May 13, 2022 • 34 mins
The British pop-soul crooner discusses the deluxe reissue of his 1987 smash Whenever You Need Somebody, which features remixes and new versions of classics like “Together Forever” and the immortal “Never Gonna Give You Up” reimagined as piano ballads. He also opened up about secretly singing on Disney’s ‘The Lion King' soundtrack, the mystery of his missing music video raincoat, and — yes —the Rick Rolling phenomenon.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Inside the
Studio on iHeart Radio. My name's Jordan run Talk. But
enough about me. You know my guest today. You love
my guest today. I promise you'd listen to his music
many times over the years, whether you wanted to or not.
I mean that the nicest possible way. Let me explain.
His indomitable soul pop classic Never Gonna Give You Up
(00:23):
famously received the new lease on life in the two thousands,
when it became one of the most famous viral videos
in history. Yes, I'm talking about the prank that dares
not speak its name. The song was a number one
single from the smash album Whenever You Need Somebody, which
has gone quadruple platinum since its release thanks to songs
like the title track, Together Forever, another number one, the
(00:43):
top ten hit It Would Take a Strong Man, and
of course, the Rick Rolling anthem. Now he's gearing up
to release an expanded thirty fifth anniversary version, featuring a
number of remixes and also reimagined versions of several tracks
alternate universe versions he calls him, including a surprisingly moving
piano a ballad version of Never Gonna Give You Up,
He's also hitting the road this summer with some big
(01:04):
name friends as part of the Mixtape US Arena Tour.
He's doing fifty seven nights alongside new Kids on the Block,
Salt and Pepper and then Vogue. He's got a busy
few months ahead of him, and I'm gratefully took the
time to stop by. I'm so happy to welcome Mr
Rick Astley. UM, you have a new Delexe greatly expanded
(01:27):
edition of Whenever You Need Somebody Do out in time
for the thirty fifth anniversary, and it features a number
of remixes and reimagined versions of a selection of tracts.
You call them alternate Universe versions, which I really love. UM.
Never gonna give you up as a piano ballad together
forever as like a jazz standard. I just think it's
so cool. What let you to decide to give these
(01:48):
songs a makeover? UM? To be honest, I have some
friends in the UK um in a band called Take That,
and I went on tour with them a couple of
years ago, and and other people obviously have kind of
reloked to their old songs, and obviously your fans want
you to play them live the way that they were
because they want their memories and all the rest of it.
(02:09):
But sometimes it's nice just to kind of fiddle around
with them a little bit. And it was just a
nice experience, to be honest. I mean, I've been singing
you know, never going to Give You Up Together forever
since nine seven, and it's been kind of nice to
sort of really look at them. And don't get me wrong,
I still when it comes to gigging, I understand that,
like I said, people want to hear the original versions,
(02:31):
but I kind of feel that every now and again
you can slip something in when no one's looking and
kind of just turn it upside down, you know what
I mean, And it's quite a nice thing to do.
So yeah, I mean, like I say, those songs are
pretty old, some of them, you know, So it's it's
it's I still enjoy singing them live, obviously, but it's
I think when I listened to them now, sometimes I
kind of think, how would we do that today? You know?
(02:52):
So yeah, Oh, it's I love the way it's sung
on these two because I mean, obviously, as you say,
the originals are classics, but by stripping some of the production,
it's almost like more of the emotion comes to the
forward too. I think it's so cool. Yeah, I also
think as well. I was a kid when I did
those vocals, a kid. I was plenty one when I
did those vocals. And I do think that I'm probably
(03:12):
a better singer than I was back then. I kind
of have had some life, you know, I've been through
some emotion in my life. You know, we have a
daughter who at years old now, can you believe um?
And lots of things that come and go through anybody's life,
whether you know it or you don't. As a singer,
you kind of somehow draw on that and somehow kind
(03:33):
of filter it into the way you sing. I think,
you know what I mean, there's more If I sing
certain lines now, they mean more to me. And even
even a song light never going to give you up
when I sing that to an audience. Now, I really
appreciate it more than I did when I was having
a hit with it, you know, because it's been part
of my DNA for thirty something years, and so it's
just a totally different feeling, to be honest, it really is.
