Rick Astley
Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album Whenever You Need Somebody, which sold 15 million copies worldwide. His debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up" was a No. 1 hit in 25 countries, winning the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single.[1][2] His 1988 single "Together Forever" became his second song to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and was one of his eight songs to reach the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The title track, "Whenever You Need Somebody", was also a No. 1 hit.
Rick Astley
- Singer
- songwriter
- radio personality
- 1985–1993
- 2000–present
1
- Vocals
- drums
- guitar
In 1988 Astley followed up his debut album with Hold Me in Your Arms which achieved Platinum and Gold certifications internationally. The lead single "She Wants to Dance with Me" became a worldwide Top 10 hit. In 1991 he left Stock Aitken Waterman moving his musical direction towards soul, which he explored on his other albums. His 1991 single "Cry for Help" was Astley's last single to reach the Top 10 in either the US or UK. In 1993 he retired from music to focus on spending time with his partner and daughter. He returned to the music industry in 2000 and released 50 to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2016, with the album debuting in the UK at No. 1.[3] His most recent studio album Are We There Yet? was released in 2023.[4]
By the time of his brief retirement, Astley had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.[5][6] He became an Internet phenomenon in 2007 when the music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" became integral to the Rickrolling meme,[7] and his performance career was revitalised by the meme's popularity. A year after the Rickrolling meme began, he was voted "Best Act Ever" by Internet users at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008.[8] His song "Never Gonna Give You Up" reached 1 billion views on YouTube in July 2021, becoming the fourth 1980s song to reach this milestone. Astley has occasionally worked as a radio DJ and a podcaster.[9]
Early life
Richard Paul Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, the fourth child of his family. His parents divorced when he was five and Astley was brought up by his father Horace Astley.[10] Rick remained in very close contact with his mother Cynthia Astley, who lived a few streets away from his father. After finding out that his father was the one who kicked his mother out of the house, Rick distanced himself from his father.[11] When he was 10 years old, he began singing in a local church choir, which began his love of music.[12]
During his schooldays, Rick Astley formed and played the drums in a number of local bands, where he met guitarist David Morris.[2][13] After leaving school at sixteen, Astley was employed during the day as a driver in his father's market-gardening business and played drums on the Northern club circuit at night in bands such as Give Way–specialising in covering Beatles and Shadows songs – and FBI, which won several local talent competitions.[12]
Career
1985–1986: Signing with Stock Aitken Waterman
In 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer with a soul band named FBI, with Morris on guitar. They were a well-known local band writing and performing their own music, gigging in pubs and clubs. When FBI's lead singer left the band, and Morris left to concentrate on his career in hairdressing,[13] Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. That was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman, who persuaded him to come to London to work at the Pete Waterman Limited (PWL) recording studio[2] with RCA Records publishing his records. Under the tutelage of the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman, known as Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio "tea boy". The reason for Astley to be hired as a "tape op" was to overcome his shyness.[14] SAW also hired most of FBI, including Morris as a guitarist/songwriter.[13]
1987–1989: Success
His first single was "When You Gonna", released as a collaboration with Lisa Fabien, and was produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow. "We were at a stage early on with Rick, when no one knew quite what to do with him," recalled Harding. "The idea was to make him happen in the clubs... [but the song] opened up the doors for him at Capital Radio."[15] The song was released in May 1987, and with no promotion managed to chart at No. 17 in the Netherlands[16] and No. 20 in Belgium.[17]
Astley's first solo offering was "Never Gonna Give You Up", recorded on New Year's Day 1987, and released eight months later, in August.[18] Although his producers were initially unenthusiastic about the track,[19] his distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance-pop made the song an immediate success,[20] spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. The song was also a worldwide number-one hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the US, Australia, and West Germany. It was the first of 13 (worldwide) top 30 hit singles for him. "Never Gonna Give You Up" won Best British Single at the 1988 BPI awards (now called the BRIT Awards),[21] and he performed it in front of a global audience of 100 million.[2][22]
