One of the 1980s biggest names, Rick Astley was born in a small town which now lies within Merseyside.
Born and raised in Newton-le-Willows, the pop star first became a musician after leaving school and joining the soul band FBI as drummer. But his true rise to stardom would come three years later, when he released his debut album Whenever You Need Somebody - selling 15.2 million copies worldwide.
Debut single Never Gonna Give You Up has become synonymous with the 80s music scene, and its importance to music of the time cannot be understated. The now 56-year-old recently reissued the 1987 debut album, and since he was one of the biggest stars of the 80s, how much is Rick Astley really worth?
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According to website Celebrity Net Worth.com, the dad-of-one is estimated to have a net worth of around £12.1 million, making him one of the wealthiest people to come out of the St Helens borough. However, despite this high net worth, the superstar may not have made as much money from his smash hits as you think.
Undoubtedly, Mr Astley's biggest hit is Never Gonna Give You Up, with the 1987 track amassing over a billion views on YouTube and spawning an array of internet memes. Despite this, according to The Register, as of 2010, Astley had directly received only $12 in performance royalties from YouTube.
Although by that time the song had been played 39 million times, Astley did not compose the song and received only a performer's share of the sound recording copyright. Though this figure will likely have risen in the 12 years since, many were shocked at the sum that was made.
Rick Astley was married in 2003, and has one child with his wife Lene Bausager, who is of Danish descent. The Times reported in 2018 the pair met at Copenhagen Airport in 1988, while Lene was working for Astley's record label in Denmark.
Their daughter, Emilie Astley was born in 1992, and now works as a garden designer.
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