The singer rose to fame in the 1980s before a surprise career resurgence over the last decade
By Mark Savage
BBC Music Correspondent
Forget Glastonbury, today Worthy Farm became Rick Astonbury.
Thousands of fans gathered at the Pyramid Stage at midday, eager for the chance to be Rickrolled in person.
And Astley didn’t disappoint, rewarding them with a jubilant version of Never Gonna Give You Up that permanently redefined the term crowd-pleaser.
Speaking to the BBC before the show, he said being booked to play the festival was simultaneously “a bizarre stroke of luck” and “pretty bonkers”.
“If we get the smallest audience on the 12 o’clock slot that Glastonbury’s ever seen, I’m still OK with that,” he told entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson.
In the end, he didn’t have to worry. Early morning festivalgoers arrived in their droves, offering conclusive proof that the star is no stranger to love…
“I’m here for Rick Astley,” said Debbie Anne O’Donovan, firmly planted in the front row two hours before the singer arrived.
“I’ve been a big fan since the 80s. He’s a bit of a legend. I think he’ll connect with the crowd really well.”
Mother and daughter Penny and Corrie Wheeler reserved their places even earlier, at 07:30, and were determined to stay put until Guns N’ Roses play their headline set.
“We do have provisions, we have plenty of snacks, so we’re pretty set,” said Corrie.
“I’ve seen him quite a few times,” added Mark Old, who was watching with his wife. “He’s got a really cool, smooth voice and he’s a fantastic performer.”
Penny (left) and Corrie Wheeler were amongst the first fans in the queue to see the star
Astley took to the stage shortly after midday to the sound of the Star Wars theme, before launching into a disco-fied version Together Forever.
“My god, look at you,” he declared, surveying the audience in a blush pink suit.
He didn’t stay still for long, though, stalking the catwalk, reading out people’s flags, serenading the front row and clearly having the time of his life.
For those unfamiliar with his back catalogue, he threw in covers of Chic’s Good Times and Harry Styles’s As It Was, the latter mixed with A-Ha’s Take On Me.
He also took the opportunity of a nationwide TV audience to play his new single, Dippin’ My Feet.
“I’m not an idiot!” he announced with a wink, “of course I’m going to play my new song”.
Watch: BBC shows Rick Astley round at his first Glastonbury
Then he stepped behind the drum kit for AC/DC’s Highway To Hell, explaining it was a song he’d play as “a 15-year-old kid in my dad’s greenhouse” until his drum kit broke.
After it ended, he apologised for his playing, saying his suit trousers kept getting caught in the kick drum pedal.
“All I can say, Glastonbury, is I’m sorry for wearing the wrong trousers.”
Obviously, he saved Never Gonna Give You Up to the end, getting the crowd to sing the first verse and chorus with him a capella, then vamping on the groove for almost 10 minutes, introducing his band and throwing in the guitar solo for Queen’s We Will Rock You for good measure.
When he reached the final refrain of “I just want to tell you how I’m feeling”, he ad-libbed: “Glastonbury, I’m feeling fantastic, thanks to you.”
It felt like a miniature version of Glastonbury’s traditional Sunday afternoon legend slot. It’ll be interesting to see how Cat Stevens, who fills that role tomorrow, will compare.
Image source, EPA
The audience stretched back as far as the eye could see
Now 57 years old, Astley became an overnight sensation in 1987, when Never Gonna Give You Up topped the charts in 25 countries.
A product of the Stock Aitken Waterman hit factory, it paired his rich, mellow baritone with a cheesy dance beat and an even cheesier video – and won the Brit Award for best single.
Over the next four years, he had another seven top 10 hits with tracks like Whenever You Need Somebody and Cry For Help; but, frustrated by a lack of control over his career, he quit showbusiness in 1991.
For more than a decade, he lived in Richmond, raising his young daughter while his wife worked as a film producer.
Then, in the early 2000s Never Gonna Give You Up enjoyed a bizarre second life as an internet meme: Rickrolling – where users are sent a link and duped into watching Astley’s music video.
By 2021, the video’s YouTube page had reached 1 billion views, . Today, it’s nudging 1.4 billion.
The affable star takes his internet infamy in his stride, describing RickRolling as “brilliant” and “funny”.
“The video and the song have drifted off into the ether and become something else, and I’m ever so grateful for it,” he told the Associated Press in 2022.
Image source, EPA
The star made sure everyone felt part of the performance
The notoriety encouraged him out of retirement in 2016, since when he’s been on a new creative streak, producing soulful and mature pop albums like 50 and Beautiful Life.
That led to him being invited to Glastonbury in 2020, before the festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“I thought to myself, ‘That’s it, that’s my shot gone’,” he told the BBC. “I didn’t think we’d get invited back because time moves on and there’s new artists coming along. So I was really, completely made up when they got in touch.”
And the star’s Glastonbury journey won’t end on the Pyramid Stage. He’ll also play the Woodsies stage on Saturday evening, performing a set of Smiths covers with Stockport indie band Blossoms.
Other acts on Saturday’s line-up include Lana Del Rey, Lizzo, Manic Street Preachers, Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner, Eurovision winners Maneskin, and French star Christine And The Queens.
Guns N’ Roses are the Saturday night headliners, with Sir Elton John topping the bill on Sunday.
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