Irvine Welsh is the writer best known for his 1993 novel Trainspotting, which has sold a million copies in the UK alone and was turned into a hit film starring Ewan McGregor, writes York Membery.
The 67-year-old Scotsman – whose books have been translated into 30 languages – and his wife Emma split their time between London, Miami Beach and Edinburgh.
What did your parents teach you about money?
I grew up in Muirhouse, a housing estate in Edinburgh. My mum Jean, who lived to 95, worked as a waitress. My dad Peter, who died at 50 following tuberculosis-related health complications, was a dockworker and a carpet salesman.
They never had much money so there wasn’t much to discuss. I left school at 16 and got a job as a £17-a-week TV repair man, but I was happy so long as I had enough for a good time. My outlook towards money hasn’t really changed – I’m not into investing money for the future. I’ll probably die in poverty, not that I mind.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Plenty of times in my early 20s when I was on the dole, living from giro to giro, then playing in a punk band. I was always getting red bills and final reminders because I couldn’t afford to pay the electricity and gas.
Have you ever been paid silly money, and if so what for?
Yes, following the success of Trainspotting (the book and the film), though I blew a lot on living large: extravagant holidays, expensive hotels and first class travel.
For a while, Trainspotting was a mini-industry: book sales boosted my profile and that, in turn, further boosted my book sales. Getting paid to do what I liked doing – write – was a dream come true.
Trainspotting is still being reprinted – every generation seems to want to read it. My total book sales? I’ve no idea, I just cash in the royalties.
What was the best year of your financial life?
The late 1990s. I got only a couple of thousand pounds as an advance for Trainspotting – the publishers didn’t think it was going to sell. But when the royalties rolled in I had money to burn, so could give it away to charity and to family and friends.
I still try to help out those in need, but I can’t now give away money in such a reckless fashion. I kind of miss having that excess cash to splash about.
The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
After I became a famous ‘face’ in the 1990s, Armani measured me up for a suit and then gave it to me.
Versace subsequently asked me to stop by their shop, where I saw a beautiful cashmere overcoat.
‘I’ll take this,’ I said, presuming it was going to be a gift. But then the salesman asked: ‘So how will you be paying, Mr Welsh?’
I hadn’t intended to buy anything, but the £3,000 coat was so beautiful that I just had to have it. It’s been a good buy though – I still wear it today. It hangs so well.
What has been your biggest money mistake?
I’ve never had a gambling problem, but when I do go to a race meeting, two or three times a year, it invariably turns out to be a mistake. But the most I end up losing is the odd £50.
I’ve also flown mates on holiday across the US and Australia. Some might question the wisdom of doing so, but I’ve never had any regrets.
Best money decision you have made?
Putting down the deposit on a one-bedroom flat in Hackney, in London’s East End, in the 1980s after getting a couple of thousand pounds compensation following a bus crash.
I sold the flat a year or two later for about three times what I’d paid for it, enabling me to buy a terraced house in south London.
I just happened to be in the right place at the right time when the housing market exploded.
Will you pass down your money or spend it all?
Part of me would like to spend everything I can, so there’s next to nothing left when I die.
But whenever I tell someone that, they look at me as if to say, ‘You b*stard!’ Ha ha!
However, I’m not a tightwad, so I’ll no doubt end up leaving money to those nearest and dearest to me.
Do you have a pension?
I don’t – royalties are my pension.
But I’ve no plans to retire anyway. I want to keep writing to the end, though even now I put my feet up from time to time.
Do you own any property?
I’ve got a flat in London, which is my main base, and a flat in Miami, where I spend three months in winter.
I also regularly pop up to Edinburgh because I’m a big Hibs [Hibernian FC] fan.
If you were Chancellor what would you do?
I’d put punitive tax rates on all the big tech and distribution firms like Amazon. If they objected, I’d nationalise their UK operations.
I’d also invest in education and infrastructure, and just rebuild the country because it’s falling to bits.
What is your number one financial priority?
To keep working on projects I’m passionate about. Some are likely to be financially rewarding, others less so.
But if I end up waiting on tables in Greece, so be it.
- Men in Love (Jonathan Cape, £20) by Irvine Welsh, and Men In Love (the CD) by Irvine Welsh and The Sci-Fi Soul Orchestra are out now. The documentary film, Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough, can be streamed on the usual channels
