An amazing night for Rick and 10,000 fans, old and new
“IS anyone dancing? Oh, for god’s sake, Nottingham, IS ANYONE DANCING?” he quipped, with a broad smile and dry Lancastrian accent...
Every mention of Nottingham, of which there were many, triggered the sold-out crowd at the city’s Motorpoint Arena to go wild for the 80s icon who’s enjoying the most spectacular revival. Rick Astley was catapulted back to “uber cool” status after his superb performances at Glastonbury last year – a gig which, by his own admission, he wouldn’t have got had it not been for the Rickrolling internet prank (more on that later) and rocking New Year’s Eve party, on BBC1.
Amiable and witty “I’m a f ****** big deal, I know”, he says, struggling to keep a straight face after asking the crowd if they saw either of these events last year. Kicking off the opening night of his Are We There Yet? tour, with a track from his latest album of the same title, he provoked high-pitched screams from the outset.
“What, what?” he teased, to a group of middle-aged women going crazy at the front, “I’ve not done anything yet”, he retorted. It was a mix of old and new, with a few covers mixed in, that made up the setlist. “I kinda like playing other people’s songs”, he told us, “and there isn’t a better song than this”, as the band burst into As It Was, by Harry Styles and the crowd erupted. He sang it brilliantly.
Cry For Help saw the whole arena lit up with phone torches, swaying in time. It was breathtaking to see. “I sing all the time”, he told us, “but hearing these two showcase their voices in this song shows just what incredible singers they are”, standing with his two backing vocalists. Rick left the stage momentarily, for a quick costume change, while we were left speechless by their stunning performance.
Dressed in a sumptuous plum suit, and with his freshly-cut hair looking great (after posting earlier in the day on social media about how he desperately needed it cutting), it was hard to believe he’s 58. Not only can he sing though, and impressively well, he is a highly skilled musician.
It was astonishing to see him transfer from guitar to drums with such ease for Highway To Hell. The crowd loving the way ALL the other band swapped instruments too. What a talented bunch.
Rick’s self-deprecating humour had us captivated to hear what he was going to say as much as what he was going to sing.
Joking about “punching above his weight” with his wife, having no female attention at school until he joined a band and how “fame, money and fantastic suits” changed everything for him, he was very entertaining.
The 90 minutes flew by and it was time for the song we’d all been waiting for. Never Gonna Give You Up, topped the chart in 25 countries, back in 1987. The video to this hit has been viewed on Youtube over 1.4 billion times, to date, thanks to the Rickrolling prank where internet users were duped into clicking on a link, which took them to the video.
Undoubtedly assisting in his huge resurgence, he also now has an Emote skin in the computer game Fortnite, one of the most popular games in the world right now. “I’m feeling pretty good, Nottingham”, he told us during the mass singalong with every single one of the 10,000 fans up on their feet.
“I’ve had an amazing night, I’ll never forget it!’
He didn’t need to ask that initial question again, Nottingham WAS dancing and WE were all feeling pretty good, too.