(03:56):
And but it's a good feeling. It's nice, you know.
You think that the best singers have a touch of
the actor in them to be able to dial that in,
like on the day on the stage when you've got
to the song. Yeah, I don't the way I talk,
I don't sing, you know what I mean. I didn't
grow up. I didn't grow up on an island in
between America and the UK to have this quasi sort
(04:17):
of American action when I sing. It's just all the
guys that taught me to sing. Um. Most of them
would say anyway, sang with an American heart and an
American soul and a bit of American r and being them,
do you know what I mean? And so therefore that
that's what most British singers do. We kind of, like
I said, whether we know it or not, or whether
we like to admit it or not, we've stolen something
(04:40):
from American music. And you've done it in reverse because
we gave you the Beatles and David Bowie and on
and on, so you've done it in reverse as well.
But I think that's more from I think that's more
from a musical sense than it is a vocal sense,
do you know what I mean? I think I think
the world has stolen from America in terms of how
to sing vocals on on a on a modern date,
(05:03):
let's say last seventy years of like what we call
modern music. You know, that's and I think that comes
a lot from gospel, It comes a lot from the country,
It comes a lot from you know, those those kind
of genres of music that obviously are American, you know,
oh absolutely. I mean you have such a look like
a Philly soul voice in a way to her motown
(05:24):
tambla motown me. Who are some of the people that
made you want to sing when you were first getting
in the music as a kid. I guess, I guess.
I'm the youngest of four kids, and my sister James
ten years older than me. She won't thank me for that,
but there you go. Jane Um she played everything, to
be honest, She loved all kinds of everything. And she
(05:44):
took me to some gigs in Manchester, which is the closest,
biggest town to where I grew up. Um so the
first band I think I saw um properly a real gig.
I was about ten years old, and she took me
to see Super Trump and Super Trump obviously, you know
amazing songwriters. Eight Live band and everything. It blew me away.
I was just like, I just couldn't even I just
(06:04):
didn't know what world had entered kind of thing. But
she also loved so she loved like a lot of
progressive rock. Funny enough, she loved like the early Genesis
and even deeper than that into progressive rock. But she
loved the Beatles, She loved David Bowie. But she also
loved Marvin Kae, Stevie Wonder, and I think a lot
of those things. And she loved Motown as well. And
(06:25):
I think a lot of those things. The melody of
what Motown always had. And I think someone like let's
say Stevie Wonder. I mean, that guy can sing the
birds out of the trees, but melodically he always did
things that you you you wanted to sing along with him,
do you know what I mean. He's one of the
most he's one of the greatest artists that's ever lived.
(06:47):
I think he's one of the most amazing songwriters as well.
But the way he sang, you can't help yourself but
sing along, do you know what I mean? He sort
of brings it out of you. And yeah, so so
I guess I heard a lot of records and my
two brothers as well. You know, I was the youngest,
like I said, so they force fed me all kinds
of music. But I think I think somehow also when
(07:11):
I was when I was really young, I was in
the church choir. I mean it wasn't a gospel choir obviously, um,
but the thing of singing with other people, I think
as well. I've always kind of really liked and when
I'm doing gigs and I kind of work with the
girls that we have in our band and what I've
you in terms of vocals and stuff. It's one of
my favorite things. And we have a song called Pry
for Help, and the girls at the end kind of
(07:32):
emulate what the choir we're doing in terms of ad
libs and stuff, and it's one of my favorite moments.
I just wanted to keep going, you know, I want
to be around other singers. It's just I think it's
an instinctive thing. When the human sings, it just draws
me in. You know. So I heard a story, I
don't know if this is true, that when We're Never
Going to Give You Up first came out before the
video came out, and there was just the picture of
(07:54):
you on the record sleeve. Some listeners were like, this,
this can't be a twenty one year old kid. This
has got to be forty five year old guy from Detroit.
