breath You Take is appropriate too... Listen to the lyrics people!!!
I went to a wedding party as a 'plus one' last year and the couple had 'Grounds for Divorce' by Elbow as their first dance - I kid you not! I did a wedding where the couple wanted 'Don't Marry Her' by the Beautiful South too although it was intended to be a bit of a swipe at certain family members and friends who hadn't been invited. Bit of an odd one.
You make a great point about songs like 'Band of Gold' and 'Every Breath You Take.' Candi Staton's 'Young Hearts Run Free' is another - a song telling all the problems with marriage from a wife's perspective and urging young, unmarried hearts to carry on running free and not getting hung up. Still you'll be almost guaranteed to hear that one at a wedding party.
I used to think 'My Heart Will Go On,' was a bit of a bad start as a first dance myself as it's from the film about the sinking ship.
Generally, the DJ does know best. It sounds a bit arrogant but it's true and is proven by the amount of times I've been told "Play xxx, it will get everyone dancing" only to play it for him and his wife, who then sit down halfway through.
I'd love to know some of your more recent examples of requests like this. If I'm honest, whilst it doesn't sound good, I'd have to agree with you. Anyone who has done DJing for private parties will be able to tell many stories of being asked to play something that they urge, 'oh it'll get everyone dancing,' which is then played and rather than being a floor filler becomes a lead balloon! Whilst I usually just played such songs for a quiet life (though sometimes even this backfired), there are some songs that are just not that effective for the occasion.
I used to like gigs where people wanted something a little different because whilst I was guilty of playing typical stuff, I also used to go out of my way to play something different and it worked for me.
The worst crowds are when there's a large age range. Whatever you play isn't right. Play Black Eyed Peas and the older crowd want some Abba, play anything older and the young 'uns want chart stuff. You can't win!...
That's your average wedding party crowd though some can be more diverse than others. I had a few where it felt I couldn't go without playing one modern song for every oldie and they were nightmares.
Ultimately the reason a lot of DJs go for 'middle of the road' stuff at weddings is because of the wide age range and a lot of the songs mentioned on this forum appeal to people of all ages: you'll get 16, 17, 18 year olds dancing to ABBA as well as people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
You must finish with 'New York, New York'. That is rule number 1.
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I broke that rule so many times . I definitely did finish with it but only on request. I personally went out of my way to play different songs at the end of the night every time and it depended on what had worked well during the night. If I wanted a 'sing along' track to end with I used to get a good response with stuff like 'Sweet Caroline,' or 'The Wonder of You,'/ 'Suspicious Minds.' 'Mack the Knife' was another good one.
The other one that seems to be popular for ending the night is Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes's '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.'
A few 'compulsories' guaranteed to get me off the floor and back to my seat:
Grease Megamix - I have never and will never 'do' this in my life. Always guaranteed to break the stride of a good bop.
Thank ABBA For The Music - play the originals or don't bother :mad:
Daydream Believer
Mustang Sally
Hi Ho Silver Lining
Brown-Eyed Girl - the perenniality of this is especially WTF to me, as it was never even a chart hit in the UK.
...
The Grease and 'Thank ABBA for the Music' megamixes are awful. Any DJ with a desire to have a good reputation should have the originals and the Grease soundtrack but that's my opinion. I'd only ever play one Grease song and only if requested.
Good point about 'Brown Eyed Girl,' and I for one used to mention that bit of trivia. On a similar note Bryan Adams's 'Summer of '69' wasn't even a Top 40 hit.
Third post in this thread from me and I haven't mentioned many 'compulsory songs' so I'll rectify that now:
Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything
Barry White - You're The First, My Last, My Everything
Tina Turner - The Best
Billy Joel - Uptown Girl
The Supremes/ Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love
Diana Ross - Chain Reaction
Billy Ocean - Love Really Hurts Without You/ When The Going Gets Tough
Phil Collins - A Groovy Kind Of Love
The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup
Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman
Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine
In my day (:p), along with 'Tragedy' by Steps, other musts included:
Tom Jones - Sex Bomb
Kylie - Spinning Around/ Can't Get You Out of My Head
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5
Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder on the Dancefloor
LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live
Robbie Williams - Angels
Spealing of Tragedy... if I ever got married, I would leave a standing instruction that if Tragedy was played out - it had to be the Bee Gees version...
