MULTI-MILLIONAIRE Susan Boyle has revealed she’s still scared to splash the cash.
The Scots singing sensation hits the half-century mark today.
But in typical SuBo style, the canny spinster will NOT go off on a spending spree or host an extravagant showbiz party.
Instead Susan, estimated to be worth a staggering £18MILLION, will be surrounded by close friends and family in an intimate bash at a country mansion near her home in Blackburn, West Lothian.
And she insists she’ll also be buying her party frock from one of her favourite value-for-money High Street stores.
In an exclusive interview with The Scottish Sun last night, Susan said: “The party is not going to be extravagant.
“It’s a small party for friends and family to celebrate my birthday and also my way of spoiling them and saying thank you for all the support and help they’ve given me over the years.
Singing star ... SuBo on stage
“I want to treat them to a wonderful evening and my 50th is as good an excuse as any.”
It is rumoured some of SuBo’s closest showbiz mates will be on the guest list though.
They include Piers Morgan, Simon Cowell and Scots actress Elaine C Smith. And there’s talk of a surprise appearance by funnyman Peter Kay, who performed the Comic Relief duet I Know Him So Well with SuBo.
But coy Susan — the youngest of nine — would only say: “There may well be a few well-known faces coming but my lips are sealed.
“I’ve got to keep some surprises for my guests on the night.
“But it’s a party for my close friends and family more than a star-studded occasion. I really want them to enjoy themselves.
“This party is as much about them as it is about my 50th. I want a small and as intimate a party as possible to celebrate.”
Susan has always liked to keep it low-key.
Last month she turned up at a campaign launch in Glasgow wearing a £1.50 charity shop ring, while she will leave shopping for her 50th birthday outfit until the very last moment.
And even then she’ll only be browsing the aisles of her favourite Tesco or M&Co.
She says: “I haven’t bought a dress, not yet, but I’m going to. I will be going to my usual spots in Edinburgh to see what I can find. I haven’t got anything in mind but I’m sure when I see the dress I know it will be right.”
Since finding fame and fortune just two years ago, her most extravagant purchase to date was splashing out on a £400,000 five- bedroom villa last year, near her old council house.
She’s also a big gadget fan, treating herself to an iPhone 4 and an iPod, while the new iPad 2 is said to top her birthday wish-list.
Susan says: “I don’t believe in being reckless with money. I never have been and that’s not about to change.”
But even as SuBo hits the big 5-0, her star status shows no sign of fading.
Fans ... Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Elaine C Smith
She became the first British female in history to top the album charts in the UK and the USA in the same year, selling 14 million records along the way.
The Scot is currently working on her third album in London where she’s been putting in gruelling recording sessions.
Insiders are already predicting it’ll be another huge hit, describing her performances in a secret studio as ‘mind-boggling’.
It’s a remarkable change of fortunes for the self-confessed ‘wee wifey’ whose life changed forever on April 11, 2009.
That’s the day her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream was screened on ITV1’s Britain’s Got Talent and turned Susan into the biggest overnight sensation of all time.
But she struggled to come to grips with her worldwide fame, which included a stint in The Priory following a breakdown, after finishing runner-up in the Britain’s Got Talent final.
Now Susan insists she’s finally found peace and happiness for the first time in decades.
She said: “The last two years have been fantastic.
“Apart from them, my favourite years were during the Eighties. I loved that whole era of my life.”
Tellingly, that was before the death of her 80-year-old father Patrick — who was also a talented singer — in 1990.
Susan then helped nurse her elderly mother Bridget — the woman she called “my guiding light” — until her death in 2007, aged 91.
The former trainee chef’s only escapism from her responsibilities was singing with her church choir and performing karaoke down her local pub, The Happy Valley.
But now she literally feels top of the world.
Even BGT boss Simon Cowell has declared SuBo is the No1 female recording artist on the planet.
She says: “Life doesn’t get much better than the last two years. There have been some wonderful moments that I will never forget.”
They include her stunning rendition of The Rolling Stones’ classic Wild Horses on the final of America’s Got Talent.
While last month she moved the audience to tears at the Scottish Variety Awards at Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza with a haunting rendition of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day.
And she’s even come to terms with her nickname SuBo. Susan says: “It’s a name the Press came up with. I think it’s funny, but my friends and family still call me Susan.”
The world’s most famous spinster still has no man in her life — and isn’t looking for one either.
She says: “You can never say never to finding someone.
“But it’s possible to be happy and to be on your own. I’ve managed all these years just fine.”
Now, Susan has her sights firmly focused on the future and admits she’s excited about entering her fifties.
She joked: “Well, there’s not a lot I can do about it! But I don’t have a problem with it, I’m happy with it.
“And I promise I will be growing older gracefully.”
And the superstar Scot also has some words of wisdom for others who have dared to dream a dream.
She added: “I think the best advice I could ever give is don’t regret anything you have done in life — it’s all part of you and who you are.
“And if there is something you really want to do, well go out there and do it.
“It’s never too late.”
Comment
