CASH ONLY combines creativity with community spirit.
With roots that stretch back to pirate radio, Jungle mixtapes, and weekends spent digging through the racks at Blackmarket and Uptown Records, his journey has been anything but ordinary. After stepping away from the scene for more than a decade to build a ground breaking social care organisation that has changed countless young lives, he returned a few years ago to the music he loves with renewed purpose and fresh ambition.
CASH ONLY (real name Matt Wilcox) is balancing life as a DJ, producer, label boss and collaborator with his wife, global house icon Sam Divine. From launching his own imprint Famous When Dead Records to pushing innovative partnerships that connect music with art, fashion and lifestyle, he is carving out a unique niche that’s as forward-thinking as it is rooted in dance floor culture.
Matt Wilcox aka CASH ONLY
We caught up with CASH ONLY to talk about his remarkable journey from heavy metal beginnings and running UNITY to his current success across clubs, festivals and beyond and to find out what’s next for an artist who’s as passionate about giving back as he is about making people move.
You’ve been immersed in music culture for three decades. When did you first realise music would become such a big part of your life?
Weirdly, Heavy Metal had a big influence on me musically in my early teens until I discovered pirate radio and Jungle mixtapes that you could buy in record shops. When I was 15, I first discovered UK Garage, or whatever people used to call it back then, and managed to save and buy myself my first set of rickety old belt drive decks when I was 16. My weekends consisted of the weekly pilgrimage to central London, visiting the Blackmarket, Uptown, and Unity Records, searching for tracks I had heard on the radio, and collecting flyers to plaster my walls with at home.
Click or tap image to listen to CASH ONLY’s mix for The Night Bazaar Sessions
You stepped away from music for over a decade to build your hugely successful social care businesses. Can you tell our readers about these projects and how they link to your creative music side? How important is music and all the creativity around the culture in helping disadvantaged youth?
While I was busy promoting and DJing up in the Midlands, myself and a few like-minded individuals wanted to create something for the disadvantaged youngsters of Stoke-on-Trent, where I was living at the time. What started as simply rounding up the local youths from street corners and giving them a safe place to DJ and MC snowballed into multiple private and charitable operations employing nearly 200 people offering a variety of services including education through an Ofsted registered school, supportive care via 14 children’s homes and a large scale youth project funded and supported by people like the big lottery and Robbie Williams.
I named this organisation UNITY, inspired by the record shop of the same name that I feel made a difference to my life, helping to build my confidence and aspirations around music. Without this supportive network that music gave me as a teenager, I feel that my life could have turned out very differently. I think that music is a common theme that almost everyone on the planet enjoys, and can also break down barriers and engage people who are harder to engage than others due to marginalisation and disadvantage.
I’m pleased to say that many children that we worked with on these projects have gone on to do some amazing things both creatively and professionally and I like to think that UNITY gave these kids a chance they wouldn’t have had otherwise!
Was there ever a moment during that time when you thought you might never come back to music or was it always bubbling under in the background?
I always knew I would return to music. When I had to make a decision to cut music professionally out of my life, it was a massive sacrifice but the outcomes of all the children we were working with, alongside being responsible for all the staff and buildings, was just too much of a responsibility.
When I finally moved on from the organisation in early 2020, I made all the best plans to move to Ibiza and rediscover everything, then COVID hit, and we basically got trapped in our houses. That was a massive setback!
How did your own youth shape your drive to give back?
I was definitely not your average kid. I struggled with a lot of things, especially behaviourally, but one good thing about me was that I always wanted to work and earn money. Something that I embraced fully at 16, working 2 jobs alongside going to school. Looking back, I think we realise now in 2025 that all children learn differently; some are more vocational, some require more support. It’s a lot better now that the government recognises this, and there isn’t just a sheep dip approach to a child’s education.
How does the music business compare to the other industries you have worked in?
The music business really is a weird and wonderful playground full of interesting characters and politics. It’s a place that can be rewarding, but equally somewhere that can fully zap your confidence in one fell swoop. I really don’t think there is an exact science or formula in today’s world of music, apart from being consistent and, most importantly, patient.
You have enjoyed great success with your music recently and are deservedly receiving recognition for your work. When you sit down to produce, do you approach tracks with the dance floor in mind first as a DJ or do you think about streaming audiences too as a label head?
Most of the music I’ve made in the past 2 years, since returning to the studio, has been very geared towards making crossover records, basically songs that sound good on a dance floor but have a chance of cutting across into the mainstream and doing well from a radio and streaming point of view.
I’ve also been experimenting across a multitude of genres across the House spectrum, and a lot of my most recent releases are actually 12 months old, so my tastes are a little different now than they were when I made the tracks.
I’m going back into the studio in October to make more stuff for DJs to play and for the clubs, though, as I think I’ve set the foundation for who I am and what I do and it’s time to get a little more support from my peers in the industry rather than driving music at everyday consumers.
Matt Wilcox aka CASH ONLY
You clearly love collaborating. What would be a dream music collaboration for you with artists from the past, present and in future?
From the past, James Brown, the man was an incredible performer and just had so much talent.
