Rick Astley Shares His True Feelings About Hit Song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’

Forty years after his number-one hit single “Never Gonna Give You Up,” Rick Astley released a memoir titled Never: The Autobiography to look back on his career and his recent comeback. He also gave a peek into his rough childhood, watching his parents fight regularly and eventually divorce when he was 5.

He shared how he truly feels about “Never Gonna Give You Up,” which he brought to life all alone as a writer, instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer. Although Rick has been active on social media to promote his radio show and podcast, he considers it daunting to use in this day and age.

Rick Astley is still thankful for his hit song

Rick attained success with “Never Gonna Give You Up,” in the late ‘80s, which still surprises him until this day. His wife and manager, Lene Bausager— who was his girlfriend at the time, encouraged him to promote the song, which topped the charts in the UK and South Africa and earned Rick multiple awards.

Rick admitted that though he has performed the classic a million times, it never gets old for him. He remains thankful for the track, which he created to simply explore what making music was like from scratch. The 58-year-old credits much of its success to the international clout that came with RCA as his record label.

Rick Astley’s best performance ever

Rick took a career hiatus in the mid-90s, which was followed by his retirement to focus on family and business. He came back in the next decade with back-to-back chart-topping albums and appearances, snagging award nominations, and a few wins along the way.

Last year, Rick performed at the Pyramid stage in Glastonbury with The Blossoms, and he considers the gig his best performance yet, beating his rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up” before a global audience of millions in 1988. He recalled how his daughter Emilie encouraged him to enjoy the session while he got nervous about the massive stage.