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
Lights Out
Rick Astley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The melting shadows fade
And the dark is creeping up on me again
In between these sheets where I laid you down
I tried to find some rest
So I reach out for the switch but why pretend
I see your face
No, I can’t turn the lights out now
My heart will break
'Cause everything I see
Will end up killing me
All over, all over again
So I can’t turn the lights out, turn the lights out
There’s a clock that stopped ticking by the bed
The second you were gone
And it feels just like my heart stopped beating too
'Cause it’s hard to keep those promises
I made when I was strong
Now I’m haunted by the ghost of you
And I can’t turn the lights out now
I see your face
No, I can’t turn the lights out now
My heart will break
'Cause everything I see
Will end up killing me
All over, all over again
So I can’t turn the lights out, turn the lights out
It’s so hard holding on
It’s so hard that you’re gone
It’s so hard holding on
Don’t you know, don’t you know
I can’t turn the lights out now
I see your face
No, I can’t turn the lights out now
My heart will break
'Cause everything I see
Will end up killing me
All over, all over again
So I can’t turn the lights out, turn the lights out
So I can’t turn the lights out, turn the lights out
The lyrics of Rick Astley's song "Lights Out" explore the difficulty of moving on from a past relationship. The opening lines describe the emptiness of a small town and the creeping darkness. This creates a mood of loneliness and despair, setting the stage for the rest of the song. The second verse talks about sleeping in the same bed as the person the singer is trying to forget. He reaches out to turn off the lights, but he knows it's no use because he can't stop thinking about her.
The song's chorus is where the emotion really comes through. The singer can't turn the lights off because every time he does, he sees her face, and it's too painful for him to bear. He realizes that everything he sees will only remind him of her, deepening his grief. The clock by his bed that stopped ticking when she left serves as a metaphor for how it feels like his own heart stopped beating as well. Despite his struggle, he can't let go and is haunted by her memory. The final repetition of the phrase "I can't turn the lights out" is a powerful, desperate admission of love that cannot be extinguished.
Line by Line Meaning
On the empty streets of this nowhere town
He is lost and has nowhere to go because he is in a place that is unfamiliar to him.
The melting shadows fade
The darkness is disappearing and he is surrounded by light, and this makes him feel uncomfortable.
And the dark is creeping up on me again
Despite the light, he is still scared of the darkness that is slowly surrounding him.
In between these sheets where I laid you down
He is haunted by the memory of the time he spent with someone in bed and he cannot forget it.
I tried to find some rest
He is in search of comfort and the feeling of being at ease, but he cannot find it.
So I reach out for the switch but why pretend
Although he tries to control his emotions by turning off the lights, he realizes that he cannot escape his memories.
'Cause I can’t turn the lights out now
He is unable to forget the past and move on.
I see your face
He is haunted by the memory of someone he loved because he can see their face.
No, I can’t turn the lights out now
He is unable to escape his emotions and the memory of the person he loved.
My heart will break
He is afraid that he will be hurt again if he remembers the person he loved too much or too intensely.
'Cause everything I see
When he sees or remembers anything related to the person he loved, he is gripped by sadness and pain.
Will end up killing me
It hurts him so much to remember the person he loved that it is as if he is being physically hurt or killed.
All over, all over again
He cannot escape the pain of remembering and being hurt by the person he loved.
There’s a clock that stopped ticking by the bed
Time has stopped since the person he loved left him, and he feels like he is stuck in that moment.
The second you were gone
The moment the person he loved left him is etched in his mind.
And it feels just like my heart stopped beating too
The pain of losing someone he loved so deeply is so intense that it feels like his heart has stopped beating.
'Cause it’s hard to keep those promises
He made promises to himself to forget the person he loved and move on, but he finds it difficult to keep those promises.
I made when I was strong
He was strong before, but the pain of losing someone he loved has weakened him.
Now I’m haunted by the ghost of you
The memory of the person he loved is constantly with him and it feels like they are still there with him.
It’s so hard holding on
He is holding onto the memory of the person he loved because he cannot let them go.
It’s so hard that you’re gone
The person he loved is no longer with him, and he finds it hard to accept their absence.
Don’t you know, don’t you know
He is talking to the person he loved and asking if they understand the pain he is going through.
So I can’t turn the lights out, turn the lights out
He cannot forget the person he loved and he is haunted by their memory, so he cannot escape his emotions.
Contributed by Micah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ale Sae
Dude's still got it. That voice is iconic.
clxdzy - kanyes version
Great music
SSaiyanJay
I’m Blue Same
Vito Pannucci
I still have to convince my girlfriend to come with me to see him. I have no idea how yet. Rick Astley is a legend and this is my 2nd favorite song of his.
thanarrator
HI I AM FROM THE FUTURE
Isabell 0492
No, this Guy is ICONIC 💥
SpideyBoi GamingYT
Rick Astley is more than just the Rickroll meme. He’s one of the best singers and songwriters of all time imo!!
Nicholas C. Hill
I just love this song. Rick seems to effortlessly communicate the pain of loss in this song. What a star. What a voice! Powerful tune.
Sajjan One Creative Studio
remember when this came out, glad hes getting more views on his newer music but this one was missed by a lot of people, absolute gem
Derek E
It was only on an album that had a very limited release. Anyone who was able to get the album is one VERY lucky person