From the present CASISDEAD, I’m a massive fan of this UK rapper and the way he’s built up a cult like following by hardly touching his social media, something very rare in today’s music world.
For the future, I’d probably need to do something with the wife, Sam Divine (Number 1 House DJ in the world), I help run her record label, and with other elements of music, so I guess it would be weird if we didn’t make something together!
You recently launched Famous When Dead Records alongside your role managing your wife’s label. What do you look for in an artist or track before signing it?
I set Famous When Dead up as a platform predominantly to self-release my own music, alongside giving a platform to explore how music and art can join up more in an experience. I sign artists that I believe in and who I like working with, and most importantly, who make music that I can fit into my sets.
Famous When Dead has already caught attention through unique partnerships like the MEYBA football shirt with Sly Dog Rum and Ginger Wings. How important is it for you to merge music with lifestyle and fashion?
In today’s world, I think we need an edge to cut through the noise. There is more music being released than ever, and I like doing things that stand out. 2026 is going to see a lot more experimentation in the world of art and fashion now that the music is doing the talking, and I want to build a community that buys into all of this.
You must be very proud of your brilliant wife Sam and her success? What’s it like working with her? With both of you being so immersed in music is it ever hard to switch off from music?
I am very proud of her. I always want her to be her best, and I was very proud when she won the House DJ award last year. Working together is sometimes problematic, as I’m always so enthusiastic about taking over the world, and she is often overworked and stressed from her relentless schedule, and also hesitant to take risks. Nowadays, I just let her know I’m here to do whatever she needs me to do. She’s got far more experience in this industry than I do, but I’ll never stop wanting to push her as high as she can go!
Sam Divine and CASH ONLY
You’ve just played Pikes with Eats Everything for Back To Mine, and you’ve got Hï Ibiza, Café Mambo, ADE and Defected Festival coming up. Is there one there you are particularly looking forward to? To be fair they all look like amazing gigs!
Summer has been relentless, I’m actually looking forward to my first weekend off in a while! Pikes was amazing, it’s a really special place for me, I’ve been going for probably 15 years religiously, so to start playing there last year was an amazing full-circle moment.
Defected Malta is definitely one I’m looking forward to, though. Myself and Sam always host a boat party, and it always sells out almost immediately, so it’s guaranteed vibes! I’m then taking my foot off the gas with shows for a few months and going to concentrate on making music.
Having spent time in Dubai, London and a lot of time in Ibiza, how has the island shaped your music and your mindset?
Weirdly, before I met Sam almost 4 years ago, I had only ever been to Pikes and 3 other clubs on the island, because I used to stay at Pikes, and it had its own club, there was never really any reason to leave!
Since I’ve been going to a lot more clubs in the last few years, I’ve definitely been taking influence from what I’m hearing and incorporating it into my own productions and DJ sets. I’m a serial hunter for exclusives and edits, and always have my ears open!
Ibiza can be both inspiring and intense, how do you keep grounded amidst the chaos of the summer season?
I must admit this year has been extremely gruelling and taken a lot out of me. I’ve made a promise to do less next year, as getting older is definitely not helpful when on the road, especially with all the other stuff I need to do with running the labels and keeping up with socials. I think when music stops being fun, you have to make some changes, and I’d never want to fall out of love with something that has been such a big thing in my life!
Aside from music, though, I’m a big fan of padel and golf, and enjoyed taking time this year to fit those in when I can. I even played padel with Mark Knight from Toolroom this year when we were both in Ibiza, that man is sports mad, he’s literally good at everything involving a ball or a CDJ!
Matt Wilcox aka CASH ONLY
You’ve worn so many hats in your career. DJ, producer, promoter, tour manager, social care entrepreneur, city councillor. How do you balance the “artist” side of your life with the “business brain” that clearly drives you?
I’ll be honest, it’s very hard to switch off. I’m always thinking of the next opportunity and how I can get there, the next release, the next event, or the next person to link in with. Being so driven can often deplete my creative energy, though, even to the point where I don’t have the energy to do an Instagram post, so I try to partition things off in my weekly planner.
Your life story could inspire anyone facing setbacks in their own lives. What advice would you give to young people today who are trying to break into music while juggling life’s obstacles? How much more difficult do you think it is for young people in 2025 compared to say 25 years ago?
The music industry is so much different from 25 years ago; people see music more than they hear music now. The numbers attending events are falling, music and social culture are changing, and we can almost do everything we used to do in nightclubs at our fingertips now. Spotify to listen to the latest music or Tinder for those who are going out to pull!
All I can give people advice on in breaking into the music industry is to do it because you love music, not because you want that Instagram like or follow, be patient and be consistent, and most importantly, move with the times. The way we consume music now is very different from 25 years ago and will be different again in the next 10 years. Stay ahead of the game and do it for the LOVE.
What’s next for CASH ONLY over the next couple of years? Where do you see yourself as an artist?
I just want to have some fun with the platform I’ve created. I’m grateful for the people who have supported me on this journey so far, and I just want to keep seeing people smile on the dance floors. I want to do more with creative arts and the integration of visuals into the music space, and just keep doing my best, that’s all we can do, I guess… in the end, though, I’ll probably be famous when dead.
