Rick Astley
Richard Paul Astley (born February 6, 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was born in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England.
Career
In 1985, Rick Astley was playing the club circuit as a singer with a soul band named FBI, when he was seen by the record producer Pete Waterman and persuaded to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio. Under the tutelage of production trio Stock Aitken Waterman Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the studio tea boy! During much of his career prior to the proliferation of music videos, many listeners assumed he was black.
His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna" credited to Rick & Lisa, but his first solo outing was "Never Gonna Give You Up," released in 1987. It became an immediate success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. It was the first of no fewer than 13 (world-wide) top 30 hit singles for him.
The album Whenever You Need Somebody also reached Number One in the UK, and the hit singles continued, including the title track and a cover of Nat King Cole's "When I Fall In Love."
By January 1988, "Never Gonna Give You Up" had also topped the U.S. singles chart and was followed by a second U.S. #1 in April with his second U.S. single release "Together Forever."
By the end of the decade, Astley had parted company with Stock Aitken Waterman. He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry For Help," which reached the Top 10 in both the UK and the US. It featured a gospel choir arranged by Andraé Crouch, who'd also been involved with Madonna's 1989 hit "Like A Prayer."
For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight by his own choice, allegedly because he didn't like flying around the world or the media circus inherent with being a pop star, but also so that he could raise a family.
In 1991 the RIAA certified that two million copies of Whenever You Need Somebody had been sold. Total world sales of Astley's records (inclusive of singles, albums and compilation inclusions) have reached 40 million.
In 2005 Rick released the album "Portrait" in which he covered many classic soul standards such as "Vincent", "Nature Boy" and "Close To You".
In early 2006, Astley withdrew unexpectedly at the eleventh hour from appearing on the BBC TV celebrity/pro duets show Just the Two of Us after committing to the series. This led to criticism from those in the entertainment industry and media. His place was filled by opera singer Russell Watson, who eventually won the competition. The BBC failed to explain that Rick's withdrawal was due to his partner Sian Reeves being nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Short Film for her produced/directed film "Cashback". Rick would have missed a crucial part of the show by attending the awards ceremony and so withdrew before the show started its run.
According to Rick's Official website, he is currently writing and recording a brand new album. No release date is listed.
Trivia
- The Wonderstuff recorded the satirical B-side, "Astley in the Noose."
- Rick Astley is listed as one of the back-up vocalists in Disney's The Lion King soundtrack, in the songs "Circle of Life", "I Just Can't Wait to be King", and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight (End Title)".
- Based on various music charts in the U.K., U.S. and Canada, Rick has charted a grand total of 14 (different) hit singles and 6 (different) hit albums as of March 2006.
- Astley's hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" spawned the popular catchphrase and romantic pick-up line, "You wouldn't get this from any other guy."
- The music video for Astley's hit single "Never Gonna Give You Up" was recently parodied in an internet short created by Invisible Engine [1] called "Never Gonna" [2], in which a man picks up a seashell and begins to experience an interpretation of Astley singing to him on a beach. The short takes a dark turn when the singer suddenly dies in the ocean while singing, and then begins to haunt the listener in his day to day life.
Discography
Canada Top data: for singles and albums from The Record magazine. U.S. Top data: for singles from The Billboard Hot 100, for albums from The Billboard 200; UK Top data for singles and albums is from UK Singles Chart.
Albums
- 1987 Whenever You Need Somebody (#2 Canada, #1 UK, #10 U.S. 1988)
- 1988 Hold Me in Your Arms (#3 Canada, #8 UK, #19 U.S. 1989)
- 1991 Free (#17 Canada, #9 UK, #31 U.S.)
- 1993 Body & Soul (#185 U.S.)
- 2001 Keep It Turned On
- 2005 Portrait (#26 UK)
Singles
- 1987 "Never Gonna Give You Up" (Canada #1, UK #1, U.S. #1)
- 1987 "Whenever You Need Somebody" (UK #3)
- 1987 "When I Fall In Love"/"My Arms Keep Missing You" (UK #2)
- 1988 "Don't Say Goodbye"
- 1988 "Together Forever" (Canada #1, UK #2, U.S. #1)
- 1988 "It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man" (Canada #2, U.S. #9)
- 1988 "She Wants To Dance With Me" (Canada #1, UK #6, U.S. # 6)
- 1988 "Take Me To Your Heart" (UK #8)
- 1989 "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"/"Put Yourself in My Place" (#89 U.S.)
- 1989 "Hold Me In Your Arms" (UK #10)
- 1989 "Giving Up on Love" (Canada #29, U.S. #38)
- 1991 "Cry For Help" (Canada #3, UK #7, U.S. #7)
- 1991 "Never Knew Love"
- 1991 "Move Right Out" (U.S. #81)
- 1993 "Hopelessly" (Canada #23 (airplay), U.S. #28, #33 UK)
- 1994 "The Ones You Love" (#19 U.S. Adult Contemporary)
- 2001 "Sleeping"
Compilations
- 2001 Together Forever - Greatest Hits and more...
- 2002 Greatest Hits (#16 UK)
- ? The Best of Rick Astley - Never gonna give you up
- 2004 Love Songs
- 2004 Platinum & Gold Collection
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart