Born in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, in 1966, Rick Astley signed a production deal with Stock Aitken Waterman in his late teens, where he also worked as a teaboy and tape operator. His debut single, 1987’s Never Gonna Give You Up, got to No 1 in 25 countries, including the US, and later fuelled the internet phenomenon of Rickrolling, where a person is sent a link to its video that first appears to be something else (to date, the video has 1.4bn views on YouTube). Astley became one of the hits of this year’s Glastonbury with his self-deprecating Pyramid stage solo show and an afternoon set of Smiths covers with the indie band Blossoms. His ninth studio album, Are We There Yet?, is released next month.
How did you become such a sensation at Glastonbury?
We got very lucky. Half an hour before my Pyramid stage set there was nobody there – my wife and I thought it was going to be a disaster. But my daughter, Emilie, who was steaming my trousers backstage – she doesn’t usually, I might add – said: “Dad, go and enjoy it like when you’re playing in a pub with the band… Forget about the cameras and everything.” And we did. And then there was the Smiths show later with Blossoms, which was bonkers.
