Rick Astley, Born: February 6, 1966 in Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK

I don't get recognised until I'm on stage, and then I can walk off and forget about it. It's great.

Back in the '80s, I was known for being reclusive, often shying away from media attention.

I'd been bumming around in bands since my school days.

I've done drives through Budapest and Oslo and used to drive to Sardinia, too, which is quite a jour...Show more »

I've done drives through Budapest and Oslo and used to drive to Sardinia, too, which is quite a journey. Drives are an adventure because I don't plan them too carefully. I take detours depending on how I feel and usually stop and stay at places I like the look of. Show less «

I am honoured that my fans worked so hard to help me win Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music ...Show more »

I am honoured that my fans worked so hard to help me win Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. Show less «

I've got two older brothers and an older sister and my sister used to go to gigs all the time. I'm f...Show more »

I've got two older brothers and an older sister and my sister used to go to gigs all the time. I'm from an area near Manchester and Liverpool and she used to go to gigs all the time at uni's and everything, and she's seen Genesis I don't know how many times when Peter Gabriel was in the band and when they were doing little uni gigs and all the rest of it. So whether I liked Genesis or not I didn't have any choice to be honest. When I was a tiny tot we only had one record player in the house, so there was either Genesis on it or the jungle book or The Beatles as well, and various other things. I think Phil Collins is one of the most underrated musicians, singers, performers - he is absolutely amazing, I think, and I think he's probably got a bit of a rough ride occasionally because he became so mainstream and so popular. What is mainstream at the end of the day? That means more people like you? I don't know, it's a weird one. I play a bit of drums and he is one of my all time favourite drummers and when this record ("Follow You Follow Me") came out I absolutely loved it and I had no snobbery about it, that you know, Peter Gabriel blah blah and all the rest of it. I just absolutely loved that era of Genesis and out of that whole era this is possibly my favourite track. Show less «

I was the youngest of four kids, and Dad, who had a garden centre before he retired, came from a lar...Show more »

I was the youngest of four kids, and Dad, who had a garden centre before he retired, came from a large Lancashire family. Every one of my uncles had their own business, including a post office, two fish and chip shops and a painting and decorating business. Show less «

It's really weird seeing someone impersonating you. But at the same time, Vic Reeves' impersonation ...Show more »

It's really weird seeing someone impersonating you. But at the same time, Vic Reeves' impersonation of me is one of the highlights of my life. Show less «

I'm a person who tries not to have regrets.

Because the pop industry is cruel, if you don't do everything the label wants you to do, it has an a...Show more »

Because the pop industry is cruel, if you don't do everything the label wants you to do, it has an army of other people waiting to do it. Show less «

I used to go to soul nights because I loved dancing, and so did my friends, and we loved the music. ...Show more »

I used to go to soul nights because I loved dancing, and so did my friends, and we loved the music. We used to go listen to black American soul. Show less «

'Never Gonna Give You Up' in 1987 was a huge international hit followed by several more, and while I...Show more »

'Never Gonna Give You Up' in 1987 was a huge international hit followed by several more, and while I appreciated how lucky I was, it catapulted me into a completely new world and simply took over my life. Show less «

Doing things in my day was simple: you either signed to a big label or you signed to a very small la...Show more »

Doing things in my day was simple: you either signed to a big label or you signed to a very small label, and you worked with that one, and then they eventually signed you on to a big one. Show less «

It's very hard to behave naturally when you know people recognise you. On the other hand, I still so...Show more »

It's very hard to behave naturally when you know people recognise you. On the other hand, I still sometimes get upgraded in hotels because someone used to like me back in the day, which is still pretty amazing. Show less «

I must admit, the constant invasion of privacy was becoming a real concern. I've been asked for auto...Show more »

I must admit, the constant invasion of privacy was becoming a real concern. I've been asked for autographs while I've been doing laps in the pool and even in the toilet! Show less «

When our daughter was born, a light went on for me - there was more to life than what I was doing. I...Show more »

When our daughter was born, a light went on for me - there was more to life than what I was doing. It felt like being famous for being a paint salesman. It wasn't the dream I was sold on. I'd had enough of it. Show less «

I started out as a drummer, and now play with a back-to-basics rock band called the 'Luddites.' I'm ...Show more »

I started out as a drummer, and now play with a back-to-basics rock band called the 'Luddites.' I'm happiest when I'm behind the kit. Show less «

I don't trust politicians. I think that by the time they've made it, with the concessions they've ha...Show more »

I don't trust politicians. I think that by the time they've made it, with the concessions they've had to make in that position, I don't believe they still have the beliefs they had at the root. Show less «

As a kid, I saw those ticker-tape parades in the movies, and I was really chuffed to be in one.

