Rick Astley
Richard Paul Astley is an English singer, songwriter, radio DJ and podcaster. 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 and was certified platinum by both the BPI and the RIAA. His debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up" was a No. 1 hit in more than 25 countries, winning the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single. The song also stayed at the top of the UK chart for five weeks in 1987 and was the best-selling single of that year. His 1988 single "Together Forever" also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and was one of his eight songs to reach the UK Singles Chart top 10.
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 and moved his musical direction towards soul, which he explored on his other albums. His 1991 single "Cry for Help" was his 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. His most recent studio album Are We There Yet? was released in 2023.
Astley has sold approximately 40 million records worldwide and was nominated in 1989 for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist but lost to Tracy Chapman. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world. In the United Kingdom, Astley was also in the top 40 every week for the first six months of his career. He became an internet phenomenon in 2007 following the emergence of the Rickrolling meme, which utilizes the music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up", and his career was revitalised by the meme's popularity. A year after the Rickrolling meme began, he was voted "Best Act Ever" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008. On 28 July 2021, "Never Gonna Give You Up" became the fourth 1980s song to reach one billion views on YouTube.
Early life
Richard Paul Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, the fourth child of Horace and Cynthia Astley. His parents divorced when he was 5 and Astley was brought up by his father who was "really, really pissed off a lot of the time... but he was great as well, he was really loving". Rick remained in very close contact with his mother, who lived a few streets away. Describing his childhood, Astley stated "There was definitely an element of 'There's something very wrong in this family.' I can't even say I've got these exact memories of it, I just know it was a bit odd."Astley would also later recall that his worst childhood memory was "Walking in the kitchen and seeing my dad with his hands around my mum's neck. After something like that, things get broken and destroyed in your emotional and mental make-up. It was not Walt Disney; it was not what's supposed to happen. Shouting and arguing is bad enough, but for me something that day. Everything about it terrified me and just completely flipped me out. No kid should ever see that." In an interview ahead of the publication of his autobiography, Astley said "I think it did form me as a person, definitely, and formed a lot of my choices of why I went into music and why I wanted to be on a stage and why I wanted people's attention – because I don't think I got enough attention from my parents."
When he was 10, Astley began singing in a local church choir, which began his love of music. During his schooldays, Astley played the drums in a number of local bands, where he met guitarist David Morris. After leaving school at 16, 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.
Career
1985–1986: Signing with Stock Aitken Waterman
In 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer for the soul band FBI, with Morris on guitar. They were a well-known local band, gigging in pubs and clubs. When FBI's lead singer left the band and Morris left to concentrate on his career in hairdressing, Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. That was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman at a Warrington nightclub, who offered him the opportunity to come to London to work at the Pete Waterman Limited recording studio with RCA Records publishing his records. Although Astley initially turned down Waterman's proposal, several months later he accepted the offer and moved into Waterman's London flat. SAW also hired most of FBI, including Morris as a guitarist/songwriter.Under the tutelage of the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Waterman, known as Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, starting off as the recording studio "tea boy", an apprenticeship that lasted two years. The reason for Astley to be hired as a "tape op" was to overcome his shyness. Reflecting on this time, Astley said: "I was seeing other people have No. 1 hits, and I'd think: 'Come on, boys'. But it wasn't that they had forgotten me, they just had a lot of records to make. I knew, though, that when I got my turn, it would be a big thing, because Stock Aitken Waterman were becoming this big hit machine."
1987–1989: Success
In March 1987, Astley contributed vocals to "Let It Be" which was recorded by charity supergroup Ferry Aid. The single topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks and was certified gold for shipping over 500,000 copies. It was also a No. 1 hit in Norway and Switzerland. Astley's first single was "When You Gonna", released as a duet between Astley and singer Lisa Fabien; the song was produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow. It was released in May 1987, and with no promotion managed to chart at No. 17 in the Netherlands and No. 20 in Belgium. It also charted on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart at No. 11."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." Astley had also contributed to another duet with O'Chi Brown, "Learning to Live " for her 1986 album, O'Chi. Astley was uncredited on the album and received no royalties. The song was belatedly released as a cash-in single in October 1987. The song failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart. The two singers never met, and Brown first heard Astley's vocal when she was given a copy of her album.
Astley's first solo offering was "Never Gonna Give You Up", recorded on New Year's Day 1987, and released nearly seven months later, on 27 July. "At first, Pete felt we should do a Motown cover," said Mike Stock. "The first thing we recorded was The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and that's when I first properly heard his voice. I said to Pete and Matt that singing a cover would be to underplay and undervalue his undoubted vocal strengths, and that we should write Rick his own song. That's when we came up with Never Gonna Give You Up." The concept for the song was suggested by Waterman after Astley spoke to him of his devotion to his then girlfriend, with the song's tune, chords and lyrics composed by Stock and Matt Aitken.
