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 be fine
Rick Astley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wonder if you'll ever change your mind
I don't know just what it is you're dealing
But I know you've got me in a bind
[Bridge:]
Day and night, I wonder how you do it
Put me in this awful state of mind
How on earth can you be so unkind?
[Chorus:]
Well, I'll be fine with you in the morning
If you'll be good to me tonight
I'll be fine with you in the morning
If you'll be good to me tonight
You never want to sit and talk it over
You always want to run right out the door
Come and sit right down here on the sofa
Tell me, baby, right now what's the score?
Don't you tell me there ain't nothing doing
There ain't nothing else that's true to say
I just wanna hear my baby cooing
I don't wanna hear our love is dead
I will be fine with you if you be good to me
I'll be fine with you in the morning
If you'll be good to me tonight
I'll be fine with you in the morning
If you'll be good to me tonight
If you'll be good to me, I'll be fine with you
If you'll be good to me, then we just can't lose
If you'll be good to me, I'll be happy for all of my days
Day and night, I wonder how you're feeling
I wonder if you'll ever change your mind
I don't know just what it is you're dealing
But I know you've got me in a bind
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Rick Astley's song "I'll Be Fine" are a plea from the singer to his love interest. Astley expresses his deep concern for his significant other's emotional state, wondering how they feel day and night and if they'll ever change their mind about their relationship. He admits that he doesn't know what they're dealing with but feels trapped by their actions. Astley calls out his partner's lack of empathy, asking how they could be so unfeeling and unkind.
Despite their issues, Astley still wants to work things out and be with his partner. He offers reassurance that he will be fine if they can work together and be good to each other, both in the moment and in the future. He begs for communication, asking his partner to sit down and talk things through instead of running away. Astley wants to hear his partner's affection and reassurance that their love is still alive.
Overall, the lyrics of "I'll Be Fine" showcase the struggles of a turbulent relationship and the efforts to make things work despite the challenges. It highlights a desire for empathy, communication, and love in the midst of difficulties.
Line by Line Meaning
Day and night, I wonder how you're feeling
I often think about your emotional state throughout the day and night
I wonder if you'll ever change your mind
I contemplate whether you will alter your current perspective
I don't know just what it is you're dealing
I am uncertain about the nature of your struggles
But I know you've got me in a bind
I am in a difficult situation because of my feelings for you
Day and night, I wonder how you do it
I am curious about how you are able to affect my emotional state so deeply
Put me in this awful state of mind
You have caused me to feel terrible emotionally
How on earth can you be so unfeeling?
I am baffled by your lack of empathy
How on earth can you be so unkind?
I am perplexed by your unkind behavior
Well, I'll be fine with you in the morning
I will be okay if we can resolve our issues before the morning
If you'll be good to me tonight
If you treat me well tonight, I will be okay
You never want to sit and talk it over
You refuse to discuss our problems in a calm and rational manner
You always want to run right out the door
You tend to leave abruptly when we have disagreements
Come and sit right down here on the sofa
Please join me on the couch to talk things through
Tell me, baby, right now what's the score?
Let's have an honest conversation about where we stand
Don't you tell me there ain't nothing doing
Don't deny that there are issues we need to address
There ain't nothing else that's true to say
We need to acknowledge that what we're discussing is truly important
I just wanna hear my baby cooing
I want to feel comforted by your affectionate words
I don't wanna hear our love is dead
I want to believe that our love can still be salvaged
If you'll be good to me, I'll be fine with you
If you treat me well, I will be content in our relationship
If you'll be good to me, then we just can't lose
If we treat each other with kindness, our relationship will thrive
If you'll be good to me, I'll be happy for all of my days
If you treat me well, I will have lifelong happiness
[Bridge]
Repeats previous verse about wondering how the partner can be so unfeeling and unkind
[Chorus]
Repeats chorus about being fine in the morning if the partner is good to the singer at night
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: R. ASTLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind