Rick Astley

Rick Astley (Richard Paul Astley, b. 06 February 1966) is a British singer songwriter and recording artist. He first became famous with his distinctive voice in 1987 with his debut single Never Gonna Give You Up which went to no.1 in the UK and won the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single.

Astley scored a string of Top 10 singles throughout 1987, 1988 and into 1989 (the first male solo artist to see his first eight singles reach the UK Top Ten), together with two Top 10 albums. His more successful material was produced by the Stock, Aitken & Waterman (SAW) team with which Astley is largely associated.

A change in Astley's musical direction and public taste in the early 90s meant that popularity and sales declined. He retired form the music scene in 1993 although made a comeback in 2007 when "rickrolling" became a viral internet phenomenon. He won the MTV Europe Music award for Best Act Ever in 2008. His 2016 album 50 became his second no.1 album in the UK almost thirty years after the first.

Discography
UK only (peak chart positions in brackets, top 40 only) source Official Charts Archive

Top of the Pops

 * 13 August 1987: Never Gonna Give You Up (14)
 * 27 August 1987: Never Gonna Give You Up (1) (performance repeated for three successive weeks)
 * 29 October 1987: Whenever You Need Somebody (11)
 * 10 December 1987: When I Fall In Love (2)
 * 25 December 1987: Never Gonna Give You Up
 * 03 March 1988: Together Forever (4 - promo video)
 * 22 September 1988: She Wants To Dance With Me (16) - rpt. 06 October 1988 (7)
 * 01 December 1988: Take Me To Your Heart (12)
 * 09 February 1989: Hold Me In Your Arms (26) - rpt. 23 February 1989 (10)
 * short clips also featured on Christmas Day 1988 and Review of the 80s 1989

Others

 * 29 August 1987: It's Wicked (BBC One) - appearance
 * 01 September 1987: Children's BBC (BBC One) - Never Gonna Give You Up (promo video)
 * 06 September 1987: The Change the World Party (BBC Two) - 'greeting'
 * 08 September 1987: The Roxy (ITV) - Never Gonna Give You Up (promo video)
 * 25 October 1987: Now On Two (BBC Two) - interview
 * 27 October 1987: The Roxy (ITV) - Whenever You Need Somebody
 * 06 November 1987: What's All This Then? - Never Gonna Give You Up, Whenever You Need Somebody (?)
 * 09 November 1989: Daytime Live (BBC One).
 * 12 November 1987: Miss World 1987 (ITV & international) - Never Gonna Give You Up & Whenever You Need Somebody
 * 14 November 1987: Going Live (BBC One)
 * 04 December 1987: Wogan (BBC One) - When I Fall In Love
 * 08 February 1988: British Record Industry Awards ("BRITs") - Never Gonna Give You Up, Best Single.
 * 05 March 1988: Going Live (BBC One)
 * 10 April 1988: Diamond Awards Festival (ITV/LWT) Whenever You Need Somebody, Never Gonna Give You Up
 * 06 May 1988: The Last Resort (C4) - Ain't Too Proud To Beg
 * 23 June 1988: The Prince's Trust 88 Rock Gala (C4, rec. The Royal Albert Hall, London 06 June 1988) Never Gonna Give You Up
 * 09 October 1988: Live From The Palladium (LWT)
 * 30 October 1988: Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party (BBC One)  from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
 * 26 November 1988: The Royal Variety Performance 1988 (BBC One)
 * 03 December 1988: Going Live! (BBC One)
 * 21 December 1988: Rick Astley Christmas Special (ITV/TSW) - 35 mins. special
 * 25 December 1988: The Great British Pop Machine (ITV)
 * 03 February 1989: Wogan (BBC One)
 * 14 February 1989: Take Me To Your Heart (ITV/Anglia) - 35 min special (??)