Eurovision legend DANA reveals her monetary highs and lows

Dana Scallon, 75, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 with All Kinds Of Everything, which became an international No 1, writes Peter Robertson.

Her subsequent string of hits included It’s Gonna Be A Cold, Cold Christmas, a new version of which she recently re-released. She was also a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 until 2004.

Born in London and raised in Londonderry, Dana now lives in Galway with her husband Damien – they have four children and eight grandchildren.

What did your parents teach you about money?

They taught me ‘help whoever you can with whatever you’ve got’, yet they did not have much and we lived in a council house.

My father Robert, a fine trumpeter, was a barber by trade and my manager during my early career. My mother Sheila was a working mum and very musical. They paid for me to have piano lessons and my great aunt Mary paid for me to learn ballet.

While at primary school, my brothers and I got a penny a day for a bus fare, but we’d walk and spend it on Walkers toffees.

What was your first pay packet?

A summer job when I was 14. I worked in a Bazooka bubble gum factory in Essex. I had to examine it coming through the machine to ensure all the wrappers were on correctly.

I sampled it frequently. I wasn’t allowed to take gum home, unless I was chewing it at the time. Whatever I earned, I gave to Mum.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

In September 1976 I lost my voice and had urgent surgery on my left vocal cord. Three weeks before, my father had a major heart attack.

I was the breadwinner and couldn’t speak, sing or do my mainstay work like concerts, summer seasons and pantomimes. To return to normal took almost five years. That was a fearsome time.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

In 1988 Damien and I were flown first class to Hawaii and then travelled first class on a cruise taking in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Acapulco and Miami.

My agent sorted it – I just had to perform two concerts on the three-week cruise, which they paid me for, too. However, I only ended up doing one because on the flight to Hawaii I caught flu.

What’s been the best year of your financial life?

During 1974-5 when I had my own BBC TV series, A Day With Dana, and several hit records.

It was also a great time going on TV shows hosted by comedians such as Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper, and Les Dawson.

My father once drove Les and me up the M1, and we nearly had a bad crash. When Les stepped out of our battered car, he said: ‘Oooh, that was close. We could have been late for the show!’

Are you a spender or saver?

A bit of both. At this age it’s not worth saving a whole lot.

I don’t spend much on myself, except for work outfits. I don’t relish going shopping – I tend to find whatever I’m looking for when I don’t need it.

But I like buying for the family, especially my grandchildren.

What’s the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

In 1973 I bought a beautiful stained-glass window in an antique shop in Estoril, Portugal, for about £800, which was a lot of money then. It was about 4ft high and in its own steel box. I thought, when I get a house in London, I’m going to put that in.

I did get a house in London, but the window never came out of its steel box. I eventually sold the house – I’ve no idea what happened to the window.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

In 1992 we bought a plot of land on the top of a mountain in Birmingham, Alabama, for about $60,000, because a good friend was sure it was going to be prime development land.

It sounded good at the time, and we even drove up the mountain as far as we could to see it.

But it was never developed, and the guy we purchased it from bought it back from us a few years later, thankfully not for a huge loss. It was a big mistake.

The best money decision you’ve made?

In 1983 we bought a three-bedroom top-floor flat in St John’s Wood [an affluent area in north London] for around £160,000.

We lived there until 1987 and then moved back to Northern Ireland. It would have been our best money decision to hold on to it, but we sold the flat in 1993, and not for much more as there was a slump in the market – we shouldn’t have, as it was such a good investment.

While in St John’s Wood we’d often pass Abbey Road studios. I never recorded there, but my brothers and I once copied The Beatles’ walk across the zebra crossing. When I recorded the George Harrison song Isn’t It A Pity, in 1971, he sent me a nice message to say he really liked my version.

Do you have a pension?

Yes. In the 1970s I had an excellent accountant, though I dreaded meeting him as he was a prophet of doom warning me to watch this and that.

He took out about five pensions for me, and through the years they’ve been really helpful.

Do you own any property?

Yes. When I was elected to the European Parliament, my MEP seat was Galway. In the early 2000s, for about €500,000 we bought our house near Galway, which has five bedrooms and an acre of land.

Our younger son Rob lives with us and has a studio in which he’s produced the new version of my Christmas hit from 50 years ago. We are happy here.

Wherever I am, especially in Ireland, people will come up and share their memories of watching me on Eurovision all that time ago.

If you were Chancellor, what would you do?

I would focus support to people dealing with physical and mental challenges, and young parents and the elderly.

As I used to be an MEP, some people who can’t get help or be heard still ask me, and I can sometimes make things happen as I have contact with people I worked with previously.

What is your No 1 financial priority?

For Damien and I to not be a financial burden on our children as we get older. To be able to be self-reliant.

We are not young any more, but you’ve got to think positively every day about being as healthy and happy as you can be.

We’ve been married 47 years… the key is: the wife is always right!

• Dana will present a show on Boom Radio on Christmas Eve.

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