I mean, of course, of course, and a lot of
people definitely mentioned that, and I found that, I mean obviously,
you know, like I said, you know, Bill with us,
all the guys from Motown, um latter day, like James
(08:16):
Ingram as well and Luther Andrews and all those guys
taught me to sing. Michael McDonald was one of my
favorite singers. They didn't know where they were teaching me.
They didn't know they were teaching half the world to sing,
but they were because we all we all copied them. Um.
But I think for someone to say that I sounded
like a middle aged soul singer was a bit weird
to me because when I looked in the mirror, I
(08:37):
look like an eleven year old kid from the north
of England, you know what I mean. So I think
that's the best compliment though, of course, of course it's
a huge compliment, but it's also I actually think it's
one of the secret ingredients why that track worked, because
when people did see the video, they were so freaked
out because they might have heard the song on the radio.
That that was almost part of the charm of it.
It's like that, dude, you know what I mean? So so, yeah,
(08:59):
I mean I think that's the other that's the That's
the other thing is that obviously we have the Internet,
we have YouTube, we have you know, so anybody can
see anything now. Well, back then you had to go
and watch videos on MTV, and MTV was such an
influential thing. It it was such a massive thing for
an artist to get on MTV because you knew that
on a on a certainly on an American basis, but
(09:21):
on a worldwide basis. You know, you add not just
your song, but kind of your representation of what you were,
what was supposed to be and what you know. That
was a huge hoututube thing. So but I think I think,
I mean my videos my word, man, when I see
my videos now, it's really hard for me to watch them.
If I'm honest, I can giggle at them. I can
(09:42):
giggle at them, but it's really hard, yeah, because I'm like,
who is that guy? What the hell is he doing?
You know? If it's really weird? Yeah, it is. Do
you have any memories of from from shooting the video.
I mean, the main thing I've been talking about that
recently actually quite a bit. The main thing is that
I think people when they look at the raincoat still
still like a stripy t shirt by the way, but
(10:03):
when they look at their own coat, um, and the
turtleneck and that, you know, I think people think that
was all styled. There was no styling whatsoever. I just
wrote about with clothes in it. And it was the
middle of summer when we shot. It was actually a
hot day for once in England, in London, and they
just kind of staid, look, stand in front of that
chain link fence and do what you do. And I
(10:26):
was terrified, so I put my sunglasses on so nobody
could actually you know, just hit behind the sunglasses and
shuffle around a bit and you know, pretended to sing
the song. And but if you think about it, today,
everyone is used to being filmed because whatever you're doing
and wherever you go, I'm sure you've got several cameras
in the studio all the time with you what you know,
but also when you're you know, doing whatever you're doing.
(10:47):
In terms of any kind of media these days, whether
it's radio, whether it is actually a TV. Yeah, there's
the TV cameras, but there's also half a dozen other
cameras filming the cameras filming. You know, everything is filmed.
So and for younger people all now they just grow up,
you know, TikTok, Instagram, whatever, it's just film and stuff constantly.
We didn't do that. My generation didn't do that. Nobody
(11:07):
had a video camera. First time I saw a video camera,
it's like I've gone to the moon or something. It
was like space technology. You know, somebody's walking around with
something that you can film, you know what I mean.
It was like So to go and be in front
of the film crew to make a video was terrifying.
It was absolutely terrifying. And the other crazy thing is
there was no way of seeing what it looked like.
You just shut it on film, and then a week
(11:31):
or so later you went and looked at the edit
of it. Nobody could film it. Just think about that
for a second. Nobody could film it and go, Okay,
did we get the shot right? Is this right? What
does Rick look like? You know, should he really be
wearing that rain? Cool? There was none of that, you
know what I mean? It was just it's just you
film it, you put it in the can, and a
week later you're gonna see the edit. That was the
way it was. This begs the question do you still
(11:53):
have the rein code? No? It actually its well disappeared.
