Dana Gillespie is an actress and singer-songwriter also known for her decade-long personal and professional relationship with the young David Bowie, who wrote the song Andy Warhol for her.
The 75-year-old, a descendant of the Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry — “who was on the back of the £5 note before Winston Churchill” — has recorded more than 70 albums and sang backing vocals on It Ain’t Easy on Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972).
“I met David when we were both teenagers exploring the music business. He was very kind and helpful to me, and we remained friends, though we rather lost touch when he moved to America,” Gillespie said. “A photographer friend and I were the first people to hear Space Oddity after he’d recorded it, though neither of us realised what an iconic song it would become.”
Her latest album, First Love, featuring mainly cover versions, was co-produced by the former Soft Cell star Marc Almond, who also duets with her on the album.
Gillespie, who was the British junior water-skiing champion for four years in her teens in the 1960s, lives in South Kensington, London.
How much money do you have in your wallet?
About 100 euros because I’m in Vienna. I prefer to use cash for everything because I’m so old school. I prefer to be paid in cash too.
What credit cards do you use?
I’ve never liked bank cards of any sort and only use them when absolutely necessary. I think the increasingly plastic world we live in is another example of ageism. The other day I went to a South Kensington cafeteria to buy a coffee and croissant but, on learning that they wouldn’t accept cash, I told them, “I will not be darkening this door ever again!” and sashayed out.
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Are you a saver or a spender?
I’m probably more of a saver. What do I need to spend money on at my age? I’ve got everything I need. And besides, I was brought up not to be frivolous with money, and would never buy something that I couldn’t afford. How could I go to sleep at night otherwise? I don’t spend a fortune on fancy meals because I’m a boring vegetarian. I used to make David [Bowie] brown rice and vegetables in the Sixties when we were both broke musicians.
Do you own a property?
Yes, I live in the tiny one-bedroom South Kensington house where I grew up and have lived all my life. It’s a period property but that suits me because I hate anything modern — I like old cars, old clothes, old people, old music and old houses. I’ve always been happy living in my smallish house and would like to die there too. I want to be carried out in a coffin, if they can lift the thing up. If I didn’t live there already, I don’t think I could afford to move there now, because I know how expensive South Ken has become — although it wasn’t a particularly smart area when I was a kid in the 1950s.
Are you better off than your parents?
My father, Hans, was a successful radiologist and my mother, Anne, was the happy mother of me and my sister. My mother was very English and one of her ancestors was Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a leading light in the anti-slavery movement alongside William Wilberforce, in the early 19th century. My father was descended from Austrian nobility, but that side of the family is a bit hazy. Yes, we were comfortable but money was never discussed — I just coasted along.
How much did you earn last year?
Good question. I have very little interest in money — I’d much rather talk about chocolate and teddy bears.
What was your first job?
Delivering newspapers while still at school for 12 shillings and sixpence a week, and I’d work part-time at a record store in the evenings after school. I started doing gigs as a folk singer when I was 15 and was paid £25 a week when I appeared in a series of summer concerts in Great Yarmouth with Tom Jones, the Hollies and the Who in 1964 — good money in those days.
When did you first feel wealthy?
I’ve never felt wealthy but I’ve always felt happy. Even when I was in Jesus Christ Superstar or swanning around in New York with Bowie, I never felt wealthy because I never thought about it. My parents always said it was vulgar to talk of money.
Have you ever worried about how you were going to make ends meet?
Not really, but I’m not shy and if I’d ever got to that point I would have gone out and worked as a waitress. That would have been preferable to sitting around at home and doing nothing. You’ve got to go out and make things happen.
What has been your most lucrative work?
Writing my songs. I get song royalties from my music publisher, BMG, but I have very little interest in that kind of thing, so long as I’ve got enough to eat and somewhere to lay my head. Do I ever get paid vast amounts of money to perform private gigs in Dubai like Rihanna? Sadly not.
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Do you invest in shares?
No, the only risk-taking I’m prepared to do is cross the road.
What’s best for retirement — property or pension?
A combination of both. My father used to say that it was best to live off the interest of your interest, but I’ve never been able to do that. Yes, I get the state pension, but it’s a piddling amount and probably just about covers the coffees I buy. Musicians don’t retire so long as their instruments work, though, and thankfully my voice still works fine. When it does eventually go, I’ll get a cat and sit at home.
What has been your best business decision?
I haven’t really made any business decisions — things have just happened and I’ve gone along with them. Although you could say that making my new album with Marc Almond and his co-producer was perhaps my best business decision.
And your best investment?
Having two acoustic guitars — a six-string and a 12-string, with my name hand-carved into them — handmade in the Sixties by John Bailey, the top guitar-maker of the day. They cost about £500 each, a lot of money back then, but they will be with me until I die.
What about your worst investment?
Some people might think it’s the money I’ve spent in the studio creating my own albums, some of which have sold well and some of which haven’t — but it’s not a bad investment to me because I love making music.
What’s your money weakness?
Collecting black Steiff teddy bears, which are quite hard to find — I’ve got 18. I snapped up one for £120 after seeing it in a second-hand shop in Norwich a few years ago. What I really want is one of the original 1912 black “mourning” bears, with red-rimmed eyes to show they’d been crying, which Steiff made for people who’d lost family or children on the Titanic. I believe one turned up in Australia some years ago and went for a six-figure sum.
I used to love buying suede boots too — I remember Angie Bowie, in the days when she was married to David, buying me ten pairs, in lots of different colours. But I only wear flat shoes these days.
What’s your most extravagant purchase?
I’ve been known to pop into Fortnum & Mason from time to time and buy myself some violet cream chocolates — a packet of 12 costs £24, I believe — which the Queen Mother used to be rather fond of. They’re my guilty pleasure, but while they’re worth it on the lips, I’m not sure they’re worth it on the hips.
What’s your financial priority in the years ahead?
To keep on living where I am for as long as I can. I’m close to my doctor and dentist and I can hobble around the corner to the shops.
What would you do if you won the lottery jackpot?
I’d buy some of my friends’ houses for them, and book into a spa and have myself massaged to a pulp.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt about money?
Not to judge someone by what they’re worth — I’ve met a lot of wealthy people who’ve been very boring.
Dana Gillespie’s new album, First Love, is out on Fretsore Records. dana-gillespie.com