I'd love to know some of your more recent examples of requests like this. If I'm honest, whilst it doesn't sound good, I'd have to agree with you. Anyone who has done DJing for private parties will be able to tell many stories of being asked to play something that they urge, 'oh it'll get everyone dancing,' which is then played and rather than being a floor filler becomes a lead balloon! Whilst I usually just played such songs for a quiet life (though sometimes even this backfired), there are some songs that are just not that effective for the occasion.
I used to like gigs where people wanted something a little different because whilst I was guilty of playing typical stuff, I also used to go out of my way to play something different and it worked for me.
That's your average wedding party crowd though some can be more diverse than others. I had a few where it felt I couldn't go without playing one modern song for every oldie and they were nightmares.
Ultimately the reason a lot of DJs go for 'middle of the road' stuff at weddings is because of the wide age range and a lot of the songs mentioned on this forum appeal to people of all ages: you'll get 16, 17, 18 year olds dancing to ABBA as well as people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
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I broke that rule so many times . I definitely did finish with it but only on request. I personally went out of my way to play different songs at the end of the night every time and it depended on what had worked well during the night. If I wanted a 'sing along' track to end with I used to get a good response with stuff like 'Sweet Caroline,' or 'The Wonder of You,'/ 'Suspicious Minds.' 'Mack the Knife' was another good one.
The other one that seems to be popular for ending the night is Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes's '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.'
Hmm - Mack the Knife... a nice jaunty little ditty about a contract killer... at a WEDDING?
Hmm - Mack the Knife... a nice jaunty little ditty about a contract killer... at a WEDDING?
An old post of mine (I'd forgotten about the thread until your post) but yes, 'Mack the Knife' was/is played at wedding parties. Maybe not at all of them but I can guarantee it's played at some of them. It's one of those numbers that has cross-generational appeal.
On the subject of songs that are perhaps more questionable when played at weddings due to their lyrical content, how about Candi Staton's 'Young Hearts Run Free?'
I've also heard (and in the past was asked to play) Billy Paul's 'Me and Mrs. Jones' at weddings. It's a classic song but it's about an extramarital affair. Great when you sit down and think about it!
In my opinion people don't really give much thought to whether lyrics of a song are suitable to the occasion. If they like the song, they like the song and want it played. The majority of the time they're too drunk to care about those things anyway.
Los Del Rio - Macarena
Whigfield - Saturday Night
Dj Casper - Cha Cha Slide
Las Ketchup - The Ketchup Song
Cheeky Girls - Cheeky Song
DJ Otzi - Hey Baby
Black Lace - Agadoo/Music Man
Comments
Naturally...
One bit of advice would be take care if you do want something in particular and think first before allowing the venue to book your DJ. Where possible, speak to the DJ beforehand. A lot of venues use agencies and in some cases they'll put a different bloke/lady in the venue every weekend so it's pot luck who you get and a big risk because venues and agencies don't always pass information like the first dance or special music requests down. I once did a last minute wedding party on an agency's behalf and couldn't get any information about the first dance or music requests from the venue or the agency. Fortunately I had the first dance but it's not a track I'd say every DJ would carry with them - U2's 'All I Want Is You.'
Sadly some of these songs that are mentioned are too frequently requested. When I used to DJ, I'd do my best to avoid playing 'Come on Eileen,' 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' UB40's 'Red Red Wine,' stuff from Grease, 'Love Shack' 'Mustang Sally,' etc. However you'd then get people moaning, "oh why can't you play Dexy's," or saying, 'you've got to play more ABBA,' blah blah blah.
