On April 13, Rick Astley, 80s pop favourite and star of one of the biggest crazes in YouTube history, is performing at St David’s Hall. Alec Evans spoke to him about what to expect from the show, his favourite new music and his opinions on his 187-million-YouTube-hits music video to this day.
Your musical life started out with quite Welsh beginnings, singing in a church choir…
“I’ve always said that it’s a fantastic thing, just making music with human beings. Whether it’s a gospel choir or a Church of England, it’s a group of people making a noise together in harmony and in tune. When you hear a choir in a church, I defy anybody not to be moved by it. It’s spiritual, whatever god you believe in, or not.”
For fans who haven’t been up-to-date with your career recently, what is it about the 2016 Rick Astley concert experience that makes it a good night out?
“I think the thing is, I really enjoy myself. I’m 50 years old and never get onstage without having that feeling of, ‘This is my time to really enjoy myself’. Of course there’s a retro thing going on, older songs mean something to people. People had their first date and walk down the aisle to them, and because I’ve lived a bit, I’ve got songs that mean that to me. I think that gets distilled into when I go onstage, I make an effort and try and enjoy it and I want people to enjoy it.”
Latest single ‘Keep Singing’ premiered back in February. Can we expect a similar sound on your upcoming album?
“They’re not all like that, but there are quite a few, music that people can really sing on. Going for that choral choir sort effect and gospel thing is something that I’ve always really enjoyed anyway. There’s a few tracks on the record that are, I’m not going to call them ‘dance songs’, because I’m far too middle-aged for that, but they are songs that a certain person could shuffle to. There’s still certain things about dance music that gets me going, even at my age, whether it’s the latest Calvin Harris thing or whatever.”
You’ve been covering ‘Uptown Funk’ recently at your live shows…
“Yeah, my taste in music is wider than it’s ever been. I really love Ed Sheeran, for instance, I love the fact that not every record he makes is just him and the guitar, but how he can stand there with his guitar and say, these are my songs, this is me, and it really works. It’s not just old guys who when I was a kid I appreciated, it’s everything, I find.”
Rick rolling is what a lot of younger readers may know you for.
“You know what, most people would say ‘Thank god!’”
Is there anything you would have done differently with the video for ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ if you knew it was going to pop up in the strangest of places on YouTube?
“No, I’m not one of those people who looks back and either regrets or wishes they could change stuff. I just look at what I’ve got and where I am and I don’t really want to change any of it. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a pretty cheesy video, I thought it was pretty cheesy when we made it, but I wouldn’t want to change it, and I don’t regret any of it at all, no.”
Rick rolling seems to be a success story of the digital age. Is use of social media something you see as important to keeping the Rick Astley brand alive?
“Yeah, it’s massively important. Towards the end of last year, we got a digital team and they are amazing in terms of keeping it going. I still obviously put stuff on Facebook, but it’s not my instant thing. The Rick rolling thing was pretty good for me, a whole generation of people know who I am, a vague idea of ‘that’s that guy with a red quiff’. You couldn’t sit in a boardroom at Sony or wherever and analyse it. That’s the beauty of the internet.”