DICKIE Rock says he has never spat on anyone in his life — and reckons now isn’t the time to start.

The legendary crooner, 82, is famous for having adoring fans shout at him “Spit on me, Dickie” over his decades in the music business.

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But in times of a pandemic, the Dub told the Irish Sun: “People have been shouting, ‘Spit on me, Dickie’ for years but I never spat on anyone — and in this new coronavirus age we’re living in, I don’t think we should even joke about it.

“I don’t want to hear that shouted at my gigs anymore.”

The showband era icon is also infamous for being tight with money — and he joked that now everything is on lockdown, that’s no bad thing.

He said: “Amn’t I lucky I held on to my communion money?”

Dickie has revealed he is already taking bookings for 2021 and insists that Covid-19 will not get him.

Ireland’s best-known pensioner is under lockdown with his wife Judy at their Dublin home — and is taking three stairs at a time to help keep his fitness up.
Dickie told the Irish Sun: “A guy rang up asking could he book me for his wedding in Killarney in July 2021. I accepted straight away.

NEARLY STRANDED IN THAILAND

“He said, ‘How long will you play for?’ I said, ‘Two hours’. This guy was in his thirties, he sounded impressed with that but I explained that singing is my life blood.

“It’s very encouraging getting calls like that, and himself and his bride will get a hell of a show from me next year.”

The showband star also told how he and his wife were nearly stranded in Thailand recently when their flight home was cancelled.

Dickie had to shell out €3,800 for replacement flights with a rival airline to get them home to Dublin.

He explained: “It cost us a few bob to get back but it was worth it. We’d gone out with Etihad Airways but the day we were due to come back, they cancelled all their flights.

“We had to buy extra tickets from Qatar Airways who got us home via Doha just in time.”

Since then Dickie and his wife haven’t left their home in Donnybrook, Dublin, as their kids bring them groceries every day.

Dickie said: “It’s the older people who are at risk from coronavirus, which could be me.

“But that’s not going to happen because I’m reasonably fit and taking the stairs three at a time.

NO GIGS DURING LENT

“That’s the kind of exercise I’m doing, as well as gardening. We don’t have anyone coming in cleaning or cooking. We do it all ourselves and Judy, my wife, feeds me the best of food — so I’m confident of getting through this.”

Born in 1946, the veteran entertainer admits he has never seen anything like the Covid-19 crisis, and said he feels for singers and bands whose gigs have been cancelled due to the lockdown.

He said: “Kids won’t believe this, but in the Sixties there were no gigs in Ireland during Lent. The Catholic Church closed down everything.

“The big showbands like The Miami, The Royal Showband and The Capitol could go to America for three weeks, but all the smaller acts stuck in Ireland had no work.

“I remember the Federation of Musicians in Ireland wrote to Archbishop John Charles McQuaid telling him about the plight of all these out-of-work musicians with young families to feed, asking for the rule to be lifted. He didn’t even bother to reply.

“This 2020 lockdown is much worse because it’s longer than Lent. It could be till the end of the year, and into next year — nobody knows — at least until they find a vaccine to this virus.”

The news that Dickie had to shell out €3,800 for extra flights home will be met with amusement by those who believe the myth that he’s tight with his money.

'I SAVED EVERY BLEEDIN' PENNY'

Not so, said crooner Dickie, who is so tickled by these stories, he can reel them off.

He said: “Dickie Rock is so mean even the pockets on my pool table are tight. My fridge has a lock on it. I put a fork in my sugar bowl when visitors come around to save money.”

He added: “I don’t owe anybody anything. I always pay my bills. People who are close to me know I’m not mean with money.

“It’s probably something to do about my background in Cabra. I had to work so hard to get anything, I wasn’t going to give it away.

“When I started singing, I really thought I would only get five years out of this.

“I never knew when it was going to end, I saved every bleedin’ penny. What fed into this as well was I didn’t drink, had no experience of being in pubs, or getting a round in.

“I remember doing an album in Lombard Studios with Tommy Ellis, and at one stage the band went off for a pint — but they took their time getting back.

“Tommy sent me out to get them from the pub, so I put my head around the door and said, ‘Lads, Tommy needs you back,’ and Benny the trumpet player shouted, ‘Come and buy the lads a drink Dickie, you mean b*****ks’. But I didn’t drink and didn’t know that’s what you did in pubs.”

'SPIT ON ME'

But Dickie admits he lost suitcases full of money over the years from promoters doing a runner from gigs without paying him or his band.

He said: “Priests would be the very worst for robbing you. Not all priests, just some.

“You’d be playing a gig down the country, the place would be heaving, you’d get off stage and find the priest running it was gone without paying anyone.

“Leaving musicians without their money at the end of the night. It was disgraceful.”

Despite being grateful for his long career, the legendary singer told how he misses so many of his close friends in the business who have passed away.

Dickie said: “Gay Byrne, Brendan Grace, I’ve been very lucky and I’m thankful to be still around after all these years when so many of my friends, like Joe Dolan, have passed away. I feel fortunate to be still around and healthy with my family.”

However, Dickie has called time on the infamous cry, ‘Spit on me, Dickie’ — which has followed him throughout his career.

He believes fans shouldn’t joke about sharing saliva, and to observe social distancing at all times.

He said: “Dickie’s message to everyone is to stay home, stay inside and stay safe.

'MY HEART GOES OUT TO THEM'

“This lockdown is necessary and I will see you all next year. At more weddings, I’m open to offers.”

Dickie also said he was sad at the deaths of so many older people in residential homes from Covid-19.

He said: “I think a lot of them had visitors in the beginning and that’s how they caught the virus.

“They’re coming down with it now and not even being brought to hospital when they’re sick.

“My heart goes out to them. And anyone dying can’t get a proper funeral as their loved ones are not able to grieve together. It’s very sad.

“I suppose people will have to get used to this sort of living until a vaccine is found.”

Spending time at home has also left Dickie thinking about his late parents. He said: “My dad died in 1999, my mum in 2003.

“Losing my dad was bad but my mother dying was worse. I was her first-born and she was only 22 when she had me.

“We were so close all our lives. In the early days, she would be the first person I rang after I did a TV show to ask how it went.

“I would still go to ring her after she died. Then I’d realise she wasn’t there anymore, and I’d stop myself.

“Losing your mother is a very tough call.”