Rick Astley

Rick Astley, born Richard Paul Astley on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, became one of Britain's most recognizable late-1980s pop singers through a partnership with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. Before recording success, he worked in his father's market garden business and played drums in local bands, including Give Way. His voice came to the attention of producer Pete Waterman after Astley sang with the soul band FBI. Waterman brought him to London, where he initially worked around PWL while developing as vocalist. This then began his baritone-led dance-pop career amid the British chart team's peak commercial influence. Astley's debut single, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” was released in 1987 and spent five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, it also topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Its video, directed by Simon West, placed the singer in a dance studio; decades later, it formed the basis of rickrolling, the online bait-and-switch meme. His album, Whenever You Need Somebody, topped the UK chart on release and yielded UK hits: “Together Forever” and “It Would Take a Strong Strong Man.” In 1988, “Together Forever” became Astley's second US number-one single, while the follow-up album Hold Me in Your Arms reached number eight in Britain. Seeking greater control after his career's structured production, he left Stock Aitken Waterman and issued the 1991 album Free. He wrote or co-wrote its material and moved toward soulful styles. Free included “Cry for Help,” which reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number seven on Billboard Hot 100. Astley stepped away from music business in 1993 at age twenty-seven to focus on family life with Lene Bausager. They married and have daughter Emilie together. Astley returned to recording with Keep It Turned On in 2001, followed by Portrait in 2005, an album of standards. His 2016 album 50, released around his fiftieth birthday, was written with producer and co-writer Chris Braide and debuted at number one in the UK. The album's success made it his first British number-one album since his debut. In 2018 he released Beautiful Life, largely performing its instruments himself, and in 2023 issued Are We There Yet?, whose title track reflected his continued collaboration with Braide. In 2017, Foo Fighters joined him for Never Gonna Give You Up in Japan.