A QUESTION OF MONEY
I got a pension at 20... even us rock stars need to put away for retirement!
Getting a pension at 20 was a key financial decisions for Def Leppard singer JOE ELLIOTT. So too was building a studio in his Dublin home. Buying the house itself for just over €500k wasn’t a bad decision either – as both house and studio are now worth millions. But it took Joe 10 years to make serious money. Even though Def Leppard sold millions of records in the 1980s and 1990s, he earned more from touring the world last year. Now 59, he lives on the outskirts of Dublin with wife Kristine, 46, son Finlay, nine, and daughter Lyla, two.
What did your parents teach you about money?
That there was not much! I was born in a two-up, two-down terraced house with an outside toilet. We did not have an indoor bathroom until I was 10 and we got our first phone a year later. My father was an electrical engineer and mechanic and mother was a nurse. They never gave me cash. I had to earn it and that taught me the value of money.
What was your first paid work?
In a steel factory at age 15. I was taken on as an apprentice for £8 a week and ended up the chief buyer at 17. I would buy everything the factory needed, from soap in the bathroom to stationery and overalls. Then I got fired for playing cricket in the basement stores and smashing a window with a Bakelite knob. I was already part of Def Leppard by then and we were gigging at night. I negotiated £500 as a redundancy settlement and I used it to buy a PA system for the band. I then got a job the next day as a driver for an ironmonger. That came in handy, too, because I used the van to go gigging.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Of course. In 1978, we were all living with our parents, working during the day for £10 or £15 a week and gigging at night. We had to buy guitars on credit. Sometimes, at the end of a long day, we would buy one pint and sip from four straws so we could afford the bus fare home.
Have you ever been paid silly money?
No. Once the band became successful, there was a lot of money going through the system. It was never like winning the lottery though. We did not see a great deal of money until the autumn of 1983 when we got a cheque for the Pyromania album and tour. By then, even though we had sold six million records, we had a seven-year debt with the record label to clear. Of course, when we did get that cheque, it was the biggest I had ever seen. It was more than £20,000 (the equivalent of €75,000 today). But because of our debts, we did not see any real money until 1988 when Hysteria shifted 12 million copies.
What was your best financial year?
Possibly 1998, maybe 1992 when we released Adrenalize but actually I expect it will be last year. We did 50 shows in the United States and blasted through Japan, Australia and New Zealand – all sellouts.
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
I do not waste money on stupid stuff. I did spend $8,000 on a Les Paul guitar once because I had it covered in diamante.
What is your biggest money mistake?
Investing in a sports bar in Sheffield 20 years ago. It was a money pit and I lost £100,000.
Your best money decision?
Investing €600,000 in building my own recording studio. It has saved millions in costs over the years.
Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
I do not invest in the stock market – it is a roulette wheel I do not want to play. I would rather buy a house and rent it out. I do have a pension. When we signed our first record deal when I was 18, we had a lawyer who made sure we started a pension that same day. We had our feet up on the boardroom table, drinking whisky, smoking cigars and I remember saying: ‘What, a pension? Hang on, we are not even 20 years old!’
Do you own any property?
Yes. My home is a three-bedroom house with a granny flat annex and a two-car garage with three acres of land, hidden on the outskirts of Dublin. It has my studio. I paid £450,000 in 1988. I have never had it valued, but to me it is worth millions.
Def Leppard’s album The Story So Far – The Best Of, is out now.