History Music / RickAstley

[[caption-width-right:291:He's [[WaxingLyrical never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you]].]]

* {{Anaphora}}: The chorus of "Never Gonna Give You Up":
-->'''Never gonna''' give you up\\

* TheEighties: Had most of his initial success in the latter half of this decade.

* PrecisionFStrike: [[https://youtu.be/LBHfRE3aE7c?t=30 "It's a focking chicken."]]

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Played with - Rick's first instrument was the drums and he often takes over drumming for a cover song during his sets [[LeadDrummer while still singing]] - notably he bashes out a rocking version of "Highway to Hell" by Music/{{ACDC}} in some concerts.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Let his hair grow in TheNineties. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRfPon9vmU the video for "Cry for Help"]].

* CoolOldGuy: Rick turned fifty in 2016, but he's definitely still got it with his concurrent album going straight to the top of the UK album chart on release.

[[caption-width-right:291:He's [[Justforfun/RickRoll never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you]].]]

* SelfPlagiarism: "Together Forever" sounds almost identical to "Never Gonna Give You Up". One possible reason why he's incorrectly considered a OneHitWonder is that people might be conflating the two songs in their memories.

* OneHitWonder: Subverted. While many people only know him for "Never Gonna Give You Up", he actually had a fairly solid pattern of successful singles throughout the '80s ("Whenever You Need Somebody" hit #3 on the yearly charts in his native UK, "Together Forever" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, "She Wants to Dance With Me" reached #6 on said Hot 100, and those are just off his first two albums).

* BadassBaritone: At the start of his career, he had to go and personally perform for some record company bosses who didn't believe such a deep soulful voice could come from a thin white guy.

[[caption-width-right:291:He's never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.]]

* VocalEvolution: As seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMHZVT91Dw this video]], his voice has gotten lower and more soulful over the years. You can tell because the backing track is in a lower key, and he doesn't hit any of the higher notes (e.g. "You know the rules, and ''so do'' I").

Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Astley is married to producer Lene Bausager and has one daughter. Astley has released or appeared on recordings that have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. He is best known for his 1987 hit single in 16 countries, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ "Never Gonna Give You Up"]].

Astley's astonishingly adroit handling of the Rickroll phenomenon was, years later, explained by him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1FWJJAKz30 on the Graham Norton show]] as having been given a crash course in meme culture by his then-teenage daughter, who bluntly informed him that "it's got ''nothing'' to do with you". His positive attitude did much to endear him to Millennials and he's found himself a new generation of (mostly) non-ironic fans. (No fool, he always sings "Never Gonna Give You Up" last at concerts. To be fair, it's lyrically quite fitting as a farewell song.)

* [[https://youtu.be/oEcXEk3zWXA She Wants To Dance With Me (Extended Version)]]

* [[https://youtu.be/eqQRN5OWgBw Take Me To Your Heart]]

* [[https://youtu.be/cc91EfoBh8A Angels On My Side]]

!!Never Gonna Trope You Out:

* TheChewToy: The saxophonist in "Take Me To Your Heart" just wants a bit part in Rick Astley's music video. Instead, he winds up getting shoved around by everyone (Astley himself included) for shoving himself in front of everyone at the most inopportune times.
* CoolOldGuy: Rick turned fifty in 2016 but has definitely still got it with his concurrent album going straight to the top of the UK album chart on release.
* CuteClumsyGirl: The leading girl of ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' keeps ruining her own vacation.
* DontYouDarePityMe: ''Cry for Help'' is all about this.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Let his hair grow in TheNineties. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRfPon9vmU See his video "Cry for Help"]].

* TotallyRadical: The videos are ''very'' Eighties.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The effect of the Macy's Parade JustForFun/{{Rickroll}} was weakened somewhat due to the intro stating Rick Astley would be making a guest appearance. However, he did not appear anywhere in the promotional materials, such as the New York Daily News' annual guide to the parade.

* VocalEvolution: As seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMHZVT91Dw this]] video, his voice has gotten lower and more soulful over the years. You can tell because the backing track is in a lower key, and he doesn't hit any of the higher notes (e.g. "You know the rules, and ''so do'' I").

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Astley's reaction to the whole Rickroll phenomenon, which culminated in...

* {{Anaphora}}: The chorus of "Never Gonna Give You Up"

%%* OverlyPrepreparedGag: That ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' "lead-up" went on for so long that it would have been perfectly reasonable to turn to another show ''and miss the payoff completely.''

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Played with - Rick's first instrument was the drums and he often takes over drumming for a cover song during his sets while still singing - notably he bashes out a rocking version of "Highway to Hell" by Music/{{ACDC}} in some concerts.

NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN!

[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rickastley.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:291:He's never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.]]
->''[[EpicRiff "Duh doom, duh doom, duh doom, pada da da."]]''

Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Astley is married to producer Lene Bausager and has one daughter. Astley has released or appeared on recordings that have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. He is best known for his 1987 hit single in 16 countries, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ "Never Gonna Give You Up"]].

