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
What The World Needs Now
Rick Astley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is love, sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
Lord, we don't need another mountain,
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last 'till the end of time.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
Lord, we don't need another meadow,
There are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow,
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine,
Oh listen Lord, if you want to know, oh
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some oh but just for every, every, everyone.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love.
What the world needs now,
Is love, sweet love.
In Rick Astley's song "What The World Needs Now," the lyrics express a desire for more love in the world. Astley sings that love is the only thing that there is too little of and that it is needed for everyone, not just for some people. The central theme of the song is unconditional love, irrespective of any differences in religion, race, or social status.
The song also touches on the idea of abundance in nature, with references to mountains, hillsides, oceans, rivers, corn fields, and wheat fields. Astley emphasizes that there is plenty in the world to go around and that we should be focusing more on spreading love and kindness to each other.
Overall, "What The World Needs Now" is a plea for more compassion and unity in the world. By embracing love, Astley suggests that we can overcome the many challenges and struggles that we face.
Line by Line Meaning
What the world needs now, Is love, sweet love, It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
The world is suffering from a scarcity of love and kindness, which is essential for the overall well-being of humanity.
No, not just for some but for everyone.
Love is not limited to a specific group or community, but should be extended to all people without any discrimination.
Lord, we don't need another mountain, There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb, There are oceans and rivers enough to cross, Enough to last 'till the end of time.
The world already has enough physical challenges and obstacles to overcome, and what it needs now is emotional and spiritual support.
Lord, we don't need another meadow, There are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow, There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine, Oh listen Lord, if you want to know, oh
The world already has enough natural abundance, but what is lacking is a collective sense of compassion and empathy for one another.
No, not just for some oh but just for every, every, everyone.
Love is not a luxury that only a select few can afford, but a fundamental necessity that every single human being deserves.
What the world needs now, Is love, sweet love.
At the end of the day, what the world truly needs is love in all its forms: compassion, kindness, generosity, and empathy.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Burt F. Bacharach, Hal David, Burt Bacharach
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind