Line #30 Music/RickAstley


1	[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rickastley.gif]]
2	[[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]]. Plus, he's never gonna stop.]]
3	->''[[EpicRiff "Duh doom, duh doom, duh doom, pada da da."]]''
4
5	Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. 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"]].
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7	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.
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9	Astley's astonishingly adroit handling of the Rickroll phenomenon was, years later, explained by him on ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1FWJJAKz30 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.)
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11	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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13	He is married to producer Lene Bausager and has one daughter.
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17	!!Discography:
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19	* ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' (1987)
20	* ''Hold Me in Your Arms'' (1988)
21	* ''Free'' (1991)
22	* ''Body & Soul'' (1993)
23	* ''Keep It Turned On'' (2001)
24	* ''Portrait'' (2005)
25	* ''50'' (2016)
26	* ''Beautiful Life'' (2018)
27	* ''Are We There Yet?'' (2023)
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30
31	!!Music videos:
32	* [[https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ Never Gonna Give You Up]]
33	* [[https://youtu.be/yPYZpwSpKmA Together Forever]]
34	* [[https://youtu.be/BeyEGebJ1l4 Whenever You Need Somebody]]
35	* [[https://youtu.be/oEcXEk3zWXA She Wants to Dance with Me (Extended Version)]]
36	* [[https://youtu.be/pfRfPon9vmU Cry for Help]]
37	* [[https://youtu.be/u9LH6lvrzAU Sleeping]]
38	* [[https://youtu.be/rgUrqGFxV3Q Lights Out]]
39	* [[https://youtu.be/eqQRN5OWgBw Take Me to Your Heart]]
40	* [[https://youtu.be/AC3Ejf7vPEY Keep Singing]]
41	* [[https://youtu.be/cc91EfoBh8A Angels on My Side]]
42	* [[https://youtu.be/dIxQ8X963mQ She Makes Me]]
43	* [[https://youtu.be/qWNQUvIk954?si=94MFObM_-s_0QHel Never Gonna Stop]]
44	----
45	!!Never Gonna Trope You Up:
46	* TheEighties: Had most of his initial success in the latter half of this decade.
47	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Astley's reaction to the whole Rickroll phenomenon, which culminated in him performing the song at the UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade in 2008.
48	* {{Anaphora}}:
49	** The chorus of "Never Gonna Give You Up":
50	--->'''Never gonna''' give you up\
51	'''Never gonna''' let you down\
52	'''Never gonna''' run around and desert you\
53	'''Never gonna''' make you cry\
54	'''Never gonna''' say goodbye\
55	'''Never gonna''' tell a lie and hurt you
56	** In "Never Gonna Stop", the chorus begins each line with the phrase "never gonna," the bridge features "I don't think" at the start of each line (with the occasional "no" tossed in), and the outro begins each line with "tell me."
57	* AscendedMeme: Pretty much cemented when he personally JustForFun/{{Rickroll}}ed the UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade in 2008.
58	* 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.
59	* CuteClumsyGirl: The leading girl of "Whenever You Need Somebody" keeps ruining her own vacation.
60	* DistinctDoubleAlbum: Astley's 2019 compilation album ''The Best of Me'' features a first disc that's a standard GreatestHitsAlbum and a second disc containing re-recordings of old material, billed "Reimagined Classics".
61	* DontYouDarePityMe: "Cry for Help" is all about this.
62	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Let his hair grow in TheNineties, coinciding with his decision to break away from Music/StockAitkenWaterman and shift focus to {{soul}} music. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRfPon9vmU the video for "Cry for Help"]].
63	* MeaningfulName: Astley's third album marked his breakaway from Music/StockAitkenWaterman, who produced most of the material on his first two albums and cultivated a "boy next door" image for him that he was quickly growing tired of. Accordingly, the name of the record is ''Free''.
64	* OrbitalShot: His "Lights Out" music video.
65	%%* PrecisionFStrike: [[https://youtu.be/LBHfRE3aE7c?t=30 "It's a focking chicken."]] (Weblinks are not examples)
66	* 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. "Whenever You Need Somebody" also opens with a drum riff ''very'' similar to the intro of "Never Gonna Give You Up", though it deviates much further after that.
67	* SillyLoveSongs: In all fairness, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is a great love song.
68	* 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.
69	* TotallyRadical: The videos for his songs are ''very'' Eighties.
70	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The effect of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day 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.
71	* 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.
72	* VocalEvolution: As seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMHZVT91Dw this video]], his voice has gotten lower and more soulful over the years - making him sound younger as he gets older. 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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74	-> ''Never gonna make you cry \
75	Never gonna say goodbye \
76	Never gonna index this page \
77	And hurt you''

Context Music / RickAstley