Mark Ronson: Puff Daddy dollars saved me!

Music producer Mark Ronson was saved by a $100 tip from Puff Daddy on two separate occasions.

The Uptown Funk hitmaker may have plenty money in the bank now, but when he started his career he was a poor club DJ in New York. However, his luck changed one night, when Puff Daddy came to one of his gigs.

"Puffy... was like, 'Yeah, man,' he gave me his number, written down on a piece of paper, and I framed it in this cheap plastic frame above my turntables — because he gave me a $100 tip," he recalled during an appearance at The New Yorker Festival on Saturday (03Oct15). "He tried to give me $100, and I was like 'No, thank you,' and he was like, 'Just take the $100,' and I was like, 'No, no, no, it is enough that you put out such good music.' He was like, 'Take the f**king $100.'"

Mark was making around $300 a night at the time and eventually he had to spend his prized possession.

Since finding fame thanks to his work with the likes of Amy Winehouse, as well as having hit records of his own like Uptown Funk, Mark has crossed paths with Puff on a number of occasions.

"I told him this story about 15 years later and I was like, 'Aw man, you came to this party...' And I told the story out in front of maybe ten people, and I was like, 'and I had to take the $100 out,' and he was like, 'Aw man,' and he reaches in and he gives me $100, and I'm thinking this is a pretty good racket!" he laughed.

His joy was short lived though, with the second tip lasting even less time in his hands than the original.

"The next day I'm going back to London, so I'm in a cab like, 'JFK, please,' and we get like halfway there, and I'm like, 'F**k, my wallet,'" he continued. "I realise all I have is the $100 from Puffy, and it was like, at least the last time it made it almost six months - this one didn't even make it a day."