I saw it disappear. I went to do one of
one of the first first outdoor radio events that I
did was in Belfast in Northern Ireland, and I was
chanting to this guy who's a really big TV and
radio presenter and has been for a long time, but
you know, he was working there at the time, and
(12:15):
I had the rain coat on, and all these kids
just started getting close from clos from close until we
kind of both got mobbed really um and then someone
thought it's one of these kids, thought I'm having that coat.
So we just started it just basically just started pulling up.
Because I was live on the radio and I've never
really done a lot of this before. I thought, look,
I turned around and kind of like shove him or
pot whatever before not doing the rain court is just
(12:37):
sailing across this sea of like a thousand kids in
this like town square in Belfast, and I'm just going,
that's my I bought that coat man, that's not a
present in the back up company. That's mine. And so
that was it. I never saw it again, but I
do see it occasionally. Um. You know, obviously people come
to gigs very now and again wearing a rain coat,
(12:57):
so I do see it again every now and again.
But the original one, I don't know where that is.
But yeah, there they go. Well, we should put out
a call. Okay, I'm gonna give the end of this broadcast,
will put out the address for my heart. No questions
are send the rain cut back. We'll get it to Rick. Yeah,
we get We'll go Indiana Jones on him. We'll they
well sit this out. The phrase, you know, overnight sensation
(13:28):
gets tossed around quite a bit, but I mean, you
really did go from touring you know, pubs in Birmingham
to uh Wembley fairly quickly. Right, How did you come
up with that? I guess the one thing that happened
with myself was that it did happen so for quick
especially with that first song, never going to give You
a Bit. Went from me doing kind of like like
(13:50):
some radio promotion up and down the country and stuff.
We hadn't even made a video of the week that
it went to number one, and back in those days,
you didn't go into the chart number one. It took
by five or six weeks to get there, especially with
a new artist, And so it was kind of a
bit weird, if I'm honest, And I never really caught
up with myself even I don't think, you know. I
(14:12):
always felt like I just left the room and I
was entering the room from from another door, if you
know what I mean. So my career was like five
paces in front of me, and it was it was
really weird. And really, I mean, listen, a lot of fun.
I got to do some amazing things and see some
amazing things and being some great places and all the
rest of it. But it was pretty weird. And I
(14:34):
think I would have loved to have just paused it
for a second, to just take a breath and look around,
but there wasn't really time for that. That's what happens
in pot music very often. It's like boom and that's it,
you know. Um. And also because I was kind of
on my own, really, I traveled with somebody who was great.
It looked after me and everything. But I mean the
end of the day, I'm the one you know, in
the picture and that and that. So I had a
(14:57):
really good time and everything. But when I look at
certain artists today who you know, have been massive, like
let's say that I don't know, Justin Bieber or someone
like that, who's who's who it was? He was a
lot younger than I was, by the way. I mean,
he was a kid. He literally was a kid. But
you look at someone like that career, he's absolutely globally massive,
and it's his name at the end of the day,
and it's it's it stops with him, do you know
(15:17):
what I mean? I do kind of think sometimes the
pressure that people have got today is a lot more
than I had, because obviously they've got the Internet, and
like I say, every clown has got a camera in
the pocket, you know, having been to the bathroom, right
to the men's room. I'm stood in the men's room,
so you know what I'm doing in there, right, and
someone takes the phone. Someone takes the phone, and I'm going,
(15:39):
what the what are you? You know what I mean?
And they're looking at me as if I'm being weird
about it, right, So, so what he goes through, I
don't know, you know, maybe maybe he never goes in
a bathroom, you know, without security. Maybe maybe he doesn't,
I don't know, but you know, it's kind of I
think that. I think I think the generation of this
last ten years fifteen is, since you know, the technology
(16:02):
we have today and the social media we have, I
think it's gotta be tougher for them. I mean, I
I had a pretty fun time, to be honest, because
you know, I could I could kind of like have
moments of you know, getting drunk without anybody noticing and
doing hanging out with my friends. And there wasn't a
lot of that obviously, but you know, it wasn't the
same as it is today. So um, like I said,
(16:22):
I wish, I wish I could have been Actually, I
wish I could have grabbed it a bit more and
been in the center of it. And I kind of
felt it was happening into this other dude five steps
in front of me, do you know what I mean?
