Jade Thirlwall’s mother told her not to get a hand tattoo in case Little Mix ends.
The ‘Between Us’ singer has her “Plan B” if the chart-topping girl group – also comprising Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – ever go their separate ways, including her pub and nightclub in her hometown of South Shields in northeast England, while she is a shareholder at South Shields FC.
And the 28-year-old star joked that “at least I can be like Peggy Mitchell [‘EastEnders’ barmaid played by the late Dame Barbara Windsor] in my bar.”
Speaking on ‘The Rebecca Judd Show’ on Apple Music 1, she admitted: “I still have that inner saboteur a little bit. Even when I bought a bar up north, I was like, ‘If it all goes wrong, at least I can be like Peggy Mitchell in my bar.’
“And I’ve got the Plan B still … But no, I’m really proud of that actually. I’m very keen on investing in my hometown, so I’ve got a bar and a nightclub there.
“It’s quite good actually for testing music. If I play one of our songs and it just crickets, I’m like, ‘Ah, maybe this isn’t the next single then.’
“So no, it’s quite a good tester. And we have live music on there every week and it’s nice getting young Northeast talent.
“So I’m hoping to work on that more. What else have I got going on? I’ve got shares in South Shields FC.”
The ‘Touch’ star loves that she and her bandmates have never developed egos and her mum will never let her get too big for her boots, either.
She added: “It is funny that even my mum’s the same. I’m getting a hand tattoo soon. And my mum’s like, ‘Don’t get a hand tattoo Jade, because if it all goes wrong, what are you going to do for your next job? People don’t take on people with hand tattoos.’
“I’m like, ‘Mum – you know what? I’ll be alright.’ But I quite like that I’ve maintained that side of us, haven’t got too big headed.”
Following the departure of Jesy Nelson, there has been speculation that Little Mix will split, but Jade insisted that in “10 years time. I don’t know. Well, obviously, I think that Little Mix will still be around. We’re always going to have each other. I think when you’ve got that sort of bond … I’ve spent my whole adult life with the girls and that’ll probably never, ever change, no matter what happens.”
Tune in to Apple Music 1 from 9am GMT tomorrow to hear the full interview.