The radio DJ and pop presenter “Diddy” David Hamilton, 86, did national service with the RAF then began a broadcasting career that has spanned six decades. He had shows on Radio 1, Radio 2 and Capital Gold, and ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and the BBC, including Top of the Pops and the Eurovision Song Contest previews. He has two children from his first marriage and his second wife, Dreena, has three children. The couple live in Sussex.
Being of a certain generation, I like cash and I don’t like the idea that they’re phasing it out. I carry cash to tip taxi drivers and waiters in restaurants, and I think it’s important that the workers get the money and not the establishment. It annoys me that so many banks are closing. When I moved to Sussex, there were three in my local village but they have all closed, so I now have to drive seven miles to my nearest bank. Recently I transferred to a bank that is keeping branches open so you can go there and talk to a real person. I think the banks should be providing a service, not just making money for their shareholders. I think that we should try to keep cash alive. I used to be paid in cash for working at clubs and I can remember driving home at about three o’clock in the morning, very tired, and fanning the notes up on the passenger seat to remind me of why I’d done it and to keep me awake on the long drive home.
What credit cards do you use?
I do use credit cards, and every month I pay them off. The problem with credit cards is you don’t feel as though you’re spending money and that’s why you can go through it so much quicker. I’m not comfortable with having debt. I’m from a generation that believed that if you didn’t have the money, you couldn’t spend it. We went without stuff so it’s not a problem for me to go without things now. If I can’t afford something, I won’t get it.
Are you a saver or a spender?
I’ve never been a big spender. I believe in the simple adage that you can’t spend more than you earn. If you do, it’s a mug’s game. What you have to do is to say, “I’m earning this much, so I can only spend that much” — and that’s not happening today. I’ve always been aware of saving money because I work in a precarious business where you can go out of fashion and find that nobody wants you any more. It’s a bit like being a car: everyone wants a shiny new car but in time you become an old banger. With any luck, eventually you might become a vintage car. I don’t buy many clothes now because there’s not much point. They might outlive me.
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How much did you earn last year?
I don’t earn much these days, just a bit of pocket money to keep me going. Luckily I have my private pensions, which I paid into for many years. I also own a flat in Manchester, which I rent out. Recently I published my autobiography David Hamilton’s Long and Winding Road, and that has sold well so that’s bringing in a bit more money, which is very handy.
The peak of my career was in the mid-Seventies, when I was on Radio 1 and Radio 2 at the same time and doing TV shows such as Top of the Pops, but I never earned all that much. The BBC was very careful with its money in those days. When I hosted Top of the Pops, which was watched by 15 million people, I was paid £75, then straight after I went to do a disco in the Old Kent Road in front of about 200 people where I was paid £300. Even further back, I introduced the Beatles in concert in 1963 and my fee was ten guineas. The following year I introduced the Rolling Stones at the Palace Theatre in Manchester and my fee went up to 12 guineas. The money was a pittance, but these were the biggest bands in the world so I was happy to do it for the craic and just to work with those great names. Working with Ken Dodd also proved to be quite fruitful; he’s the one who coined my nickname Diddy, because I’m only 5ft 6in tall. I was happy to embrace the name, and it stuck and I’ve made the most of it. It’s an affectionate nickname and people know me for it.
Hamilton was a match day MC at Fulham football club
ALAMY
The best year I had financially was in 2000 when I worked for Saga Radio, and one of the most lucrative regular gigs I had was as the match day MC at Fulham football club for Mohamed Al Fayed, before anyone knew what he’d been up to. I’d do the half-time entertainment and announce the scorers from the dugout. I kept telling Al Fayed I was going to retire but he kept offering me more money, so in the end he was paying me a grand a game and I also had the privilege of listening to his industrial language. I used to introduce him to the crowd before the match, and he would come out with his black and white scarf, waving to the crowd. He would always come over to me for a chat, and I would say to him, “We’ve got to win today, boss.” And he would say to me, “If we don’t win today…” and he’d tell me what he would do to the team, and I had to hold the microphone behind my back so that these words were not broadcast to the whole crowd.
