Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up

The Voice Nobody Believed Came From That Body

Released on July 27, 1987, “Never Gonna Give You Up” climbed to number one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for five weeks. The single spent four weeks in the top ten and became the best-selling single of the year in Britain, shifting over 810,000 copies. When the 21-year-old Lancashire lad recorded it on New Year’s Day 1987, RCA Records executives refused to believe his rich baritone voice came from his skinny frame. Stock Aitken Waterman had to bring Astley to the label reception and make him sing live to convince them.

The track became a genuine worldwide phenomenon, topping charts in 25 countries including the United States, where it spent two weeks at number one in March 1988. It reached number one in Australia, West Germany, Sweden, Norway, Holland, and New Zealand. In Australia, it was eventually listed as the best-charting single of the entire 1980s. The song won Best British Single at the 1988 Brit Awards, where Astley performed it in front of a global television audience of 100 million viewers. It finished 1987 at number one on the UK year-end singles chart, beating Wham’s “I Knew You Were Waiting” and Michael Jackson’s “Bad” for the crown.

Astley had been working at PWL Studios for two years, operating tape machines, singing on other artists’ recordings, and famously making tea before Stock Aitken Waterman wrote him his own song. Pete Waterman later explained that the title came from overhearing Astley after a three-hour phone call with his then-girlfriend, when the young singer said those exact words. The concept for the song was suggested by Waterman after Astley spoke to him of his devotion to the woman, with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken then composing the tune, chords, and lyrics. Stock initially wanted Astley to record The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” as his first single, but after properly hearing his voice, Stock realized they should write him something original that showcased his undoubted vocal strengths.

Recording took place at PWL Studios in South London in October 1986, though the single wasn’t released until nine months later because the producers were waiting for the right environment to break a new artist. Mike Stock recreated the syncopated bassline from Colonel Abrams’ 1985 hit “Trapped” using a Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer, deliberately making it sound different from Kylie Minogue or Bananarama records. The drums and sequencing were done with a Linn 9000, while a Roland Juno 106 analog synthesizer provided additional sounds. Initial mixing was done by Phil Harding, with the distinctive synthetic string and brass lines later added by Fairlight operator Ian Curnow. The final mix was provided by PWL remixer Pete Hammond, who made Astley’s vocals more prominent. The extended mix was then edited down by Stock and Aitken to become the radio version.

“Never Gonna Give You Up” appeared as the debut single from Astley’s first album Whenever You Need Somebody, released in November 1987. The album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number ten on the Billboard 200, eventually being certified four times platinum in Britain and double platinum in America. The album spawned four consecutive top five UK singles, including “Whenever You Need Somebody” at number three, a cover of “When I Fall in Love” at number two, and “Together Forever” at number two. The latter track also reached number one in the United States in 1988, giving Astley two American chart-toppers in the space of three months. His first eight UK singles all reached the top ten, setting a record.

The song has been covered by countless artists and interpolated by Yung Gravy in his 2022 track “Betty (Get Money)”, though Astley filed a lawsuit when Gravy used an impersonator to mimic his voice without authorization. The case was settled in September 2023. In 2008, the song famously became the basis for the internet meme known as Rickrolling, where misleading links redirect people to the music video. The phenomenon peaked when YouTube rickrolled all featured videos on April Fools’ Day 2008. The music video has since surpassed 1.7 billion views on YouTube and helped introduce Astley to new generations. Despite the massive online views, Astley reportedly earned only twelve dollars in YouTube royalties as of 2010, though he later admitted he never really checked or cared about the streaming revenue.

Stock Aitken Waterman struggled to explain why the song struck such a chord, but Stock suggested its massive success was down to a combination of the song, the singer, and the international reach of RCA Records in putting the track in front of people. Astley himself told Billboard that getting a hit that big was part talent, part work, but also a lot of luck. He retired from the music industry at age 27 in 1993 to focus on raising his daughter Emilie, staying out of the spotlight for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. He returned to music in 2001 and enjoyed a remarkable comeback in 2016 when his album 50 became his first number one album in 29 years. The singer told the Los Angeles Times that he’s grateful every day for “Never Gonna Give You Up” and the life it has given him, even after all these years of hearing it everywhere from the Pyramids to the Himalayas to every corner of the internet.