Wednesdays are always a bit boring. The middle of the week. The dead space between the fun of the weekends. That is unless you’re in the castle this evening for the man who’s experiencing a massive renaissance over recent years in part thanks to being one of the internet’s most iconic memes – Mr Rick Astley is back in town ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between. Following a sold-out live show at the Utilita Arena back in February, Rick Astley is in the house, or rather Cardiff Castle, plying his wares again.
First up this evening, though, we have The Lightning Seeds who begin their set with Marvellous before the likes of Change and The Life Of Riley are aired to warm the crowd up before the main man himself. Notably, there’s no sign of the English football anthem Three Lions tonight in the Welsh capital – funny, that.
The clock strikes 9 pm, the music stops, and Rick Astley’s name appears on screen behind the stage. His band slowly appear one by one, then two by two, until Rick himself appears holding his guitar and beginning tonight’s set with Never Gonna Stop. “Good evening Cardiff!”, Rick says, “I was practicing Welsh before I came on stage, but it was a load of rubbish! Have a good night, that’s all I can tell you…” before Together Forever.
Beautiful Life, Dippin My Feet (with a small excerpt of the Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up) and She Wants To Dance With Me contribute to Rick and his band’s energetic start, before Rick himself acknowledges that there are some slow songs coming, as he’s “58 and tired”. Cue Hold Me In Your Arms and Driving Me Crazy.
Yet the speed picks back up with a cover of Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under, and just keeps going to the end of the show. Rick even jumps on the drums for a cover of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell (“this is the most rock’n’roll thing I’ve done in my life”), before “something completely different” in the form of Maria Love. Of course, there’s only one song he can end with and that is the iconic Never Gonna Give You Up which is received with rapturous glee. Even for a man approaching his sixties, Rick Astley is one of the live finest performers to come out of the 1980s – oozing charisma and charm with every step, note, and chord, at Cardiff Castle.
Rick Astley + The Lightning Seeds, Cardiff Castle, Wed 10 July
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS photos JON HERRON