Astley's next single was "Whenever You Need Somebody", which was released in October. The single was a recycled Stock Aitken Waterman song, originally recorded by O'Chi Brown in 1985, which Stock says was resurrected in the rush to gather strong follow up material in the wake of Astley's unexpectedly huge global success.[23] It became a successful European hit, reaching No. 1 in seven countries, including West Germany and Sweden. It also reached No. 3 in the UK. It was not released in North America.[24]
In November 1987, the album Whenever You Need Somebody, containing four tracks written by Astley, reached number one in the UK and Australia and No. 10 in the US. It was certified 4× Platinum in the UK and Canada, and 2× Platinum in the US. Whenever You Need Somebody sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making Astley the top-selling British act of the year.[2]
In December 1987, Astley released a cover version of the Nat King Cole classic "When I Fall in Love". The single is mainly remembered for a closely fought contest for UK Christmas Number 1. Rivals EMI, hoping to see their act the Pet Shop Boys reach No. 1, rereleased Cole's version.[25][26] That led to a slowdown of purchases of Astley's version, allowing the Pet Shop Boys to reach the coveted top spot with their cover version of Always on My Mind. Despite selling over 200,000 copies and gaining a Silver certification from the BPI,[27] His "When I Fall in Love" peaked in the UK at No. 2 for two weeks. The rerelease of Cole's version reached No. 4. The B side for Astley was a dance number, "My Arms Keep Missing You", which was successful in mainland Europe but wasn't released on an album until the 2002 compilation Greatest Hits.
Astley's fourth single release was "Together Forever" (1988), reaching No. 2 in the UK. It was denied the top spot by Kylie Minogue's debut "I Should Be So Lucky", which reached No. 1 following her successful role as Charlene Robinson in Neighbours.[28] "Together Forever" was more successful in the US, topping the charts, making it his second and last US chart-topper. In 1989 Astley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist but lost to Tracy Chapman.
His fifth and final release from his debut album was "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man". It was a more soulful song than his other releases, and was mainly intended for the North American market. It was not released in Britain. It was another hit, reaching No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world.[29] In the UK, he was in the Top 40 every week for the first six months of his career.[2]
Production of the singer's follow up album with Stock Aitken Waterman got off to a rocky start, when a distressed Astley rejected the set's intended first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us"—a track the producers then gave to Jason Donovan.[30] Wishing to placate an unhappy Astley, producer Pete Waterman allowed him to start work with other writers and producers under the PWL umbrella,[31] but a fire in the PWL studios destroyed much of Astley's new material,[2] causing a delay in the release of his second album.[31] Hold Me in Your Arms was released in January 1989, containing five singles, and reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 19 in the US, being certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.
Astley's relationship with British media deteriorated significantly after the release of Hold Me in Your Arms, with the media calling him a "puppet" of Stock Aitken Waterman,[21] although Astley had written five of his new album's tracks. The negative press affected the sales of his singles.[32]
The first single from the album was "She Wants to Dance with Me", written by Astley. He composed the track in the style of Whitney Houston's hit, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" in an effort to win the confidence of Waterman, who was a huge fan of Houston's song.[31] It was another successful single, reaching No. 6 on both the UK and US charts.
"Take Me to Your Heart" was the next single to be released from the album. It was one of four songs written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman that were belatedly added to the album in order to help Astley make his release deadline following the fire.[31] The four tracks were written and produced in just two days, with writer Matt Aitken confirming "Take Me to Your Heart" was inspired by house music act Inner City's 1988 hit, "Big Fun".[31] The single reached No. 8 in the UK and was not released in the US.
"Hold Me in Your Arms", a ballad written by Astley, reached No. 10 in the UK and was also not released in North America. The next two singles released from the album were intended for the North American market. "Giving Up on Love" and a cover of The Temptations song "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" charted at No. 38 and No. 89 in the US respectively.
In December 1989, Astley set off on his first world tour, touring 15 countries including the UK, US, Australia, and Japan.[2] By the end of the tour, he was tired of the negative press and wanted to explore alternative paths as a musician. He left Stock Aitken Waterman and RCA Records bought out his contract with PWL.
