The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
RICK IS ROLLING
Seems fans are never gonna give up one-time pop giant Astley
Little did Rick Astley know 30 years ago his signature hit songs “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever” weren’t necessarily about romance but instead the everlasting love of his fanbase. ¶ That became evident two years ago when Astley, who in the mid-’90s walked away from his pop career to raise his family, released his first original album in more than a decade in a half. The overseas response to “50” was amazing.
“I did the record for fun, really, and it just grew into something else,” said Astley, calling from Toronto. “We had a No 1. album in the U.K. I know I’m blowing my own trumpet, but somebody’s got to. It was just absolutely crazy. It kind of changed things a little bit. The last couple of tours we’ve done in the U.K. and Europe we’re playing to much bigger audiences.
“They’re singing new songs back at me. That’s been freaky. I can really look at my career and say, ‘I don’t have regrets. I got out of the business at the right time.’ I think the music business gets really tired of pop artists very quickly. So it was a mutual parting, probably. But I did it somewhat on my own terms. I wasn’t kind of thrown out of the building.”
In the U.K., Astley is the first male solo artist to have his first eight singles reach the top 10. Throughout his career, the Grammy Awardnominated singer sold more than 40 million records, with hit U.S. singles “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Whenever You Need Somebody,” “Together Forever,” “She Wants to Dance With Me” and “Crying for Help.”
Now Astley is back touring stateside with a show slated for April 22 at House of Blues Cleveland. Of course, fans can expect to hear all of his hits, as well as a few unexpected covers that speak to what he calls his midlife crisis.
“I have a little band with two friends, and we only play, like, Sex Pistols and anything rock and a bit punk,” he said. “We play around my hometown doing charity shows. I love doing it and singing it. It’s a natural extension to every now and again do a song perhaps people wouldn’t expect me to do on my tours.
“I’m a massive fan of early AC/DC, as well. You wouldn’t believe that, but I am. I think stuff like that gets burned into your DNA. I love R&B and Motown, but somewhere inside of me there’s a closet rock drummer, and I can’t get away from that.”
That explains why fans attending the Rock Hall City show may hear AC/ DC’s “Highway to Hell” and the Foo Fighters’ “Everlong.” The latter is actually, in a way, tied to his recent resurgence, along with the viral Internet meme known as Rickrolling, in which people online are tricked into seeing his “Never Gonna Give You Up” video.
This organic phenomenon recently led to Astley joining the Foo Fighters on stage in Japan for a rocking cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up.” He said it was a blast.
“It was absolutely crazy, and that’s probably the epitome of why I appreciate what happened back in the day,” Astley said. “The Rickrolling thing, some artists could look at it and they’d be really upset about it, and I totally respect that. If you are what I like to refer as a ‘real artist,’ and you bled for those songs, then I totally respect that.
“You don’t want anybody doing any kind of fooling around with the situation, but for me, I just look back at ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and think what a great time I had. It’s amazing that song will just not die. It just won’t go away for some reason.”