When I was a tiny tot, we only had one record player in the house, so there was either Genesis on it...Show more »

When I was a tiny tot, we only had one record player in the house, so there was either Genesis on it or the Jungle Book or The Beatles as well, and various other things. Show less «

I've been to Sardinia about 10 times because my wife, my daughter and I used to go every year with a...Show more »

I've been to Sardinia about 10 times because my wife, my daughter and I used to go every year with another family. We rented the same house each time in Villasimius in the southern part of the island, and always went to the same two beaches and same three restaurants. Show less «

Scientology always makes me think of that movie 'V' where that woman takes off her mask of human fle...Show more »

Scientology always makes me think of that movie 'V' where that woman takes off her mask of human flesh to reveal her true, alien self. Show less «

You can't explain the feeling of singing hit songs to an audience - it's like being a genuine sports...Show more »

You can't explain the feeling of singing hit songs to an audience - it's like being a genuine sports star at the peak of their powers. Show less «

My success set me up for life, and it meant that I could retire from the music industry at 27 to spe...Show more »

My success set me up for life, and it meant that I could retire from the music industry at 27 to spend time with my newborn daughter and my wife. My time away from the spotlight allowed me to rediscover my love for music, and I'm doing it for me now and no one else. Show less «

I do have a thing for eating out; that's one of life's great middle-age pleasures.

Working as a teaboy may have helped my confidence but not everyone else was so pleased. I could neve...Show more »

Working as a teaboy may have helped my confidence but not everyone else was so pleased. I could never remember who had milk or how many sugars, and I had an unusual talent for spilling tea on the recording console. It's a good job the records are doing so well because I would have made a terrible waiter. Show less «

My dad loved Scotland, so we would pile into his caravan and head for the Highlands, to Fort William...Show more »

My dad loved Scotland, so we would pile into his caravan and head for the Highlands, to Fort William and Loch Ness. It was such an adventure - my siblings and I were allowed to roam and explore the local beaches. We loved the freedom of those trips. Show less «

I'd had my time in the charts and made loads of money. I was no longer hungry for success.

Don't expect fame to come overnight. That filtered through to me in my own career. Look at Madonna: ...Show more »

Don't expect fame to come overnight. That filtered through to me in my own career. Look at Madonna: she's not the best singer in the world, but she's got where she has through hard work. Show less «

I don't like flying. I'm a bit scared of it and don't enjoy the whole experience.

I like everything in this iPhone, iPod world where you can do everything all the time. Back in my ti...Show more »

I like everything in this iPhone, iPod world where you can do everything all the time. Back in my time, you bought a vinyl record when you were a kid and took it home, and it took a bit of effort to actually get it out of the thing and not scratch it. Show less «

I come away from a gig thinking, 'Yeah, I'm worth something.' I can still do it and entertain people...Show more »

I come away from a gig thinking, 'Yeah, I'm worth something.' I can still do it and entertain people, and that's worth it. Show less «

When I was still at school, I'd help Dad at the concrete yard he had prior to the garden centre. I w...Show more »

When I was still at school, I'd help Dad at the concrete yard he had prior to the garden centre. I was doing things there, like driving the tractors and forklifts, that most kids my age couldn't. Show less «

Working as a teaboy may have helped my confidence, but not everyone else was so pleased. I could nev...Show more »

Working as a teaboy may have helped my confidence, but not everyone else was so pleased. I could never remember who had milk or how many sugars, and I had an unusual talent for spilling tea on the recording console. Show less «

There's some songs you can cover, and I've covered and butchered a few, but you can't do them all.