September 27, 2024

Skylight Webzine

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One Direction warned: watch your money, by Status Quo


Status Quo say the boy band One Direction are likely to be taken advantage of if they do not keep a close eye on their money.

One Direction are the richest boy band in the world, with an estimated fortune of £25 million, thanks to a meteoric rise to fame after coming third in The X Factor in 2010, but they have been warned to keep a closer eye on their assets.

Status Quo, who have had more than 60 hits in the UK, say One Direction are likely to be taken advantage of if they are not careful. “It’s a good point to keep your eyes on the money with bands like One Direction,” Rick Parfitt, the group’s lead singer, tells Mandrake at a reception in Mayfair. ”As when you’re starting out and you’re a guitar player or a singer, what do you know about money?”

The 64-year-old rocker says the band, which is made up of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, need to ask who is looking after their interests and keep a close eye on their accountants if they are to not be cheated out of money like he says he was in the early stages of his career. “The questions they need to ask are ‘have you checked your lawyer? Have you checked your accountant? Do you know your accountant?’ I wish we had because if you don’t, you can get taken advantage of.”

Francis Rossi, the 64-year-old guitarist in the band says One Direction will not be well equipped to deal with their wealth due to their rapid rise to fame. “I think when you first come into this business as well, like we did, the money starts rolling in and you’ve gone from one side of life, to another and you’re too busy doing what you’re doing.”

Parfitt says that they were taken advantage of when they started out. “We didn’t get our due but its tricky, I think. Sting took a lot of stick for losing 6 or 7 million quid to an accountant but it’s difficult.”

Still, One Direction are unlikely to fritter away their income like Status Quo did. Rossi previously said he had spent the majority of his earnings on illegal drugs.

Source: The Telegraph