Sunday Times - Money

Vocal coach jingled all the way to the bank
Fame Academy tutor David Grant made £50,000 for just 40 minutes’ work on a PC World ad, he tells Jessica Bown

VOCAL coach David Grant is best known as one of the team that turns struggling Fame Academy contestants into singing sensations.
His other television credits include Pop Idol and The Sound of Musicals, and he is a regular guest on shows such as Five’s The Wright Stuff. However, his next TV appearance will be as a contestant on Celebrity Masterchef, which he hopes will not put too much of a dent in his dinner-party credentials.

Grant initially trained as a journalist before taking a job as a press officer for a record company and going on to have a string of hit singles in the 1980s.

Married to fellow Fame Academy voice coach Carrie Grant, 40, he was born in Jamaica and raised in Hackney, east London. The couple now live in north London with their children Olivia, 11, Talia, 4, and five-month-old Imogen.

How much money do you have in your wallet?

Right now I have about £20 to £30 there. I like to have a bit of cash on me when possible — just in case. I also find that I spend less when I have cash.

Do you have any credit cards?

I don’t have any credit cards, I am very much a debit-card person. There was a prolonged period in the 1990s when I owed on credit cards and I promised myself when I got out of that situation that I would never allow it to happen again.

Are you a saver or a spender?

I’m probably a bit of both.I love the idea of saving and I was fantastic at it as a child. But since becoming an adult, I’ve always found it easy to spend more than I have, however much I’ve earned. Fortunately, Carrie is very disciplined and her attitude to money has completely changed my outlook.

How much did you earn last year?

It’s impossible to tell because everything Carrie and I earn is merged together in the company we set up together, but I would say my individual earnings are a six-figure sum. Last year was a bit quieter financially speaking for us because Carrie was pregnant with Imogen and we also both took a couple of months off to go to Cardiff, where Olivia was acting in her first television series.

Have you ever been really hard up?

I have been incredibly hard up. When the hits dried up in the 1990s, I didn’t have a record deal or a publishing deal. I was also unlucky — a play I was supposed to be in was cancelled at the last minute. Session singing saved me at the time, although there were times when I had to hunt down the back of the sofa because I couldn’t afford the train fare to get to the job. Knowing what it’s like to go without is why Carrie and I are so grateful to be where we are today, and I think going through that brought us closer together as a couple.

What is the most lucrative work you have ever done? Did you use the fee for something special?

Carrie and I once got a call asking us to sing on a commercial for PC World. It only took about 40 minutes and we were paid £13,000 for it to be used on television for one year. The great thing was that the company decided to keep using the same music for about four years, so all in all we made about £50,000 for 40 minutes’ work. The money just went on general living costs, but it was fantastic to keep receiving the cheques.

Do you own a property?

Yes, we own our family home and an investment property, both in north London. The house we rent out used to be our home, but we decided not to sell it when we bought our current house. We’re lucky because it’s rented to a friend who looks after it very well.

Do you invest in shares? Do you use Peps and Isas?

I have a Pep that I’ve had for some time, but I haven’t invested any more money in the stock market since then. I prefer to invest in property.

Do you have a pension or other retirement plan?

I have a personal pension that I started during one of my saving sprees. I contribute to it regularly, but I haven’t increased my payments over the years and I don’t expect the income from it to meet my retirement needs. I just see it as an add-on to my other investments.

Do you believe pensions are a good thing?

I think that pensions are great for people on fixed incomes whose employers pay into their schemes. It’s harder for people in the entertainment business, though, because there can be slow months even when you’re very successful and that can make regular contributions difficult.

What has been your worst investment?

That would definitely be the Lotus Eclat I bought for about £17,000 in 1985. I love cars, but that one just kept breaking down, even though I spent a shedload more money on it. I owned it for only five months or so, and I would say that I spent more time driving courtesy cars than the car itself. It probably cost me another £4,000 to £5,000 in repairs and I was only able to sell it for about £9,000 in the end.

And your best?

After Carrie and I got married in 1988, we moved into our first flat together. Interest rates were at about 15% at the time and we had problems with negative equity when house prices crashed. We rode that out, though, and in the end it proved to be a good investment because it allowed us to buy our second home — which is the one we now rent out. We bought that in 1997 and I know it’s worth about three times as much now.

Do you manage your own financial affairs?

We have an accountant and a financial adviser, but we manage our day-to-day finances ourselves and also make all the final decisions.

What aspect of our taxation system would you change?

I would probably try to raise the level at which people start to pay tax. There are a lot of very poor people who would like to work, even though they would be little better off with a job. I don’t think the system encourages that approach enough.

What is your financial priority?

My main priority is to provide for my family and to hopefully have a little bit left over to help other people, be that by giving to charity or helping out friends and family.

Do you have a money weakness?

My main weakness is just that I love nice things. I constantly have to ask myself whether I need something before buying it, and the answer is invariably no. The fact that I have a joint account and no credit cards helps me to be more disciplined, but left to my own devices I would spend on everything from eating out to clothes.

What is the most extravagant thing you have ever bought?

The most extravagant thing I have ever bought, relative to the amount of money I had at the time, was when I put in the winning bid at a charity auction in the 1990s. I had credit-card debts at the time and I really wasn’t in a position to be spending anything, but I thought that I’d spice up the bidding by pledging more than £1,000 for a particular item. Unfortunately, nobody else put in a higher bid. I can’t remember what I bought — probably because I’ve closed it out of my mind — but it was for a sickle-cell charity, so at least it was a good cause.

Do you play the lottery? What would you do if you won?

I have played, but not for a long time. If I did win big, I would pay off all our debts, make sure that those close to us were looked after and then set up a couple of trusts. The first would be for my daughters and the second would be invested to provide an income that could then go towards charitable causes. You can feed and educate a child in Africa for £40 a year, so it could make a big difference if I were able to do that.

What is the most important lesson you have learnt about money?

Money is a great servant and a lousy master. I have also learnt that the only people who say it doesn’t matter are those who have enough of it anyway. I just hope that I’m in a position to say that one day