Essex FM has cut James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' and 'Goodbye My Lover' from its playlists after listeners said they were fed up with hearing the tracks.
Citing "music industry pressure" for the station's previous decision to continue playing the tracks a year after Blunt's album was released, Essex FM's programme controller Chris Cotton told reporters: "We don't have anything against James Blunt and we're pleased he has been so successful, but we really need a break".
On that music industry pressure, Cotton continued: "Often this can be out of step with the audience's tastes, which results in songs being overplayed. We're happy to stand up to this pressure and follow the strong message listeners have given us. We encourage other radio stations to take the same step".
Personally, I find it hard to believe the music industry was really forcing Essex FM to play Blunt's tracks. Surely Warner Music would much rather have airtime dedicated to whatever new releases they are currently trying to flog - especially given that Blunt's mega-global sales are presumably worth a lot more than any PPL revenues. Then again, that Blunt's got army connections, so if such pressure was being exerted, I'm not sure I'd be doing too much resisting.