Richard Paul Astley (born February 6, 1966) is an English dance-pop singer,… Read Full Bio ↴Richard Paul Astley (born February 6, 1966) is an English dance-pop singer, songwriter and musician. He was born in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire, England. Astley currently resides in Richmond, Surrey with his Danish girlfriend, Lene Bausager, and their daughter, Emilie.

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

I'll Never Let You Down
Rick Astley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Me, I'm just a simple guy
And no matter how hard I try
I may never show you how I feel

You may be the woman I love
I sometimes think that you've been sent from above
I am trying to be a man
Heaven knows, I do the best that I can

I'll never let you down
I'll be there whenever you need me
I'll never let you down
Come what my way

Me, I'll be a shoulder to cry on
I'll be someone you can rely on
And maybe you may see just how I feel

We may be so far apart
But you still know I've got a hungry heart
We must be patient, it won't last forever
It won't be long until we're together

I'll never let you down
I'll be there whenever you need me
I'll never let you down
I'll be strong, I'll show you how love can be
I'll never let you down
Come what my way

We must be patient, it won't last forever
It won't be long until we're together

I'll never let you down
I'll be there whenever you need me

I'll never let you down
I'll be strong, I'll show you how love can be

Overall Meaning

In Rick Astley’s song, “I’ll Never Let You Down,” the lyrics describe a man who might not be good at expressing his feelings but is determined to be there for the woman he loves no matter what. The singer acknowledges that he is a simple guy, and even though he tries his best, he might not be able to show his emotions effectively. He believes that the woman he loves is sent from above and that he must do his best to be a man for her. The singer insists that he will never let her down and that he will always be there for her when she needs him.

The song continues to describe the singer's willingness to be a shoulder to cry on and someone on whom she can rely. The two may be far apart, but he reassures her that he still has a hungry heart and will remain patient until they can be together. He ends the song by reiterating that he will never let her down, he will be strong, and will show her how love can be.

Overall, the song expresses the singer's commitment to being there for the woman he loves and his desire to show her how much he cares, even if he struggles to express it. It's a romantic ballad that emphasizes the importance of reliability and patience that relationships require.

Line by Line Meaning

Me, I'm just a simple guy
I am a straightforward person.

And no matter how hard I try
Even with all of my efforts,

I may never show you how I feel
I might not ever express my emotions to you.

You may be the woman I love
You could be the woman I adore.

I sometimes think that you've been sent from above
Occasionally, I feel like you were a heavenly gift.

I am trying to be a man
I am attempting to display characteristics of masculinity.

Heaven knows, I do the best that I can
I am doing everything in my power.

I'll never let you down
I promise to always be dependable for you.

I'll be there whenever you need me
I will always be available when you require my help.

Come what may
Regardless of the circumstances.

Me, I'll be a shoulder to cry on
I will be an emotional support for you.