I never made big bucks in Bucks Fizz… and I was sued when I quit

JAY ASTON, 62, shot to fame as a singer alongside Dublin-born Mike Nolan with pop group Bucks Fizz which won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Their song, Making Your Mind Up, went straight to No.1 in Ireland and eight other countries, writes York Membery. The four-piece went on to have more hits and sold 50 million records worldwide. Jay left Bucks Fizz in 1985, but in 2009 got back with two ex-bandmates, including Mike, to form The Fizz, following a legal saga. In 2018, Jay was diagnosed with mouth cancer but has since made a full recovery.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My dad was a comic and my mum was a singer/dancer, and they had a double act. They played a lot of cabaret gigs and appeared on [TV]. Dad always had a property on the go, aside from our home, that he was either doing up or selling, so as to top up the family income. And like them, I’ve bought a number of houses over the years that were a wreck, done them up and sold them at a profit. I’ve also got an Airbnb.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Oh yes, especially after leaving Bucks Fizz when I faced litigation. At my lowest point, I was on housing benefit and living in a bedsit. The pandemic was also a tough time… The Fizz had to cancel a string of gigs and for 16 months we had no income, while my husband had to go back to teaching.

What was the best year of your financial life?

People think that we were coining it in during our heyday with Bucks Fizz in the Eighties – but that wasn’t the case. Our first year’s income was about £7,000 each despite having scored a couple of multi-million selling singles

(we had a terrible record deal), and we walked away with just £1,600 each after doing our first tour. Ironically, we’re making more as The Fizz.

What is your biggest money mistake?

Probably leaving Bucks Fizz. I shouldn’t have left but I was hospitalised for my back injuries and had pains after a coach crash in 1984, which left my bandmate Mike Nolan in a coma (Mike was given the last rites but survived). I probably made the decision to quit when I wasn’t fully recovered. I subsequently had a string of lawsuits taken out against me for supposedly breaking my contract and, despite winning every case that wasn’t settled out of court, I had to sell my West Kensington house to pay my £400,000 legal fees. That house is probably worth a few million pounds now, so I’d have had a very different life if I hadn’t left the band.

Best money decision you have made?

It’s a toss-up between my five property purchases and joining The Fizz.

Jay’s solo releases, I Spy and Alive & Well, are on all digital platforms.