Rick Astley: 'I had a record out in August and by March I was a millionaire' The first car I bought was a two-door sporty BMW for £25,000 - it's not like it was a Ferrari, which I could have bought outright. When I found out how much the insurance would have been on it, I said forget it. Besides, I was so busy working, I rarely had the time to flash my cash like entertainers do nowadays. Are you more cautious with your money now that you're older? I've always been pretty cautious and I think that's my Dad and uncles' influence on me. Maybe it's slightly fear-based. I have a healthy respect for money. If someone says to me "you've earned £100" I say "no I haven't," because I know a large portion of that has to be put aside for the taxman. I do have a thing for eating out; that's one of life's great middle-age pleasures. Is there anything you hate about dealing with money? One of the bizarre things about being successful so young is that it does inevitably give you a distorted sense of achievement. Most people have goals when they're starting out in their career of where they want to be, say, when they're 30, 40 or even 50. I had eight top 10 singles in a row. But, without sounding pompous, I'd fulfilled my financial goals in my early twenties and my success then continues to pay dividends, so to speak, because of royalties. However, it robbed me in a way, even though I appreciate that I've been unbelievably lucky. My success set me up for life and it meant that I could retire from the music industry at 27 to spend time with my newborn daughter and my wife. My time away from the spotlight allowed me to rediscover my love for music and I'm doing it for me now, and no one else. What's been your best business decision? Really it was taking a leap of faith with the man in red leather trousers who drove a Jag and said he was going to make me a star. At that point Stock Aitken Waterman hadn't hit the big time, but then within months they'd taken off and they were the biggest pop producers in the world. They were bigger than their roster of artists, really, and only a few, like Kylie, were able to transcend this. It was a bit like the Motown days. It wasn't always the smoothest ride with them, but I do appreciate that my success with them has provided me with a freedom many can only dream of. And any caveats? I've done the typical rock star thing of buying overpriced property and selling it at the wrong time, but who hasn't? More importantly, you have to make sure your team has your back covered and really has your interests at heart. You have to trust them 100pc or the relationship won't work. When your management starts to spread themselves too thin, the upshot is that you know they don't depend on you to be their bread and butter, but at the same time it's just a business deal, nothing more. I need to feel that from a manager down to your lawyer, you need to feel they care too. Plus, I find all that legal stuff mind-numbingly boring so I can't have someone screwing me over knowing that. I'm 46; I'm from an era where for most everyday things you paid in cash, like paying a cabbie or tipping in a restaurant so the person responsible for the good service gets the money. However, given how omnipresent card machines are, I don't know how some people get through the day without having a credit card as a backup. I went to Stockholm a month ago and I mentioned to someone in my group that I had to go change some money and he said not to bother, as they didn't really use cash there as much as we do in the UK. Do you like investing in stocks and shares? I do, but I tend to dip in and out of the market. Anyone who's a more seasoned investor than myself may think I'm a plonker for doing this, but I tend to invest in high street businesses, like Marks & Spencer. Yes, they've had wobbles but over a longer term they've consistently done well, but that's mostly due to the value of the real estate they own. Mulberry is another great British brand that's turned its fortunes around. I don't invest huge chunks so to me it's not really that different from gambling on horses, just that it's a more educated guess. I invest in brands that I'm familiar with, that are part of my world. Do you bank online? It's the only way to do stuff these days, I don't ever go into the bank at all now. What are your financial priorities for the next five years? Well, my daughter has just been accepted in to the Royal College of Art in Copenhagen and my Danish wife, who works in film, also has an office there, so I'm going to have to seriously consider relocating and following the girls' careers. It may seem funny, given I'm a millionaire, but I'm still a Northern boy at heart and I think I need to consider downsizing. My wife and I live in a big house - it's no mansion - but when it's going to just be the two of us I can't justify having all that space. I made the bulk of my fortune from the age of 21 to 24, which is a luxury in itself compared to most people. But I think my greatest achievement is knowing when to walk away and live my life the way I wanted, without squandering my fortune. I'm happy tinkering in my home studio, playing in my punk band and doing one-off concerts of my old hits. I can relive the glory days and satisfy my fans, without selling my soul to the devil. Rick Astley will be performing at 'Back to the Eighties' at the Tatton Park Picnic Concerts on July 29, tattonparkconcerts.com