Rick Astley - The Best (2014)

Richard Paul "Rick" Astley was born on 6 February 1966. He is best known for his song "Never Gonna Give You Up", which topped the charts in 25 countries in 1987, and is the only male solo artist to have his first eight singles reach the Top 10 in the UK. He sold an estimated 40 million records worldwide during his heyday.

He retired from public life in 1993, but returned in 2007 as an "Internet Phenomenon", winning the MTV Best Music Awards 2008 Internet Phenomenon Award.

In 1985, Astley worked as a drummer in a band called FBI, alongside guitarist Morris. The well-known local band played in pubs and clubs, and when the FBI singer left the band, Astley offered to be the singer. It was then that PWL Records manager Pete Waterman noticed Astley's talent and asked him to work with him at PWL Studios. Astley's initial inhibitions were helped by the studio management and his songwriters, and they carved a singer out of the boy.

Astley's first single was titled When You Gonna, on which he also collaborated with Lisa Carter, due to little promotion it did not achieve much success, then on New Year's Day 1987 the song Never Gonna Give You Up was released. The song reached number one in the UK charts and topped the charts for five weeks, and was the biggest-selling single of the year. The next single was Whenever You Need Somebody, released in October. The song was originally recorded with O'Chi Brown in 1985, and a remixed version performed by Astley also topped the charts in several countries.

At Christmas 1987, Astley released a Nat King Cole classic, When I'm Falling Love, in a competition for the number one spot. The big Christmas competition was between Rick's new song and the Pet Shop Boys, who would reach number one in the UK. The latter eventually won, despite Astley's ballad selling 200,000 copies.

In 1988, a new single was released, Together Forever. The song reached number 2 in the UK. The number one spot was held by Kylie Minogue, who was also trying her luck at the time, with her song I Should Be So Lucky. Astley's new song also conquered the American market, so in 1989 he was nominated for a Grammy Award, but it was not he who won it, but Tracy Chapman.

The fifth and final single released from the debut album was titled It Would Take A Strong Strong Man, but it was not released in the UK, the song was intended for the North American market. The song reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 in Canada.

A fire broke out at PWL studios during the preparations for the second album, so much new material was destroyed, and the second album Hold Me In Your Arms was released late in January 1989. The five singles released from the album reached number 8 in the UK, number 19 in the US, and were awarded gold and platinum records on these two continents based on sales.

After Astley left PWL, he began to represent a completely different style. His music was more mature, and he himself had changed. Astley's relationship with the British media deteriorated significantly. The media called him a puppet of the Stock Aitken Waterman duo. The negative press about Astley caused record sales to drop significantly, but the single "She Wants To Dance With Me", taken from the second album, reached number 6 in both the British and American charts. The song "Take Me To Your Heart" was the next single, reaching number 8 in the British charts. The ballad "Hold Me In Your Arms" reached number 10 in the British charts, but was not released in North America. Completely different songs were intended for the American market, "Giving Up On Love" and a cover of The Temptations song. The songs reached number 38 and 89 in the charts.

Astley decided to retire in 1993, at the age of 27, to devote his time to his family. His daughter Emilie was born in 1992. In 1994, he only appeared as a backing vocalist on the theme songs for The Lion King films.