NEVER MIND THE BALLADS
Rick Astley plans to rock on as a punk
EIGHTIES legend Rick Astley is planning a shock move into punk.
The singer wants to ditch his clean-cut image and adopt the Sex Pistols’ style on stage.
Rick, 52, has always been a massive fan of the Pistols, best known for their 1977 album Never Mind The Bollocks.
He told the Daily Star Sunday: “As some of my fans know, I have my own little mid-life crisis band, which play mainly Sex Pistols songs.
“I actually have a whole album full of Pistols songs to put out.”
Rick is famed for his upbeat pop smash Never Gonna Give You Up, which hit No.1 in 25 countries in 1987, so he reckons his new sound is likely to shock fans.
He added: “I am a closet rocker. My fans would be so shocked at how different I sound on the tracks.”
Rick is on a career high more than 30 years after he first hit the charts.
He made a comeback in 2016 and surpassed all expectations when his seventh album 50 – his first studio album in more than 10 years – reached the top spot.
Rick said, “I am in a very good space, what happened with my last record was pretty amazing. That was seen as a hobby made in my garage!
“I do enjoy it more because the pressure is not on and I’m not really famous anymore… if I wander about where we live nobody clocks me.”
Rick credits his wife Lene Bausager, 53, for helping his career continue for so long.
He added: “My wife and I work together and she manages me now, and has done for quite a few years.
“It’s great, because we get to travel a lot and go to some amazing places.
“Getting married was definitely a turning point and changed me emotionally and mentally… there’s just something really solid about it. I’m really, really glad we did it after a 15-year engagement.
Rick is also carving out an acting career after landing a cameo role in Hollyoaks.
It emerged last week he will be appearing on the Channel 4 soap later this year.
He is set to feature in a storyline alongside Kim Butterfield, played by Daisy Wood-Davis, 27, who helped make it happen.
She first got in touch with Rick by sending him messages on Twitter.