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, with seven Top 10 hits in the space of 18 months, and a further hit in 1991, making him the first male solo artist to see his first eight singles reach the UK Top 10, 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.[1]
In June 2023 Astley performed live at the Glastonbury Festival, both with his own band and with Blossoms performing songs originally recorded by The Smiths [2].
Discography[]
UK only (peak chart positions in brackets, top 40 only)
| Year | Singles | Albums |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Never Gonna Give You Up (1) | Whenever You Need Somebody (01) |
| Whenever You need Somebody (3) | ||
| When I Fall In Love (2) | ||
| 1988 | Together Forever (2) | |
| She Wants To Dance With Me (2) | Hold Me In Your Arms (08) | |
| Take Me to Your Heart (8) | ||
| 1989 | Hold Me In Your Arms (10) | |
| 1991 | Cry For Help (7) | Free (9) |
| 1993 | Hopelessly (33) | Body & Soul (-) |
| 2002 | Greatest Hits (16) | |
| 2005 | Portrait (26) | |
| 2008 | Ultimate Collection (17) | |
| 2016 | 50 (1) |
source Official Charts Archive
TV appearances[]
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) [3]
- 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
- 24 January 1991: Cry For Help (14)
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 [4]
- 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 (??)
- 12 January 1991: Cry For Help (ITV Chart Show)
- 16 January 1991: Wogan (BBC1) Cry For Help & interview
- 23 March 1991: Move Right Out on ITV Chart Show (song did not chart)
- 15 June 1991: Never Knew Love on ITV Chart Show (single did not chart)
- 25 June 2023: Glastonbury performance (BBC Two)
Radio[]
- 27 June 2010: Weekend Wogan [5]
Scrapbook[]
