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

One night stand
Rick Astley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It Was An Ordinary Night
At Least It Started Out That Way
Two Ordinary People
Sharing Thoughts At The End Of The Day

Was It The Wine That Made Her Sparkle Made Her Shine
I Crossed That Line It Was Only Meant To Be

A One Night Stand
Here I Am With Empty Hands
Wasn't Looking For Love And I Knew From The Start
It Was A One Night Stand

She Was Only Passing Through
But It Suited Me Just Fine
Emotional Attachment Never Crossed My Mind

Was It The Light That Played A Trick On My Mind
I Crossed That Line It Was Only Meant To Be

She Was Only Passing Through

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Rick Astley's song "One Night Stand" tell the story of two strangers who meet in a seemingly ordinary situation but end up having a one night stand. The song starts off describing an ordinary night where two people, who are introduced through the lyrics as "Two ordinary people sharing thoughts at the end of the day," meet and engage in conversation. However, as the night progresses, the man describes how he starts to feel a certain type of way, alluding to the fact that he is catching feelings for the woman. It is unclear whether it was the wine or the woman that made him feel this way, but the lyrics suggest that he was not looking for love and knew from the start that this was only going to be a one night stand.

Throughout the song, the lyrics show the man's reluctance to get attached to the woman, even though he is beginning to have feelings for her. The woman seems to be only passing through, which suits the man just fine. The phrase "It was only meant to be" reinforces the man's idea that this encounter was only going to be for one night. The lyrics also touch on the notion of emotional attachment not crossing the man's mind, indicating that he is trying to keep his feelings under control.

Overall, the song's message speaks to the idea of self-control when it comes to casual relationships and the complexities that come with emotions. The lyrics suggest that even though the man was not looking for love, he still found himself feeling attached to the woman he had a one night stand with.

Line by Line Meaning

It Was An Ordinary Night
The night started as any other usual night.

At Least It Started Out That Way
It seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Two Ordinary People
Two regular individuals.

Sharing Thoughts At The End Of The Day
Exchanging their thoughts at the end of the day.

Was It The Wine That Made Her Sparkle Made Her Shine
The artist is wondering if it was because of the wine that the woman appeared to be more attractive.

I Crossed That Line It Was Only Meant To Be
The singer has crossed a line of appropriateness but claims it was meant to be.

A One Night Stand
The singer and the woman only intended for the encounter to last a single night.

Here I Am With Empty Hands
The artist is left without any type of commitment or attachment from the woman.

Wasn't Looking For Love And I Knew From The Start
The artist did not desire love and was aware of that.

It Was A One Night Stand
The artist reiterates that is was a one-time short-term encounter.

She Was Only Passing Through
The woman was only there temporarily.

But It Suited Me Just Fine
Despite her temporary status, the artist was content with the way the night turned out.

Emotional Attachment Never Crossed My Mind
The singer never considered any type of emotional connection to the woman.

Was It The Light That Played A Trick On My Mind
The singer questions if his perception of the woman was altered by a trick of the light.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER BRAIDE, RICK ASTLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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