Tony Cowell
Rick Astley, 52, topped the charts in 25 countries with one of the bestselling songs of the 80s. Then, aged just 27, the Merseyside-born singer retired after selling 40 million records. In 2016, his comeback album went straight to No.1 in the UK, but he tells best why he’s haunted by his past...
Your comeback album,
50, went to No.1 in 2016. Did that success surprise you at all?
Absolutely! To be honest, I basically made that record as a celebration of reaching 50. I made it for my fans on social media. So when I heard it had got to No.1, I was in complete shock. I remember standing in my kitchen opening a bottle of wine to celebrate. It was such a great feeling, and so unexpected.
Did that success give you a real confidence boost?
It did, yes. It was my opportunity to showcase my songwriting. The fact that people appeared to love those songs, inspired me to carry on and write this new album. I always felt I could write good tunes, but it was very nice to have that validated and to hear them being played on the radio. Never Gonna Give You Up wasn’t my song, it was just me singing it. So that’s very different.
How do you look back on 1993 – the year you decided to walk away from your career?
I never fell out of love with the music, I walked away from the business. After doing it for five years, it was a good time to stop. I don’t look back on that time and think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have done it.’ I think it was the right decision at the time.
Your new album has some very personal songs on there, about your wife, film producer Lene, and your 26-year-old daughter, Emilie...
Yes, and I think subconsciously all the songs I write are about relationships. I can’t help it, it just comes out that way. I don’t go into my studio with the intention of writing songs about my family, but it just happens. They are the closest thing to me, and are constantly on my mind – in a loving way. When I sing these songs on stage, it brings the feeling alive. The new single, Beautiful
Life, is a celebration of your success, but were there less happy times in the past? I’m a Northerner, so I can see a grey cloud at the drop of a hat. I think I have this thing where I can see dark things when they’re not actually there. I have a habit of wandering into negativity. I never say I suffer from depression, because that would be an insult to people who really do struggle with it. Mine is more of a sadness. My upbringing wasn’t perfect, in the sense that my parents got divorced when I was quite young. My older brother died from meningitis, and that left a black cloud in our house and caused a barrier between my parents. I ended up staying late at school to be in plays and perform – just to avoid going home to a sad house.
How old were you when your parents split?
I was five. My parents had been through the most awful thing any parent could go through – losing a child. So I think, for me,
those emotions from the past are never that far from the surface, really.
How do you handle those emotions performing live?
I feel it most when I do charity gigs. I tend to lose it, get very emotional and think just how lucky I am to be here. I try not to cry on stage but if I do, I don’t try to hide it. Singing to 10,000 people is the easy bit, but afterwards, on your own in a hotel room, you suddenly feel as if that never happened – it’s very hard to adjust to suddenly being alone. The highs and lows are the problem, and I really can understand how some very talented artists have ended up taking that final dreadful step, alone in some hotel room.
Your wife, Lene, has always been deeply supportive, hasn’t she?
Yes. I have been very lucky, and I put a lot of the success we have had with the last album down to her. Sometimes it’s hard being away from each other, but I believe we make it work. She handles all my management now, so she plays a huge part in every portion of my life. I’m one of those rare guys in pop who have been very lucky to have good people around them. That’s quite uncommon in this business.
Which artists inspire you at the moment?
I’m a bit of a closet rocker, to be honest. I have my own little mid-life crisis band, where I play Sex Pistols songs! I’m a big fan of the Foo Fighters, too. If you listen to them, they’re quite influenced by The Beatles. I love Adele, of course, and Sam Smith.
‘I’m one of those rare guys in pop who have been very lucky to have good people around them. That’s quite uncommon in this business’