Liz Mitchell was the original lead singer with Boney M, whose chart toppers include Rivers Of Babylon, Rasputin and Daddy Cool.
The band, founded 50 years ago, have sold more than 100 million records.
Mitchell, 73, was appointed MBE in the King’s last birthday honours for services to music and charity.
The mother-of-three lives in Caversham, Berkshire, with her husband and manager Thomas Pemberton.
What did your parents teach you about money?
I was one of six and brought up by my Jamaican farmer grandparents until I was 11.
My father, Norman, moved to England after I was born to work as a labourer on £6 a week and then an engineer, to be followed by my mother. Every couple of months he would send my grandparents a letter with money (sterling was legal tender in Jamaica then) to cover the cost of clothes and food for us kids, and my granny would give me a few pence to buy sweets. So I grew up with a sense of the value of money.
My life changed hugely when I joined my parents in London. Money was an issue for the Windrush generation, but my parents bought their own house for £2,000. They were also quite entrepreneurial, opening the first store in Harlesden selling Jamaican foods, and instilled in me a belief in hard work and the importance of both giving and receiving.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
We had to watch the pennies, and the only holidays we took when I was a child were one-day coach trips to the seaside.
At the start of my singing career I was in the German production of the musical Hair, replacing Donna Summer, but was constantly broke because, just like the rest of the cast, I was paid so little – around £10 a week.
Have you ever been paid silly money?
Yes, though not as often as I would have liked! Boney M certainly generated plenty of money in their heyday.
But every now and then I’ll do a show – as ‘the voice of Boney M’ with my backing band – that pays very well, most recently at a private party thrown by a wealthy London family. Sadly, Boney M never made anything like some of today’s stadium acts.
What was the best year of your financial life?
The best year for Boney M record sales-wise was 1978 when we had UK No 1 hits with Brown Girl In The Ring, Rivers Of Babylon and Mary’s Boy Child, while Rasputin got to No 2 – all of which topped the charts in Europe too.
We also played a string of sold-out concerts. However, the record producers and the music company made far more out of Boney M than the members of the group ever did.
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A pair of giant Samsung speakers for around £1,000 – a lot of money in the 1980s. I remember lying on my lounge floor listening to the amazing sound they produced. I’m not sure I could get back up if I did the same thing today!
What has been your biggest money mistake?
Buying fancy necklaces and bracelets, costing hundreds of pounds, back in the 1970s and 1980s. I loved jewellery as a young woman, but some of those impulse purchases didn’t turn out to be a great buy. I’m a savvier shopper these days, and think twice before buying things.
Best money decision you have made?
Having our three children privately educated in the 1980s.
I think that many state school-educated black children were unfairly written off as educationally backward in those days. The system was failing them and they just weren’t receiving the same teacher-pupil time as the other children, so it was definitely the right thing to do.
I’d like to think things are different in today’s state schools.
Will you pass your money down or spend it all?
I’ve been a born-again Christian since the 1970s so the riches of life for me are all about family, friends and community.
So I’ll naturally pass on money to my children and grandchildren. But I’ll also bequeath money to my Let It Be charitable foundation so it can continue its good work.
Whether there’ll be anything left to pass on when I eventually meet my maker is another thing…
Do you have a pension?
The word pension is taboo in the music business. The last thing a young musician wants to think about is retiring, and nobody tells you when you’re that age that you need to start saving for your latter years.
Thankfully, my manger husband Thomas has always looked after that side of things for me.
Do you own any property?
Yes, a comfortable detached family home in Caversham, Reading, which my husband and I bought more than 30 years ago for about £400,000 – which was big money at the time.
My childhood home in Harlesden, north-west London, now has a blue plaque outside.
If you were chancellor what would you do?
I would make it much easier for musicians to pay into a government-guaranteed pension plan – separate from the state pension – so as to ensure they have a good quality of life in retirement.
The music business makes billions of pounds in revenue for the UK and we should really be looking after the country’s musicians better in later life.
What is your number one financial priority?
As long as I still have my voice, to keep on performing (so watch this space!). I’ll only stop singing live if I reach the stage where I’m going to hurt people’s ears when I open my mouth.
- lizmitchell.com
