Mistletoe and whine

Playing Cliff Richard at closing time is the best way to get rid of customers, according to pub bosses around the country.

11:32 10 December 2004

Playing Cliff Richard at closing time is the best way to get rid of customers, according to pub bosses around the country.

Putting crooning Christmas classics such as Mistletoe and Wine on the jukebox is enough to send people fleeing for the safety of home, a new poll has found.

Landlords at the John Barras pub group examined the reaction of punters when they put various tunes on at drinking-up time and Cliff's 1988 number one record was the biggest floor clearer.

Aled Jones' rendition of Walking in the Air from traditional Yuletide movie The Snowman was also good at getting people to leave, while Silent Night and Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas successfully sent customers on their way.

"Christmas wouldn't be complete without Cliff but he certainly gets customers to drink up," a spokesman for John Barras said.