That's what it felt like a lot of the time.
Do you have any moments though that's still I know
you would like Robert Plant wanting to get a photo
with you and stuff like that moment the hold on
to that, really, I think that's that's one of the
(16:45):
that's one of the craziest things about the fame side
of things, because like the line Julia Roberts says, it
isn't real, you know, and it isn't It actually isn't real,
you know, when I'm at home putting the kettle on
for what my wife, when I first thing in the morning.
Fame is not real at that moment. It's only real
when well, obviously, when somebody recognizes you. That's when it's
(17:07):
real and it's real. It's not even when you're on stage.
I don't think fame is real because I know you're famous.
But I think fame is that weird thing when people
it's almost that the height of it is when people
aren't expecting you there and then see you that that's
when it picks in it. Yeah, exactly. If you've bought
a ticket to go and see a band, you get
excited about it and everything. But the fame thing has
(17:29):
sort of slightly gone for me a little bit because
you're in the room with them doing what they do,
you know what I mean, and enjoying that and so yeah.
But I mean, obviously that in that particular example of
this thing, because I've I've said that about. You know,
I'm thinking Robert plant Is walking over to me, and
I'm like, what, what what I've done wrong? I'm kind
of looking at going like you know, um and and
(17:52):
I think it was his nephew. Is something just it
just you know, kind of like me. And he said, oh,
could I get a quick photograph because I want to
send it, you know, And and and again that would
have been back in the days of like a real
camera kind of thing, you know, that that you know,
it wasn't like a you know, but I met a
lot of people who, if I'm brutally honest, I would
(18:12):
have thought wouldn't have even spoken to me because I
was in a different genre of music, you know what
I mean. Obviously I was I was pop, and I
was I was pretty I'm not putting it down in
any way, shape or form. I'm just sort of saying
there are people that are what I call artists who
have written songs that have stood the test of time,
meant something lyrically when they wrote them and it still
has that message today. And then there's people who make
(18:34):
pop music, you know what I mean That there's sort
of different, you know, and I think sometimes I've met
people and I've been pretty shocked that they for one, no, no,
I am, and kind of also been pretty kind of
generous with the time. And you know what I mean,
you kind of think they're almost like look the other
way and hope that you know, I don't know, so
I think it's kind of nice when people kind of
do that. It's it sort of restores your faith into humanity,
(18:57):
you know what I mean, that they can be kind
of normal as well, and you know, want to take
a picture for the nephew, you know what I mean.
So well, you you did take a step back for
some time, something that I didn't realize into into looking
into it during I think this time you sang on
the Lion King soundtrack. I didn't realize that. How did
(19:18):
that come to be? Um? When you say a sang
on it? My voice is hidden in the background of it.
Literally do I listened to it after I found that
I can totally hear. Okay, Um, well, fully enough, I
my wife, one of her best friends is married to
Elton John's guitar player, So a guy called Davy Johnston
(19:41):
who's a legend. He's one of the loveliest guys in rock.
And roll. He's just he's the loveliest guy anyway, full stop. Um.
So we used to sort of go and see Davy
quite a bit, and obviously go to a lot of
Elton gigs and stuff. And when they used to come
to London to do a bit of recording, or they
were going to be there for a couple of months
doing recording and stuff, I got and see Davy sometimes
and hang out and have a coffee and do whatever.
(20:03):
And I went to the studio one day and um,
they were doing the Lion King obviously, and and a
guy called Gary Barler, who funnily enough is in Take
That and he's really good friends with Elton as well. Um,
and so there was a bunch of us there and
then we're going to do background vocals and and Davy
obviously was always done backgrounds with withouton. He's quite a
(20:25):
signature part of that sound of the bvs and everything
because they're just so great. Um, we just right, okay,
So like four of us went in there, and Bob,
who was the bass player in Elton, spanned as well.
