Rick Astley has shared insights into how he was viewed within the music industry after gaining fame as one of the artists associated with the Stock, Aiken, and Waterman label in the 1980s.
In a new interview with The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, the ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ singer revealed that his success came with a certain level of complexity and challenges, such as fearing that people wanted to punch him. He explained:
“And every room I ever walked in, unless the other artists and people around the management and everybody were extremely pop… I’d kind of feel alright, but if I’ve ever gone where there were like musicians, I’d just think everyone in this room thinks I’m a tw*t and wants to f*cking punch me. Honest to God.”
Throughout his career, the singer has encountered unexpected occurrences, including having others write songs for him without his awareness:
“It’s painful to go through if I’m honest. And also…I fall into some weird slots in the sense that as a kid, I played drums in a band for a few years. I became a singer. I wrote songs. I just happened to meet Stock, Aiken, and Waterman and went, ‘What the hell’s this?’ And they said ‘We write the songs you just go and sit over there, right.'”
Astley’s Thoughts On Fame
Astley has been actively involved in the music scene since the 1980s, delivering eight albums, with the latest being ‘Beautiful Life’ in 2018. Despite his continued musical journey, many might struggle to identify any of his tracks beyond ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’ While this particular song catapulted him to fame, there’s a possibility that Astley may not harbor the same level of affection for it.
As a result of the instant fame he got with the hit, the singer decided not to perform it live for fifteen years. This was until last year when he ‘learned to quietly embrace it.’ Now, he wishes he had more songs like that:
“I have reconnected with it in a kind of way. I don’t want to shake it off because it has opened so many doors. I wish I had five more [songs like it] to be honest.”
The singer got into last year’s Glastonbury, where he sang the hit song too. He acknowledged where the popularity of the song took him, especially with the ‘Rickrolling’ meme:
“Without my old songs and without the Rickrolling thing with its own little universe, I wouldn’t have got the invite to Glastonbury.”
You can see the interview below.