Mike Stock stated that the Colonel Abrams hit "Trapped" was a big influence on "Never Gonna Give You Up", saying: "For Rick Astley's song I didn't want it to sound like Kylie or Bananarama so I looked at the Colonel Abrams track 'Trapped' and recreated that syncopated bassline in a way that suited our song." Initial mixing was done by Phil Harding, with the song's distinctive synthetic string and brass lines later added by Fairlight operator Ian Curnow. The final mix was provided by PWL remixer Pete Hammond, who made the vocals more prominent. His completed extended mix was edited down by Stock and Aitken to become the radio version.
Although his producers were initially unenthusiastic about the track, his distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance-pop made the song an immediate success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. The song was also a worldwide No. 1 hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the United States, Australia, and West Germany. The single reached the No. 1 spot on the year-end singles charts in both the United Kingdom and South Africa. "Never Gonna Give You Up" won Best British Single at the 1988 BPI Awards, and Astley performed it in front of a global audience of 100 million. Assessing the status of the track as producers Stock Aitken Waterman's biggest and most enduring hit, Stock confessed he struggled to completely understand why the song had struck such a chord, but suggested its massive success was down to a combination of the song, the singer, and the international clout of record label RCA.
Astley's next single was "Whenever You Need Somebody", which was released in October 1987. The single was a recycled Stock Aitken Waterman song, originally recorded by O'Chi Brown in 1985, which Stock said was resurrected in the rush to gather strong follow up material in the wake of Astley's unexpectedly huge global success. Astley's version of "Whenever You Need Somebody" was a major hit on the charts--a Top 5 hit in almost all the countries where it was released. It became successful in Europe, reaching No. 1 in seven countries, including West Germany and Sweden. It also reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom, a position it held for three weeks. Though not released as a single in America, it was released in Canada. Discussing Astley's success with the track, Brown complimented the singer on his voice and praised the chart performance of his cover.
In November 1987, the album Whenever You Need Somebody, containing four tracks written by Astley, reached No. 1 in both Britain and Australia and No. 10 in America. It was certified 4× Platinum in England and Canada, and 2× Platinum in America. It is Astley's most best-selling album and it sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making Astley the top-selling British act of the year. The album is listed as the 136th best-selling album in Spain, and was the seventh best-selling album of 1987 in the United Kingdom. Alex Henderson of AllMusic stated that SAW "should definitely be proud of their work" on this "often captivating debut album" which "proved to be a welcome addition to the British R&B scene"; he added that the "music approach is very much a production of the '70s" and highlighted tracks like "Together Forever", "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Don't Say Goodbye".
In December 1987, Astley released a cover version of the Nat King Cole classic "When I Fall in Love". Rivals EMI, hoping to see their act the Pet Shop Boys become UK Christmas No. 1, re-released Cole's version. That led to a slowdown of purchases of Astley's version, allowing the Pet Shop Boys to reach the top spot with their cover version of "Always on My Mind". "When I Fall in Love" sold over 200,000 copies and gained a Silver certification from the BPI; it also peaked in the UK at No. 2 for two weeks. The second half of the double A-side single was a dance number, "My Arms Keep Missing You", which was released as an independent single in Germany and reached No. 6.
Astley's fourth single release was "Together Forever" in January 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. "Together Forever" was more successful in America, topping the charts. It also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland and Spain, and was a Top 10 hit in many European countries. His fifth and final release from his debut album was "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man". It was mainly intended for the American market and was not released in the United Kingdom and most of Europe. It was another hit, reaching No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada. The B-side "You Move Me" written by Astley was featured in the movie Cocktail.
Production of the singer's follow up album was complicated when a distressed Astley rejected the set's intended first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us"—a track the producers then gave to Jason Donovan. Wishing to placate an unhappy Astley, producer Pete Waterman allowed him to start work with other writers and producers under the PWL umbrella, but a fire in the PWL studios destroyed much of Astley's new material, causing a delay in the release of his second album. Hold Me in Your Arms was released in January 1989. It contained five singles and reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 19 in the US, achieving Platinum and Gold certifications worldwide. Number One gave a very enthusiastic review of the album: "We say hoorah! Some pundits say this sounds exactly like Rick's last disc, but this isn't a bad thing. It just means there's more swirling singalongs". 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, although Astley had written five of his new album's tracks. The negative press affected the sales of his singles.
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 " in an effort to win the confidence of Waterman, who was a fan of Houston's song. It was another international success, peaking in the Top 10 in many countries, including Canada, where it topped the chart, and the US and the UK, where it reached No. 6. "Take Me to Your Heart" was the next single to be released from the album. It was a success on the UK Singles Chart where it peaked at No. 8 and it was also a Top 10 and 20 hit in many other European countries. 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. 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".
"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. 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.