I think the four of us just kind of stood there. Um.
I think Gary was actually leading it quite a bit
because Obviously he knows a bit about singing with guys,
you know, because he's been in a poet round for
thirty years. And and yes, so we just did we did.
(20:48):
We did the BBS on can You Feel a Love Tonight?
And I think it was just that one song. Actually
I can't remember, maybe a couple but anyway, um, and
it was pretty amazing because obviously it's job, come on.
And also it was amazing because he was doing something
quite different. He was kind of being himself as an artist,
(21:10):
Elton John, but he was also writing songs to be
basically in an animated movie, do you know what I mean?
And and it was like, how do you get that right? What? Where?
Where's the where's the line of it being schmaltzy and
sort of like this kid's movie or just writing a
really great song, do you know what I mean? And
(21:31):
you know, he's written quite a lot of great songs,
so I'm sure you know, he was pretty comfortable and confident.
But it's I was pretty impressed, is what I'm saying,
because I think it's a hard line to navigate to
do something that works on its own as just being
a great song, but really works within that doing the
job it's meant to do, do you know what I mean,
which is there to you know, make the movie rise
(21:52):
at wive And so it's a pretty amazing thing just
to be there on the day, never mind singing it.
And that, to be honest, is the only it's the
only gold or platinum record we've ever hung up in
the house because because it was in our daughter's real
that's the only one. Yeah, because that's because I was
in our daughter's bedroom because she loved obviously that movie
and anything like that, and so it went up in
(22:14):
her room. Yet, so well, hey, did YouTube send you
a plaque for never Gonna give you up? Breaking a
billion views? That astonishing? No, I'll have to get onto that. Yeah,
I need a plaque for that, of course I do.
Um No, I mean, it's just crazy, and I mean,
obviously I've been super lucky with that song. I can
(22:35):
understand that a lot of artists would be freaked and
they'd be upset because you know, the whole rick rolling
thing and everything that's happened with that song. Some artists
would probably balk at that and run a million miles.
But I also think that the rick rolling thing started
around two thousand and seven, I think, and I only
just started around that time to think about and start
(22:56):
doing a couple of gigs and stuff. So I think
I might have done and gigs in Japan by then.
Maybe I went. I used to get office to go
and sing my old songs, and I just didn't do
it for like ten or fifteen years. The only time
I sung them was at friends weddings. That's the only
time I did, right, And so I got this offer
to go to Japan, and as usual, I was just
(23:18):
saying thank you very much. I don't really do that anymore,
but it's a lovely offer. Thank you. And my wife
and our daughter is about fifteen at the time, kind
of huddled together in the kitchen and then came over
and sort of said, we're going. So we went to
Pra because we knew we'd get looked after. You know
what I mean. I mean, going to Japan or something
(23:38):
is one thing, but doing it when you're doing gigs
and everything, it's a totally different ball game. Because, you know,
so we went out a family holiday and everything, and
you know that song from around that moment and me
digging again and what have you has just sort of
taken on a life in the world of its own.
So and obviously YouTube was in its infancy around two
thousand and seven, I would imagine, but it's just become
(23:59):
a well go to you know, and it's it's crazy
to think about the Other thing is this, I've said
this recently. Whoever said a billion of anything in the eighties?
A million dollars? You know what I mean? It's like,
who used the term a billion of anything? Right? And
now it's just become part of everyday language, do you
(24:21):
know what I mean? It's like, oh, you know this
song stream three billion whatevers and this, you know, the thought,
the thought of a billion of anything is weird. And
so we're living in kind of strange times. If if
you're young and that's what you used to then we're
not that. They're just your times and that's what's normal.
But for somebody at my age, you know, I'm in
my fifties, it's kind of like, what the hell? You know?
