Rick Astley
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| Rick Astley | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | February 06, 1966 (age 41) | |
| Origin |  Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire, England |
|
| Genre(s) | Pop, dance, R&B | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Years active | 1987–present | |
| Website | rickastleyofficial.com | |
Richard Paul Astley (born February 6, 1966) is an English dance-pop singer, songwriter and musician. He was born in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Merseyside, England.
Contents |
[edit] Career
In 1985, Astley was playing the club circuit as a singer with a soul band named FBI, when he was seen by the record producer Pete Waterman and persuaded to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio. Under the tutelage of production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio 'tea boy'. During much of his career prior to the proliferation of music videos, many listeners assumed he was black. Even after his visual appearance, it was still popular belief that he was miming for a black American singer. His brother Mark Astley helped to refute this asertion.
His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna" credited to Rick & Lisa, but his first solo outing was "Never Gonna Give You Up," released in 1987. It became an immediate success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. It was the first of no fewer than 13 (world-wide) Top 30 hit singles for him.
The album Whenever You Need Somebody also reached Number One in the UK, and the hit singles continued, including the title track and a cover of Nat King Cole's "When I Fall In Love."
On 12 March 1988, "Never Gonna Give You Up" had also topped the U.S. singles chart and was followed by a second U.S. #1 on 18 June with his second U.S. single release "Together Forever."
By the end of the decade, Astley had parted company with Stock Aitken Waterman. He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry For Help," which reached the Top 10 in both the UK and the U.S. It featured a gospel choir arranged by Andraé Crouch, who'd also been involved with Madonna's 1989 hit "Like A Prayer."
His next album Body & Soul was released in 1993. The album did not chart in the U.K. and managed to make The Billboard 200 peaking at a lowly #182. As he wasn't known as an adult contemporary artist before, his shift to the style wasn't as smooth, in the commercial sense, as one would have preferred. The two singles, The Ones You Love and Hopelessly performed very well on the adult contemporary chart, peaking at #19 and #4 respectively. Hopelessly also crossed over and peaked at #31 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight.
In 1991 the RIAA certified that two million copies of Whenever You Need Somebody had been sold. Total world sales of Astley's records (inclusive of singles, albums and compilation inclusions) have reached 40 million.
In 2005 Astley released the album Portrait in which he covered many classic soul standards such as "Vincent", "Nature Boy" and "Close To You".
In early 2006, Astley withdrew unexpectedly at the eleventh hour from appearing on the BBC TV celebrity/pro duets show Just the Two of Us after committing to the series. This led to criticism from those in the entertainment industry and media. His place was filled by opera singer Russell Watson, who eventually won the competition. The BBC failed to explain that Astley's withdrawal was due to his partner Lene Bausager being nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for her produced/directed film "Cashback". Astley would have missed a crucial part of the show by attending the awards ceremony and so withdrew before the show started its run.
According to Astley's official website, he is currently writing and recording a brand new album. No release date is listed.
[edit] Personal information
Astley currently resides in Richmond in Surrey with his Danish girlfriend, Lene Bausager, with whom he has a daughter, Emilie. [1][2]
[edit] Trivia
- Astley stands 5 feet 10 and a half inches tall[citation needed].
- The Wonder Stuff recorded the satirical B-side, "Astley in the Noose."
- Based on various music charts in the UK, U.S. and Canada, Astley has charted a grand total of 14 (different) hit singles and 6 (different) hit albums as of March 2006.
[edit] Discography
Canada Top data: for singles and albums from The Record magazine. U.S. Top data: for singles from The Billboard Hot 100, for albums from The Billboard 200; UK Top data for singles and albums is from UK Singles Chart.
[edit] Albums
- 1987 Whenever You Need Somebody (#2 Canada, #1 UK, #10 U.S. 1988)
- 1988 Hold Me in Your Arms (#3 Canada, #8 UK, #19 U.S. 1989)
- 1991 Free (#17 Canada, #9 UK, #31 U.S.)
- 1993 Body & Soul (#185 U.S.)
- 2001 Keep It Turned On
- 2005 Portrait (#26 UK)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Dance | US A.C. | UK singles | Canada singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Never Gonna Give You Up" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Whenever You Need Somebody |
| 1987 | "Whenever You Need Somebody" | - | - | - | 3 | - | Whenever You Need Somebody |
| 1987 | "When I Fall In Love"/"My Arms Keep Missing You" | - | - | - | 2 | - | Whenever You Need Somebody |
| 1988 | "Together Forever" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Whenever You Need Somebody |
| 1988 | "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man" | 10 | 8 | 1 | - | 2 | Whenever You Need Somebody |
| 1988 | "She Wants To Dance With Me" | 6 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | Hold Me In Your Arms |
| 1988 | "Take Me To Your Heart" | - | - | - | 8 | - | Hold Me In Your Arms |
| 1989 | "Hold Me In Your Arms" | - | - | - | 10 | - | Hold Me In Your Arms |
| 1989 | "Giving Up On Love" | 38 | - | 11 | - | 29 | Hold Me In Your Arms |
| 1989 | "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" | 89 | - | 16 | - | - | Hold Me In Your Arms |
| 1991 | "Cry For Help" | 7 | - | - | 7 | 3 | Free |
| 1991 | "Move Right Out" | 81 | - | - | 58 | - | Free |
| 1991 | "Never Knew Love" | - | - | - | 70 | - | Free |
| 1993 | "The Ones You Love" | - | - | 19 | 48 | - | Body And Soul |
| 1993 | "Hopelessly" | 28 | - | 4 | 33 | 23 | Body And Soul |
[edit] Compilations
- 2001 Together Forever - Greatest Hits and More...
- 2002 Greatest Hits (#16 UK)
- ? The Best of Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
- 2004 Love Songs
- 2004 Platinum & Gold Collection
[edit] See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles lacking sources from January 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | English blue-eyed soul singers | English pop singers | English dance musicians | English male singers | English songwriters | English electronic musicians | English singer-songwriters | Rhythmic contemporary musicians | Tenors | People from Newton-le-Willows | 1966 births | Living people
