T’Pau star: I’ve worked hard to make sure I’ll NEVER be homeless again

Carol Decker, of rock band T’Pau, has come a long way since growing up in Liverpool in a family of Irish heritage evicted from their home when they couldn’t pay the rent. T’Pau’s Eighties hits are still popular on the festival circuit in Ireland, where Carol won a national music award in 1988. By that time she was a millionaire thanks to a string of hits including China In Your Hand and Heart And Soul. But she lost a fortune when the band split up and her relationship with band member Ronnie Rogers ended before fighting back financially by touring extensively in Ireland and the UK.

What did your parents teach you about money?

Not to spend what I don’t have. I’m sensible with money. I enjoy spending it, but I would never get into debt for a luxury I couldn’t afford. My dad worked in the supermarket industry. My mother was a housewife and a homemaker. They were working-class Liverpudlians and when I was young I remember money being tight. We were evicted on to the street when I was four because my parents had fallen behind with the rent. We had to go and live with my grandmother who was a tyrannical mother-in-law – my mum was scared of her. She was a tough old bird was Nana Decker. Eventually, we moved into a council flat where I remember we could hear the neighbours arguing and fighting. My dad put himself through night school and got business credentials. He was a hard worker and he wanted to elevate our lives.

How did your childhood affect your attitude to money?

It made me cautious. My life changed when I was seven. My dad got a management job at a supermarket and so my parents could afford to buy a three-bedroom, semi-detached house. To my mum, it was like Buckingham Palace. She had grown up in Liverpool as one of seven, sleeping three in a bed and using a tin bath to wash and an outside loo. By the time I was 12, we were going abroad for holidays. We became better off as a family thanks to my father’s hard work. In my own life, I’ve always been protective about money so that I can be independent and look after myself. I never want to find myself in a vulnerable position like the one my family was in when we were evicted.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, like most musicians I was skint for ages before I got a record deal. From the age of 22, I was in and out of part-time jobs while trying to make it as a singer in a local band. I even signed on the dole while working behind the bar – which you weren’t supposed to do – just to make ends meet. When I met Ronnie Rogers, who was my partner for 13 years, we were so broke we couldn’t afford any heating in our flat – there was ice on the inside of the windows. My dad bought us a Calor Gas heater that we would wheel around according to the room we were in. We used to sit and watch a small black and white TV in sleeping bags. My mum told me later that she would visit us and cry on the way home. But we were young, in love and ambitious. When I was 26, we got a music deal and sold the copyright to a few of our songs. The £5,000 advance we got felt like a fortune.

Ever been paid silly money?

Yes, when our band T’Pau was enjoying success. TV shows would pay me £20,000 to perform a song – that happened a handful of times.

What was the best year of your financial life?

It was 1988. All our major hits were in 1987 and the money took a little while to come through the pipeline. That year, I bought a three-bedroom Victorian house in London and a huge 10-acre farm in Wales. I’d rather not say exactly how much I earned that year, but it was a seven figure sum, the equivalent of £3m today.

What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

It was a brand new Mazda MX-5 car for £17,000. I bought it when I passed my driving test at age 33. In the early 1990s, the MX-5 was a head-turning sports car. I loved posing in it. I’d always have the top down and put on my Ray-Bans. I would use any excuse – like ‘we need milk’ – to drive it.

Your biggest money mistake?

I lent a four-figure sum to some people I knew who never paid it back. What upset me the most was that I found out they were partying and spending tons on drugs. I lent them the money because they had a kid. When I found out what they were doing, I asked if they were ever going to pay me back. The response was, ‘No – you don’t need it. What’s a couple of grand to you?’ I didn’t feel the same way about them after that.