(24:42):
So it's pretty pretty amazing really to be part of
a very small group of people who have had a
billion streams of their song on YouTube. It's kind of
not you know, I think it's something like twenty three
videos from the pre Internet that I'm sure. I'm sure
that's going to ramp up. You know, it will be
a very really steep ramp I think there's going to
be a lot of people doing that for sure, you know,
(25:03):
because that's what the world does. It just sits on
its phone looking at stuff, doesn't it, you know what
I mean? So you know, yeah, that you mentioned going
to Japan. There is a great clip from I Think
of You with the food Fighters doing barn stage. Yeah.
I mean, I've been to Japan a bunch of times actually,
(25:24):
and I've had just some amazing experiences. They're just some
crazy like I hadn't going back to that first time
when we went on a family holiday, I literally had
not sung Never, Never, Going to Give You Up Together
Forever and any of those songs. I've never sung any
of them for about fifteen years in front of an audience,
a real audience with a band and the whole thing,
you know, everything, And so that was just crazy. And
(25:46):
and then obviously going to do that festival, which I
was you know, I'm not I'm not embarrassed to admit this.
I was lucky to get on that festival. It's a
really really big thing, and it was like, you know,
and I saw food fight as we're headlining. I was
just thinking about me crazy whatever, but you know, great.
So but then first night we didn't get to see
them because it's in a soccer and it's in Tokyo
(26:08):
and we just because of scheduling, we just couldn't get
to do it. So the second night, I do done
like it because it was the afternoon. So I've done
my thing, so I'm done. So I'm jet like, like
you wouldn't believe. I've had a couple of beers. I'm
still at the side of the stage because those guys
are amazing and they're really comfortable with having anybody just
sit where they want and just let's get on and rock,
you know. And so yeah, so I ended up being
invited on stage. They'd already kind of jammed through, never
(26:32):
going to give you up in their way, and I
got invited onto the stage to sing it, and it
was just just pure madness, you know. Um and but
just as we all know, just one of the greatest,
greatest bands ever, you know, so fantastic. We're speaking I
think less than a week after the beyond tragic death
(26:53):
of Taylor Harkers, do you have any memories of I mean,
obviously I met them. I met a bunch of times
and hung out with them, and and you know, I
was invited to sing a couple of times with them, obviously,
and you just I've got no words for it, to
be honest. I mean, I just don't think there's any
way of describing the emotion around that. I just think
it's just it's actually, it's just too much, That's what
(27:14):
it is. It's just and I can't you know, I
just can't even put it into I can't even put
it into thought really. And obviously it's not like it's
not you know, it's not like I knew them super
well or anything, but I just can't imagine. It's just, yeah,
it's just too much. Just it's just a beautiful, beautiful
energy around a human being, you know, and it's just
(27:36):
it's just too much to even think about it. Really. Well,
you are about to hit the road very soon without
(27:57):
a bunch of musical friends New Kids on the Block,
Salt and Pepper and Vogue for the mixtape Rena fifty
seven dates. That is that they would have said that
first time I said, um, now, we we got this offer.
I don't know when it was now, sometimes sometime ago,
and and obviously you've just mentioned three artists there who
(28:20):
have been absolutely massive, you know, on a worldwide basis.
But I remember coming to America especially and always feeling
a bit um. I don't have impostor syndrome exactly, but
I think when you come to America you realize somehow
how small Britain is, and even though you've been big there,
and you might have been big in Europe, in different whatever,
you come to American and you go, now, we're playing
(28:42):
with the big boys, And um, I still have that
feeling a little bit, if I'm honest, I do, because really, yeah,
I do a little bit, because it's I think. I think.
I think the music business in America has been a
profession for a long time, and I think the rest
of the world is slowly caught up. I think here
black movies. You know, it's like, no, no, I work
(29:03):
in movies, that's what. Yeah, But when you're going to
get a real job, no, no, I work in movies.
That's what you know. And I do. I think it's
always been that way a little bit. And I'm not
saying I think from a creative point of view, a
small country like Britain as way out punched itself, do
you know what I mean, punched way above its way.
