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TOP 10: LUCRATIVE PRIVATE GIGS
Q Magazine, Q299: Q scribe Ben Mitchell countdowns 10 of the best and worst musicial matrimonies. Needless to say, the long-term success rate is not high.

Christina Aguilera
For richer, for... er, "poorer"?
Russian plutocrat Andrey Melnichenko spent $300 million on a yacht designed by Philippe Starck, so the reported $3.6 million it took to get three songs out of Aguilera for his 2005 wedding to model Aleksandra Nikolic probably didn't alarm his accountant. Indeed, two years later the tycoon hired Jennifer Lopez to help celebrate Aleksandra's 30th birthday at a cost said to be $2 million, including expenses.

9. Sting
Fond of all things green
Uzbekistan's president, Islam Karimov, maintains a firm grip on power by rigging elections and having those who displease him tortured, shot or boiled alive. Nonetheless, when Karimov's daughter, Gulnara, asked Sting to play a set as part of 2009's Art Week Style event in the country's capital, Tashkent, he was only too happy to oblige. "I believe in the power of music," said the singer - who earned a fee reported to be in the low seven figures for his trouble - when discussing this ethical hot potato.

8. Aerosmith
Livin' on the wedge
The Boston quintet appeared among a line-up that included 50 Cent and Kenny G at the 2005 New York bat mitzvah for the daughter of David Brooks. The CEO of a body armour manufacturer, Brooks spent $10 million on this merrymaking; a court case later revealed that, among other financial impropriety, he had been looting company funds to supplement his ostentatious lifestyle. Aerosmith's $2 million bill got paid anyway, which seems like hard-earned money when you consider that the Eagles are rumoured to have once been paid $6 million just to play Hotel California at a less conspicuous elite gathering.

7. Elton John
Candle In The Wind, cheque in the post
The "fantasy gifts" section of US retailer Neiman Marcus's 2005 Christmas catalogue offered a private gig with Elton John for $1.5 million. The pianist's asking price was said to be a third less than that when he played at the wedding of radio personality Rush Limbaugh in Florida last year, a booking that caused some surprise. "When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it's an invitation," the ultra-conservative Limbaugh once said.

6. Beyonce
Oh, it was that Gaddafi...
Knowles brought her bootylicious skills to bear on a Caribbean New Year's Eve party thrown by Colonel Gaddafi's son, Hannibal, in 2009. As the situation in Libya heated up this year - bringing the Colonel's good name into question - Beyoncé revealed that she had given her $2 million earnings to the Haiti earthquake relief some time ago. Other stars who have recently commented on turning out for
the Gaddafi family include Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Usher and 50 Cent, all of whom have now expressed remorse and pledged to donate cash to worthy causes.

5. Westlife

The price is roit.
The boy band took £400,000 to play at Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin's 2008 wedding reception, during which the groom moved revellers by taking vocals on
the suitably tender number, Swear It Again: well worth around four weeks' wages for the Manchester United striker. Always available for bespoke entertainment, Westlife co-headlined with Girls Aloud at an 18th birthday party for a businessman's lucky daughter held at a Lincolnshire hotel the same year.

4. The Rolling Stones

Jumpin' Jack Flash, where's our cash?
In 2002 Mick and the guys appeared at multi-billionaire David Bonderman's 60th birthday party, a $7 million Las Vegas bash that also featured John Mellencamp and comedian Robin Williams. The Stones wheeled out the hits again five years later when they rocked the staff of Deutsche Bank at the Catalan National Art Museum in Barcelona, receiving $5.4 million for their time. "Thank you for having us," said Jagger. "The best part is, it's coming out of your bonuses!"

3. Paul McCartney
Brand on the run.
A restaurant near San Diego was the venue for Macca's first private gig, where in 2003 he played to 150 guests at a 50th birthday party. Financier Ralph Whitworth had hired the singer - who gave his $1 million fee to charity - as a surprise for his wife, Wendy, though anyone planning to dazzle their life partner in a similar fashion should note that the couple have since divorced. Sir Paul's fellow '60s icon Bob Dylan has not been so slow in accepting corporate clients: in 1996 and 1997 he was hired for events laid on by a financial firm and semiconductor company respectively.

2. Amy Winehouse
If you're looking for rouble...
High-rolling oligarch Roman Abramovich paid Winehouse a reported £1 million to perform
at the 2008 opening of the Garage art gallery in Moscow. The mercurial singer is not the only one to benefit from the Chelsea Football Club supremo's munificence: later in the year, Abramovich enlivened his Christmas get-together by dropping $450,000 to secure the Kings Of Leon's services. Less wallet strain was felt for the 16th birthday party of his daughter, Anna, where a mere £200,000 covered everything, including a set by the Klaxons.

1. Kylie
You should be so lucky.
Paying Kylie a reported $2 million to play at the 2008 opening of Dubai's 1539-room Atlantis hotel and resort seems generous. However, just the fireworks budget for this shindig - where invited VIPs including Boris Becker and Lily Allen dined on 1.7 tonnes of lobster - was $1 million more than that. Despite global economic turmoil, corporate hospitality budgets remain fat; the somewhat less iconic Cheryl Cole earned £250,000 for doing an Audi function in Venice earlier this year.

THE LEAST LUCRATIVE PRIVATE GIG
Pete Doherty
Good evening, my living room!
In 2008 software guru Greg Thomas and his wife Cynthia flew from the US to watch Doherty play in his Wiltshire home. Starting at 4am, seven hours late due to Doherty being incapacitated, the £15,000 gig went well. Perhaps they could have haggled on the price, though: according to The Sun, Doherty once played a female fan's birthday party after her dad offered him £100.

7:00 PM | 26/04/2011