Publisher's Synopsis
Richard "Rick" Paul Astley, born on 6th February 1966, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, UK is a singer, songwriter & radio personality, who's been active in music for several decades. He became famous worldwide during the '80s, producing the hit Never Gonna Give You Up, followed by Together Forever and Whenever You Need Somebody, before returning to music full-time in the new millennium. Astley has also been a radio DJ & pod-caster. Brought up in Lancashire, Rick became the drummer of the soul group FBI after leaving school then 3 years later rose to fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman; issuing the L.P. Whenever You Need Somebody [1987], which sold 15.2 million copies. Astley's debut single Never Gonna Give You Up topped the charts in 25 countries, winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1988. That year Together Forever became his 2nd single to top the US Billboard Hot 100, also being one of his 8 songs to reach the UK top 10. The title track hit #1 in 7 countries, also making UK No 3. Rick's next album was Hold Me In Your Arms [1988], its lead single She Wants to Dance with Me, the 1st that he wrote himself, becoming a top 10 hit. Astley left Stock Aitken Waterman during 1991, his musical direction moving away from dance-pop towards soul, on his L.Ps Free (1991) then Body and Soul (1993). His single Cry for Help [1991] was Rick's last to reach the top 10 in either the US or UK, before he retired from music from 1994 to 2000 while bringing up his daughter. He returned to the music industry in the year 2000, releasing the single 'Sleeping' then the L.P. Keep It Turned On in 2001. Astley issued his covers album 'Portrait' 4 years later. He became an Internet phenomenon during 2007 when the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up became integral to the Rick-rolling meme, his career being revitalised by the meme's popularity. Rick issued the single Lights Out in 2010, after touring with Peter Kay then 6 years later his album '50' came out on his 50th birthday, entering the UK charts at No. 1. He released his latest studio L.P. Beautiful Life in 2018 then put out his greatest hits The Best of Me the following year, Astley's most recent albums being recorded at his home studio in Surrey. He'd sold c. 40 million records worldwide by 1994. A year after the Rick-rolling meme 's creation, Astley was voted Best Act Ever by Internet users at the MTV Europe Music Awards of 2008.
