Rick Astley has ‘learned to quietly embrace’ massive success of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’

Maanya Sachdeva
·2 min read
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Rick Astley has reflected on his chart-topping debut single “Never Gonna Give You Up”, crediting it for “opening new doors” despite not singing it for 15 years.

The 1987 smash hit was resurrected in the Noughties, as internet users reported they were getting “rickrolled” – or tricked into clicking on a link for the track’s music video. Today, the song has over 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

Astley, 57, said he has “learned to quietly embrace” the success of “Never Gonna Give You Up” after “15 years of not singing it”, in a new interview on BBC North West Tonight.

"I had 15 years of not singing it," the English singer-songwriter admitted. "I can understand some artists would be freaked out about [the success of] it and run a mile, but I’ve learned to quietly embrace it.

"I have reconnected with it in a kind of way,” he added.

Astley also said the song had opened “so many doors” for him – including his debut Glastonbury performance this year – that he wished he had “five more” like it.

In June, festival-goers gathered in front of the Pyramid Stage to watch Astley perform a selection of his greatest hits – including “Never Gonna Give You Up” – as the award-winning musician said playing at the festival was among his career highlights.

"Without my old songs and without the Rickrolling thing with its own little universe, I wouldn’t have got the invite to Glastonbury," Astley said, during his BBC appearance.

"It was really, really special [and] I defy [anyone] to be on the Pyramid stage and not feel the enormity of it,” he continued.

Earlier this year, it was reported an Astley superfan got a QR code tattoo which, when scanned, leads to the music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” on YouTube.

“I didn’t expect it to work but luckily, it did,” said Massimo Mancin, at the time. “I kept looking over again to see if it was the right QR code.”

Astley released his ninth, and long-awaited, studio album Are We There Yet? On 13 October.

Launching the album, Astley wrote on X/Twitter: “Are We There Yet? is finally out today. It was a joy to make this album and play some of the tracks for you this summer. I can’t wait for you to hear the rest of the album, I hope you love it as much as I do!”