Have you ever been really hard up?
I went through a divorce in the Seventies which cleaned me out, and I said goodbye to everything I had earned over 20 years. I gave my wife the house and I paid my children’s school fees. There’s no better way of saying goodbye to money than divorce. I went from a detached house to a small flat and it took me a long time to get back on my feet. I didn’t get to the point where I had to turn the heating off or miss meals, I just worked harder. I did more gigs, more travel and eventually got myself back, but it took a long time.
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Do you own a property?
I live in a 500-year-old farmhouse in Sussex — it’s on the farm where I was evacuated during the war, which was run by my grandfather. Moving out of London is the best thing I’ve ever done. It wouldn’t have suited me here when I was younger, but I love the countryside and I love the peace and quiet. I do my radio show from home every day, so all I have to do is walk upstairs, no travel required. I have the rental property in Manchester, and I did have a holiday home in Turkey which I used to rent out during the summer, but then somebody made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I sold it.
Are you better off than your parents?
Without doubt. My father, who died at 58, was a journalist and he died penniless. I paid for his funeral. After my parents divorced, my mother got a job as a manageress with Richard Shops. She lived quite frugally and when she died at 57, she left me £5,000, which is the only money that I’ve ever been given in my life, so I respected it. She worked hard for it and I made sure that it wasn’t wasted.
Do you invest in shares?
I have invested in shares in the past. I got a very good tip some years ago about Border Television, which was eventually sold, and I did very well with that. But I haven’t invested in recent times.
The DJ does his Boom Radio show from the Sussex home he shares with his wife, Dreena
ARTHUR EDWARDS / THE SUN
What’s better for retirement — property or pension?
I keep working because I love my work. I think you only retire from a job that you find boring. But property has always been the best investment, although it’s important to have a private pension as well, because the state pension is so measly.
What’s been your best investment?
I bought a house in Barnes in southwest London for £200,000 in about 1981, lived there for 25 years and eventually sold it for £2 million, which in anyone’s eyes is a pretty good investment.
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And the worst?
This is a mistake I avoided rather than made, but somebody once wanted me to invest in a 24-hour takeaway video business in Fulham. My bank manager advised me against and thank goodness he did, because the business went bust soon after. It’s always best to stick to what you know.
What’s the most extravagant thing you’ve bought?
Hamilton with his Diddy number plate in 1991 and 2000
NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD / COLIN DAVEY/GETTY IMAGES
I once spent £5,000 on a “D1DDY” personalised number plate for a Mini Cooper I had, but it’s not on a car at the moment. I would sell it, but it’s not a good time because I keep reading about that Diddy guy in America who is up in front of the beak — he has sullied my name. I’ve always indulged in cars. I’ve had Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Mercs, BMWs and now a Range Rover, which is perfect for the country. In the Seventies I used to live in a pokey flat in Fulham with a Rolls outside, so it was very much fur coat but no knickers. I gave up on it eventually because it was vandalised so much. I had five Spirit of Ecstasy emblems nicked and someone once even sprayed a swastika on it. People were very jealous.
What’s your money weakness?
I’ve got nine grandchildren so you can imagine how much I look forward to Christmas.
What is your financial priority?
I’ve always worried about money because of the precariousness of my work. More than 20 radio and television stations I’ve worked for have closed down. I hope I’m not a jinx. I’m financially secure now, so my main priority is maintaining my health.
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What would you do if you won the lottery?
I’ve won the lottery in life to have a nice home, a lovely wife, children and grandchildren, a wonderful job and I’m still working at my age. So I’ve already won the lottery and I didn’t have to buy a ticket.
Do you support any charities?
I love dogs so I donate to the Dogs Trust and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt about money?
When it’s gone, it’s gone and you’ll never get it back. And don’t lend money to friends because you’ll lose the money and the friends.
David Hamilton hosts the weekday lunchtime show on boomradiouk.com