My NEW 50 cent single

SUPERSTAR DJ Armand Van Helden sent Dizzee Rascal bonkers and has the Rolling Stones begging him for a remix.

But the ultra-cool New Yorker - whose new single aNYway is set to be No 1 - admits he doesn't know what to spend his millions on.

Armand, who has had three chart toppers including Dizzee duet Bonkers, prefers second-hand clothes and "hardly ever" goes shopping.

Fun

And in keeping with his thrifty lifestyle, the song that aNYway is based on cost him just 50 cents - or 35p - in a second-hand record shop.

"Compared to other big DJs, I hardly ever work," says Armand, 39. "I prefer to have fun. But that's mainly having coffee with friends - hardly expensive. I often think I should have some stupid rich man's indulgence - but I can never think what. I can't even drive!"

The son of an American army officer, Armand travelled the world as a boy. He hits out at other DJs always playing at clubs around the globe.

"Most so-called superstar DJs are on autopilot," says Armand, who has remixed for the Stones, Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. "They do 200 shows a year. Only a robot can do that schedule and play well every night.

"I was like that too. Then, in 2000, I said to myself I'll only work when I want to. It's a hip-hop approach, enjoying success while you can. Except that, unlike rappers, I don't enjoy buying $400 bottles of champagne for a posse of 40 people."

HIT: Out of a bin

One rapper he admires is Dizzee Rascal. Armand wrote the music for spring smash Bonkers, including its "Bon-bon-bonkers" sample which Dizzee rapped over.

"It was my manager's idea to give it to Dizzee," admits Armand, who began making songs 15 years ago. "Dizzee is the only British rapper I'd ever heard of. I'm thrilled he's gone from being an edgy rapper to a pop star, as it was a risk. But you're nothing without taking risks.

Armand's next risk is his new duo Duck Sauce with fellow New York producer A-Trak, who has worked with Kanye West. Their debut single aNYway recreates '70s disco, thanks to its sample of a song by obscure band Final Edition. "I found it in a bargain bin for 50 cents," laughs Armand. "I'm always buying records from bargain bins, but I haven't played a lot of them, so me and A-Trak were pulling ones from my collection based on whether we liked the sleeve. I didn't think it'd take off like it has."

And if it reaches No 1 Duck Sauce will only serve to spice up Armand's fame even more.

Duck Sauce's aNYway is out on October 26.

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