1990–1993: Switch to soul and adult contemporary and career break
By 1990, Astley decided to leave his dance-pop days behind him, moving towards his passion, soul. The shift in musical genre led him to change his image, ditching the boy next door look, growing his hair, and presenting himself as a mature and passionate musician. His third album, Free, was released in 1991 and contained collaborations with Elton John.[21] It had three singles and reached No 9 in the UK and No 31 in the US.
He achieved one more major success with his 1991 ballad "Cry for Help", which reached No 7 in both the UK and the US. The other two singles from Free were not as successful. "Move Right Out" reached No 58 in the UK and No 81 in the US, and "Never Knew Love" reached No 70 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Free marked the end of Astley's successful period, and "Cry for Help" was the last Astley single to make the Top 10 in either the UK or US.
His next album, Body and Soul, was released in 1993 and was largely an Adult Contemporary album. By the time the album was released, Astley had decided to retire from the music industry. As a result, the album did not get much promotion;[2] it did not chart in the UK but managed to make the Billboard 200, peaking at No 182. The two singles, "The Ones You Love" and "Hopelessly", performed very well on the US adult contemporary chart, peaking at No 19 and No 4 respectively. "The Ones You Love" peaked at No 48 in the UK but did not chart in the US. "Hopelessly" also crossed over and peaked at No 28 on the US Billboard 100, staying in the US top 40 for five weeks, and No 33 in the UK. It was the last hit to chart on the Top 40 in the UK and US. It was named as one of the most performed songs at the 1994 BMI Awards,[33] and is one of the few songs to achieve BMI 'Million-Air' status.[34]
1994–2000: Retirement
Astley retired from the music industry in 1993, deciding that family life was more important to him. During his time out of the music business, his daughter born in 1992, grew up.[35] For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained out of the spotlight. He said later this was due to his growing frustration with the business side of things.[36] During that period he co-wrote "Mission Statement", a track for former Marillion singer Fish's 1999 solo album Raingods with Zippos.[37][38]
2000–2020: Return to singing and renewed success
Seven years after Body and Soul, Astley returned to the music industry, signing a co-publishing deal with Polydor and recording a new album, Keep It Turned On, between November 2000 and September 2001, and released in late 2001. The album featured the single "Sleeping", which became a minor club hit, thanks to a set of remixes from the US house producer Todd Terry. Keep It Turned On was only released in Continental Europe.[2]
Astley's first compilation album, Greatest Hits, was released in 2002, and reached No 16 on the UK Albums Chart. With no promotion from him, it sold over 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.[2] In 2003 he charted at No 10 in the UK as a songwriter with "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" performed by short-lived boy band One True Voice.
In 2004, Astley toured for the first time in 14 years, which led him to a record contract with Sony BMG.[2]
In March 2005, Astley released the album Portrait, in which he covered many classic standards such as "Vincent",[39] "Nature Boy" and "Close to You". Astley and Sony BMG were unhappy with the result so the album was poorly promoted,[2] yet it managed to reach No 26 on the UK Albums Chart. In April 2008, the album The Ultimate Collection: Rick Astley was released by Sony BMG, and by early May it had reached #17 on the UK Top 40 Albums Chart,[40] again with no promotion by Astley.
Personal life
Astley has been married to film producer Lene Bausager since 2003.[91][92] They met when she was working as a promoter with RCA in 1987,[10] and she is now a film producer.[93] They have a daughter who has a master's degree in fine art and is a garden designer.[92] Astley and his wife live in the Surrey town of Molesey and their daughter lives in Denmark.[94] He maintains a home recording studio and has a collection of guitars.[57]
In 2017, Astley partnered with Mikkeller, a Danish brewery, opening two pubs over the following years in Islington and Shoreditch, London.[95][96][97] In January 2023, Astley sued Yung Gravy over vocal imitations on Gravy's song "Betty (Get Money)". Astley asserted that it was a violation of his "right of publicity",[98] and the case was settled in September 2023.[99] Also in 2023, Astley said on This Morning that he is experiencing hearing loss and now wearing hearing aids.[100]