In 1985, Astley was playing the club circuit as a singer with a soul band named FBI, when he was seen by the record producer Pete Waterman and persuaded to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio. Under the tutelage of production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio 'tea boy'. During much of his career prior to the proliferation of music videos, many listeners assumed he was black. In one instance, the comedic entertainer, Sinbad, discussed him with a talk-show host, expressing his surprise that Astley was not "one of the brothers." Even after his visual appearance, it was still popular belief that he was miming for a black American singer. His brother Mark Astley helped to refute this assertion.
His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna" credited to Rick & Lisa, but his first solo outing was "Never Gonna Give You Up," released in 1987. It became an immediate success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. It was the first of no fewer than 13 (world-wide) Top 30 hit singles for him.
The album Whenever You Need Somebody also reached Number One in the UK, and the hit singles continued, including the title track and a cover of Nat King Cole's "When I Fall In Love."
On 12 March 1988, "Never Gonna Give You Up" had also topped the U.S. singles chart and was followed by a second U.S. #1 on 18 June with his second U.S. single release "Together Forever."
By the end of the decade, Astley had parted company with Stock Aitken Waterman. He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry For Help," which reached the Top 10 in both the UK and the U.S. It featured a gospel choir arranged by Andraé Crouch, who'd also been involved with Madonna's 1989 hit "Like A Prayer."
His next album Body & Soul was released in 1993. The album did not chart in the U.K. and managed to make The Billboard 200 peaking at a lowly #182. The two singles, The Ones You Love and Hopelessly performed very well on the adult contemporary chart, peaking at #19 and #4 respectively. Hopelessly also crossed over and peaked at #31 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight.
In 1991 the RIAA certified that two million copies of Whenever You Need Somebody had been sold. Total world sales of Astley's records (inclusive of singles, albums and compilation inclusions) have reached 40 million.
Almost 10 years after "Body & Soul", Rick finally returned to the music world and released "Keep It Turned On" in 2002. The album featured the single "Sleeping", which became a minor club hit, thanks to a set of remixes from U.S. house producer Todd Terry.
In 2005 Astley released the album Portrait in which he covered many classic soul standards such as "Vincent", "Nature Boy" and "Close To You".
In early 2006, Astley withdrew unexpectedly at the eleventh hour from appearing on the BBC TV celebrity/pro duets show Just the Two of Us after committing to the series. This led to criticism from those in the entertainment industry and media. His place was filled by opera singer Russell Watson, who eventually won the competition. The BBC failed to explain that Astley's withdrawal was due to his partner Lene Bausager being nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for her produced/directed film "Cashback". Astley would have missed a crucial part of the show by attending the awards ceremony and so withdrew before the show started its run.
Based on various music charts in the UK, U.S. and Canada, Astley has charted a grand total of 14 (different) hit singles and 6 (different) hit albums as of March 2006.
During the later part of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" became part of an internet meme similar to the "Duckrolling" of the 4chan game forums. A link would be submitted to the forum, in the first instances to a supposed trailer of a new game, and would redirect the user to the video. This process fondly became known as a "Rickroll", and the usage of which has developed exponentially since. As a result of the increased publicity Rick Astley's former record company (RCA) released a greatest hits album.
In 2008, he won the Best Act Ever prize at MTV EMA's. In the same year he Rick rolled America on National TV in Macy's Thanksgiving Parade..thanks to Cartoon Network
Be With You
Rick Astley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leaving me here with things to say
How can you stand and watch me fall
Don't you feel no love at all
I only want to say to you
That it would break your Papa's heart
For him to hear the things you say
When we could make a brand new start
[Chorus:]
Will you hold me in your arms or let me go
'Cause I want to show the world how much I know
That I love you
And I only want to be with you
How do I know you'll always stay
You're changing your mind most every day
I'm telling you girl don't push too far no
Just who do you think you are
I only want to say to you
That it would break your Mama's heart
For her to hear the things you say
When we could make a brand new start
[Chorus: Repeat 2X]
Oh I love you so
Are you ready, for a guy like me
Come on baby, I'm on bended knee
Are you ready to be loved by me again
I only want to say to you
That it would break my loving heart
For me to see the things you do
When we could make a brand new start
Yes we could make a brand new start
[Chorus:]
In Rick Astley's song "Be With You," the lyrics depict a plea from the singer to his lover, asking why they are leaving him when they could make a brand new start. The first verse highlights the pain that the singer is feeling, particularly with the sudden absence of their partner when they thought everything was going well. The chorus poses a question to the partner, asking whether they will hold the singer in their arms or let them go, and emphasizes the singer's desire to show their love to the world.
The second verse takes a more accusatory tone, with the singer questioning whether their partner will stay or change their mind once again. They also suggest that their partner is pushing their luck, and wonder just who they think they are. The chorus repeats with the same question, and the bridge sees the singer declaring their love and asking if their partner is ready to be loved by them again. They end with another plea to restart their relationship and save their hearts from breaking.
The song overall touches on themes of love, heartbreak, and the desire to start anew. It is a sad but hopeful declaration of love, with the singer begging their partner to give them another chance. The simplicity of the lyrics and catchy melody make it a lovable tune for anyone who has experienced such emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
How can you turn and walk away
Why are you leaving me without explanation?
Leaving me here with things to say
I have so much more to tell you.
How can you stand and watch me fall
Why don't you help me when I need you most?
Don't you feel no love at all
Do you not care about me at all?
I only want to say to you
All I want is to tell you
That it would break your Papa's heart
Your father would be devastated if he heard the way you talk to me.
For him to hear the things you say
The way you speak to me is hurtful to both of us.
When we could make a brand new start
We have the opportunity to fix things and start anew.
Will you hold me in your arms or let me go
Do you still love me or are we done?
'Cause I want to show the world how much I know
I want to prove that we can make it work.
That I love you
I have so much love for you.
And I only want to be with you
All I want is to be by your side.
How do I know you'll always stay
Will you be there for me through thick and thin?
You're changing your mind most every day
It's hard to trust you when you're always changing your decisions.
I'm telling you girl don't push too far no
Please don't take advantage of me.
Just who do you think you are
What makes you think you can treat me this way?
That it would break your Mama's heart
Your mother would be upset to see us like this.
For her to hear the things you say
The words you say to me are hurtful.
Oh I love you so
I have an overwhelming amount of affection for you.
Are you ready, for a guy like me
Can you handle being with someone like me?
Come on baby, I'm on bended knee
I am urging you to give me a chance.
Are you ready to be loved by me again
Do you want to be with me again?
That it would break my loving heart
It would hurt me greatly to see you treat me poorly again.
For me to see the things you do
I cannot continue to watch you treat me this way.
Yes we could make a brand new start
We can start again and fix our mistakes.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DEBORAH MARY PETERSON, WALKER B. IGLEHEART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elizabeth L.
I love Rick!!!😙😙😙
James Silva
The whole album is amazing, but this song is the better.
Isla Conspiración
Guapo bello hermoso 😙😙😙
James Straiton
Co written and featuring Mark king of Level 42 🎶💙🎸
yasmina54 yasmina54
me too