I went to a wedding party as a 'plus one' last year and the couple had 'Grounds for Divorce' by Elbow as their first dance - I kid you not! I did a wedding where the couple wanted 'Don't Marry Her' by the Beautiful South too although it was intended to be a bit of a swipe at certain family members and friends who hadn't been invited. Bit of an odd one.
You make a great point about songs like 'Band of Gold' and 'Every Breath You Take.' Candi Staton's 'Young Hearts Run Free' is another - a song telling all the problems with marriage from a wife's perspective and urging young, unmarried hearts to carry on running free and not getting hung up. Still you'll be almost guaranteed to hear that one at a wedding party.
I used to think 'My Heart Will Go On,' was a bit of a bad start as a first dance myself as it's from the film about the sinking ship.
I'd love to know some of your more recent examples of requests like this. If I'm honest, whilst it doesn't sound good, I'd have to agree with you. Anyone who has done DJing for private parties will be able to tell many stories of being asked to play something that they urge, 'oh it'll get everyone dancing,' which is then played and rather than being a floor filler becomes a lead balloon! Whilst I usually just played such songs for a quiet life (though sometimes even this backfired), there are some songs that are just not that effective for the occasion.
I used to like gigs where people wanted something a little different because whilst I was guilty of playing typical stuff, I also used to go out of my way to play something different and it worked for me.
That's your average wedding party crowd though some can be more diverse than others. I had a few where it felt I couldn't go without playing one modern song for every oldie and they were nightmares.
Ultimately the reason a lot of DJs go for 'middle of the road' stuff at weddings is because of the wide age range and a lot of the songs mentioned on this forum appeal to people of all ages: you'll get 16, 17, 18 year olds dancing to ABBA as well as people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond.
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I broke that rule so many times
The other one that seems to be popular for ending the night is Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes's '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.'
The Grease and 'Thank ABBA for the Music' megamixes are awful. Any DJ with a desire to have a good reputation should have the originals and the Grease soundtrack but that's my opinion. I'd only ever play one Grease song and only if requested.
Good point about 'Brown Eyed Girl,' and I for one used to mention that bit of trivia. On a similar note Bryan Adams's 'Summer of '69' wasn't even a Top 40 hit.
Third post in this thread from me and I haven't mentioned many 'compulsory songs' so I'll rectify that now:
Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything
Barry White - You're The First, My Last, My Everything
Tina Turner - The Best
Billy Joel - Uptown Girl
The Supremes/ Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love
Diana Ross - Chain Reaction
Billy Ocean - Love Really Hurts Without You/ When The Going Gets Tough
Phil Collins - A Groovy Kind Of Love
The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup
Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman
Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine
In my day (:p), along with 'Tragedy' by Steps, other musts included:
Tom Jones - Sex Bomb
Kylie - Spinning Around/ Can't Get You Out of My Head
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5
Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder on the Dancefloor
LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live
Robbie Williams - Angels
I HATED the Steps cover...
I don't think there is a song I hate more than this one.
An old post of mine (I'd forgotten about the thread until your post) but yes, 'Mack the Knife' was/is played at wedding parties. Maybe not at all of them but I can guarantee it's played at some of them. It's one of those numbers that has cross-generational appeal.
On the subject of songs that are perhaps more questionable when played at weddings due to their lyrical content, how about Candi Staton's 'Young Hearts Run Free?'
I've also heard (and in the past was asked to play) Billy Paul's 'Me and Mrs. Jones' at weddings. It's a classic song but it's about an extramarital affair. Great when you sit down and think about it!
In my opinion people don't really give much thought to whether lyrics of a song are suitable to the occasion. If they like the song, they like the song and want it played. The majority of the time they're too drunk to care about those things anyway.
Oh no...
I do like that song though.
Rock DJ - Robbie Williams
Relight My Fire - Take That
DISCO - Ottawan
Brown Girl In The Ring - Boney M
Good god, who's Wedding was that !!
That was my first dance