Rick Astley had no regrets about retiring at age 27 after "Never Gonna Give You Up" brought him worldwide success in the 1980s. While some feel that he wasted a good career, he has another perspective about it. He also discussed the phenomenon called "Rickrolling," which he admitted to have hurt him for a while, until his own daughter "set him straight."
"I kind of feel that if I hadn't of done it then I would have self-imploded," the English-born singer tells Page Six. He said that his main reason was that just his heart was "not in it" anymore so it was time to move on. This is actually a brave thing to do, because very few would choose to follow their heart when it comes to their careers, especially one as big as Astley's.
"The problem with pop music is," he shared however, is that, "when you're in the real pop end of it like I was, it's every single minute and hour of everyday or nothing." He added, "And there is no in-between because everyone else does everything so you have to do everything."
From his debut album, Astley released the single "Never Gonna Give You Up" in 1987. The song topped the charts in 25 countries. Other hits like as "Together Forever" and the album's title single "Whenever You Need Somebody" followed, but by 1994, Astley was done. With his wife Lene Bausager, he raised their daughter Emilie throughout the subsequent years.
Approximately around 2007, Astley became the subject of the online meme rickrolling. Users who click on an apparently unrelated link and are instead directed to Astley's popular song "Never Gonna Give You Up" have been "Rickrolled."
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Astley is at peace with the ongoing viral phenomena, which shows little sign of abating.
The 56-year-old says that there were always new employees prepared to execute tasks that he was unwilling to perform.
"I was when I started, but I wasn't in the end so I just thought, I don't love it enough."
"Obviously some people are sick to death of the whole Rickrolling thing and anything else to do with it or me, but I think I just have to have a little distance from it," he explains. "Our daughter actually put me straight on that. Fifteen years she said 'look just remember it's kind of got nothing to do with you
He added that he was confused at first, but he ultimately realized that what she was trying to convey to him was that it's simply an internet phenomenon. Next week it will be something else, and yes, while the issue lingered and found a place on the internet, it did not last.
In an earlier interview, he was accepting of the fact that he would never release something as big as :Never Gonna Give You Up" anymore.
Currently, Astley is touring alongside New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue. He said it's amazing to perform with them. It's apparent he's very comfortable about letting others get the limelight. For him, he just wants to enjoy whatever he chooses to do.
"What's amazing is that The New Kids on the Block go on first so by the time I actually go up there, the crowd's in full swing, so it's a lot of fun," he says. "It's just been a really nice thing to do for the summer."
The tour will take place on KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Sunday, July 17.
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