Rick Astley On New Book ‘Never,’ Connection To ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’

With YouTube views nearing two billion and Spotfiy streams closing in on another billion, Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” continually finds new life, the rare pop song that’s caught on across multiple generations over the course of nearly four decades.

Following its release in 1987, the song would go on to reach #1 in 25 countries, driving the multi-platinum Whenever You Need Somebody album to global sales in excess of 15 million copies.

Maintaining a seemingly ubiquitous status in the late 80s, the song would find new life in the 2000s thanks to the popularity of Rickrolling, an online phenomenon which diverts unsuspecting web surfers to the infamous, trench coat-clad dancing of Astley in the “Never Gonna Give You Up” video.

Astley himself embraced the concept in 2008, shocking millions of television viewers with an unexpected appearance during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, further driving views of the video while raising the British singer’s profile in America to new heights.

The incredible story behind that song sits at the heart of the new book Never: The Autobiography (now available in hardcover or paperback or via ebook and audiobook via Pan Macmillan with a six track EP available on streaming platforms), one which examines Astley’s time alongside production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, who constructed the track, as well as the turbulent upbringing that led him to embrace both music and the stage in the hopes of finding security and escape.

“Obviously, I think anybody doing an autobiography wants to be honest. But I see the importance of my childhood forming why I became – I’m gonna use the term – a ‘pop star.’ And that wasn’t just about music,” Astley explained during a recent video call. “I’ve been in my little studio at the back of the house today. I’m always in there one way or another. I still love it. I love gigging. But I think the thing that made me get on a stage was not just music: it was about finding a safe place away from the childhood that wasn’t that safe and wasn’t really that regular. I wanted to be really honest about that,” said the singer.

“I think, for a lot of people, once your parents are gone, you can just speak as honestly as you want to about the way you were brought up. I didn’t speak to my dad for the last 25 years or more of his life. I’ve got two older brothers and an older sister and I kind of talked to them at great length, and cleared it with them, and made sure they were OK with it. But I just think you’ve got to tell the story of how you got there,” Astley continued. “It’s probably not as sexy reading but it’s more important – those years that formed you and gave you your stamp to say this is what you think about life and how you want to change it and live it.”

Long hesitant to write a book, Astley worked with ghostwriter Alexis Petridis (The Guardian, GQ) to craft the new tome, one which takes fans on a journey into Astley’s tumultuous childhood, the heights of fame and his decision to walk away from it in 1993 at the age of just 27.

Petridis also collaborated with Elton John on his aptly-titled 2019 autobiography Me, one which loomed large for Astley while dreaming up his own.

“The Elton one’s interesting for lots of reasons,” he said of the partnership with Petridis. “My favorite autobiography of all time though is Open by Andre Agassi. It’s amazing. And Michael Caine’s I really love,” said Astley, referencing efforts by the tennis legend and iconic actor respectively. “I have an awful lot of respect for somebody who writes. I might have written a few songs that have done OK – but I am not a writer,” said Astley with a smile.

“So, I wanted somebody a bit like a really good director or editor of a movie. It might be your life story but I think you need someone to put some kind of a story and path in it that’s readable for people. Because what I said to the publishers that we went with, and our agents and stuff, was, ‘I want to make a book that someone takes off a friend’s shelf and borrows. Or finds it in an airport or a shop and takes it on holiday – and is entertained by it,’” Astley explained. “I love autobiographies and biographies. But I also want to be entertained by them.”

By the early 90s, the grunge rock of Seattle, Washington was beginning to define music tastes and trends in the U.S., sidelining a generation of pop stars virtually overnight.

Ten years later, the music industry would experience upheaval of its own, with the internet beginning its ascent as the primary source for music consumption, soon cratering sales of recorded music amidst the rise of online file sharing and streaming.

When Astley walked away from music in 1993, it was at the dizzying heights of the major label system. Reemerging in the early 2000s meant adapting to a drastically changed business model.

While he dropped studio albums in 2001 (Keep it Turned On) and 2005 (Portrait), neither was released in America.

Astley’s second act musically really began taking clearer shape upon the release of the album 50 in 2016.

50 found Astley pondering the idea of life as he entered his fifth decade, channeling his inner Prince by self-producing a record on which he played every instrument, writing and singing each song (an approach he’s subsequently utilized on 2018’s Beautiful Life and 2023’s Are We There Yet?).

50 struck a chord, marking Astley’s first U.K. #1 since the ‘87 debut while doubling as his first American release since 1993.

“It’s funny. But I think when I go back through the times I’ve had in music, most of the times something happened that was great, it was because I was kind of chasing that enjoyment,” said Astley looking back. “And maybe even a little bit of fame if I’m brutally honest,” he said. “But most of the things that have really happened that I’m kind of proud of, or that I look back on thinking, ‘Well, I don’t shiver!’ is because I just thought, ‘That was a great bit of music or that was an amazing offer to do that gig – so we went and did it.’ Rather than like, ‘This will give us a #1. This will make us money. This will make me famous,’” he said. “If I was talking to a younger me, I would say, ‘Never make the decisions based on money, fame and all of the nonsense.’”

While he remains connected to “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and has celebrated his catalog during recent U.S. tours with acts like New Kids on the Block, Astley rarely looks back, rendering the process of writing Never a unique learning experience.

As the new book finds an audience in America, Astley remains clear on his motivations.

“Listen, I didn’t have the worst upbringing. But I also think all of those things are the things that make people go and do something as crazy as get on a stage in front of people,” he explained. “Because, as we all know, it’s a well worn path: you’re looking for love somewhere else. You’re looking for attention. There’s a hole left in your life from your childhood and you want to fill it. We’ve all seen that in a movie. We’ve all read it in books. But this is personal to me and it’s my version of it, you know?” Astley said.

“Most people, if you mention my name – if they even remember my name – they’re gonna associate it with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and that video. And thank god they do. Thank god that they do!” he said. “Literally, I’ve sung it at friends’ weddings. And now I sing it at friends’ kids’ weddings. I sang it at our daughter’s wedding last summer. And that is absolutely gorgeous,” he said, smiling wide. “And I think what I’ve come around to is that I’m just extremely lucky that that song has permeated a bit more, where it’s sort of become just part of the fabric – or the wallpaper I think is what I’d rather say!” said Rick Astley with a chuckle. “So, it’s like how can I not be connected to it?”

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