After two successful dance-pop studio albums ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' (1987) and ''Hold Me in Your Arms'' (1988) helmed by [[Music/StockAitkenWaterman Stock, Aitken, and Waterman]], Astley changed his sound with his third album ''Free'' (1991), preferring to focus on ballads. However, fading into obscurity in the 1990s, Astley made a comeback in 2007 when he became a MemeticMutation, as his video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SvJ3fSlXww "Never Gonna Give You Up"]] became part of a popular meme known as JustForFun/{{Rickroll}}ing. Astley was voted by Internet users "Best Act Ever" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008. He even performed a Rickroll ''live in person'' on the Creator/CartoonNetwork float at the 2008 UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade.

Astley's astonishingly adroit handling of the Rickroll phenomenon was, years later, explained by him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1FWJJAKz30 on the Graham Norton show]] as having been given a crash course in meme culture by his then-teenage daughter, who bluntly informed him that "it's got ''nothing'' to do with you". His positive attitude did much to endear him to Millennials and he's found himself a new generation of (mostly) non-ironic fans. (No fool, he always sings "Never Gonna Give You Up" last at concerts. To be fair, it's lyrically quite fitting as a farewell song.)

In 2016 he turned fifty, released the album ''50'' and saw it go straight to number one on the UK album charts. In July 2021 "Never Gonna Give You Up" topped one billion views on Website/YouTube.

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!!Discography:

* ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' (1987)
* ''Hold Me in Your Arms'' (1988)
* ''Free'' (1991)
* ''Body & Soul'' (1993)
* ''Keep It Turned On'' (2001)
* ''Portrait'' (2005)
* ''50'' (2016)
* ''Beautiful Life'' (2018)

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!!Music videos:
* [[https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ Never Gonna Give You Up]]
* [[https://youtu.be/yPYZpwSpKmA Together Forever]]
* [[https://youtu.be/BeyEGebJ1l4 Whenever You Need Somebody]]
* [[https://youtu.be/oEcXEk3zWXA She Wants To Dance With Me (Extended Version)]]
* [[https://youtu.be/pfRfPon9vmU Cry for Help]]
* [[https://youtu.be/u9LH6lvrzAU Sleeping]]
* [[https://youtu.be/rgUrqGFxV3Q Lights Out]]
* [[https://youtu.be/eqQRN5OWgBw Take Me To Your Heart]]
* [[https://youtu.be/AC3Ejf7vPEY Keep Singing]]
* [[https://youtu.be/cc91EfoBh8A Angels On My Side]]
* [[https://youtu.be/dIxQ8X963mQ She Makes Me]]
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!!Never Gonna Trope You Out:
* AscendedMeme: Pretty much cemented when he personally JustForFun/{{Rickroll}}ed the UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade in 2008.
* BadassBaritone: At the start of his career, he had to go and personally perform for some record company bosses who didn't believe such a deep soulful voice could come from a thin white guy.
* TheChewToy: The saxophonist in "Take Me To Your Heart" just wants a bit part in Rick Astley's music video. Instead, he winds up getting shoved around by everyone (Astley himself included) for shoving himself in front of everyone at the most inopportune times.
* CoolOldGuy: Rick turned fifty in 2016 but has definitely still got it with his concurrent album going straight to the top of the UK album chart on release.
* CuteClumsyGirl: The leading girl of ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' keeps ruining her own vacation.
* DontYouDarePityMe: ''Cry for Help'' is all about this.
* TheEighties: Had most of his initial success in the latter half of this decade.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Let his hair grow in TheNineties. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRfPon9vmU See his video "Cry for Help"]].
* OrbitalShot: His "Lights Out" music video.
%%* OverlyPrepreparedGag: That ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' "lead-up" went on for so long that it would have been perfectly reasonable to turn to another show ''and miss the payoff completely.''
* PrecisionFStrike: [[https://youtu.be/LBHfRE3aE7c?t=30 "It's a focking chicken."]]
* SillyLoveSongs: In all fairness, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is a great love song.
* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Played with - Rick's first instrument was the drums and he often takes over drumming for a cover song during his sets while still singing - notably he bashes out a rocking version of "Highway to Hell" by Music/{{ACDC}} in some concerts.
* TotallyRadical: The videos are ''very'' Eighties.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The effect of the Macy's Parade JustForFun/{{Rickroll}} was weakened somewhat due to the intro stating Rick Astley would be making a guest appearance. However, he did not appear anywhere in the promotional materials, such as the New York Daily News' annual guide to the parade.
* VocalDissonance: His singing voice is so deep and it makes such a contrast with his red hair and pale skin, that he was believed to be the front man for a black singer. In fact, this happened when he sent his first tapes to music executives -- he had to sing on-stage to convince Stock, Aitken and Waterman that yes, ''he'' was the one singing.
* VocalEvolution: As seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMHZVT91Dw this]] video, his voice has gotten lower and more soulful over the years. You can tell because the backing track is in a lower key, and he doesn't hit any of the higher notes (e.g. "You know the rules, and ''so do'' I").
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-> ''Never gonna make you cry \\
Never gonna say goodbye \\
Never gonna index this page \\
And hurt you''
----