But I just think, you know, those three bands that
(29:23):
we've just mentioned, new kids, Salt and Pepper on Vogue,
I remember looking at them on MTV and stuff and
just sort of thinking, yeah, that's how you do it,
you know what I mean. I'm not just building them
up for the sake of it. I'm saying from a distance.
I used to always sort of think because I don't know,
I mean, I don't I think it's hard sometimes to
(29:43):
really see yourself. I think because you're in you're in
the bubble too much. You need to be outside of it.
And I think especially as well, you know, listening to
one Vogue vocals and stuff, it's something like I said
at the beginning of this, it's always really, really really
moved me when people can really sing UM. So that
(30:04):
that in really looking forward to that. For one thing,
I'm probably going to watch their set every single night,
to be honest, fifty seven times UM. And obviously you
know Salt and Pepper, they've got something monster Monster Tunes
and it's so funny because you you say their name
and everybody sings, you know, one of many songs back
to you straight away. But also they do it even
(30:26):
if they're like twelve years old, or if they're old
enough to be around when the songs came out the
first but you know what I mean, and it's I
think that stands. They still the test of time, those
songs really really well and new kids, it speaks for itself,
you know. You know, I'm an invited guest on this
massive arena tour, and like I said, you know, those
(30:46):
guys were probably one of, if not the I think
about first, but there were a boy band that exploded
in such a way globally that it was just like
what the hell is going on? You know, because we've
seen band bands do it, but in terms of even boyband,
I didn't even know what that term meant to be honest,
I don't think I think that was like I didn't
(31:06):
even realize what that meant. And and so I think
they kind of carved out their own space sort of thing,
you know. So yeah, so I think it's going to
be I mean, I've looked at the you know, in
terms of like the hits that those three and myself
have had and I've kind of thought, you know, that's
that's going to be quite a long gig, like and
um yeah, So I, like I said, I'm I'm buzzed
(31:28):
about it, and I kind of do feel not like
an impostible I'm the one British guy and and uh,
you know, it's going to be interesting. You know, I
have done little tours in America and and I love it.
And like I say, it's where a lot of the
favorite music that kind of got me into music and
taught me out to sing and allers. So it came
from Um. So, I think it's going to be interesting
(31:49):
to actually go and play in front of an audience
that I used to seeing new kids for one thing,
because obviously there's going to be a lot of their
audience there, you know, that's kind of it's the mix tape.
At the end of the day, we're invited guests, you know,
So it's gonna be amazing. I think. My last question
before I let you go, you're you're known for performing
Highway to Hell by A C D C d C
(32:09):
at the end of some of your shows. Do you
have any any surprises in the Settlers as tamarando. I
think I'll be doing that on that No. I mean
one of the things. I got started in a band
at school, like a lot of people do. And I
was playing drums when I started, but I used to
sing a little bit because I always sung anyway in
the choir and school plays and everything. So I used
to sing police songs from the drums in the first
band I was ever in second band I was in,
(32:31):
used to drum and sing a little bit and stuff,
and we used to murder various songs by various artists.
But I love doing it. And the band that works
with me all the time might have kind of live
band and what have you very often, especially especially, and
we all kind of know it's coming when we go,
like let's say, to Asia. So we've done Singapore, Kuala Lump,
(32:52):
but what on a run of gigs or what have you.
We know we're getting on a plane home and it's
going to be like twelve hours fourteen hours flight home.
So we know the night before we're all going out
big time. Right, So Julie and our tour manager is
already looking for a bar that's got a set up,
you know what I mean, Drums based all right, and
we're in it. That's that, that's just happening. And I
(33:12):
love it. I absolutely love it. And sometimes when we
played festivals recently, we will go and find the secret
stage and ask can we play like the Night before?
You know, and they may be involved, but we never
play my songs. We just go and play covers and
I absolutely love it. And and that song in particular,
(33:33):
and that album Highway to Hell is how I kind
of taught myself to play drums. And listen, I'm not
a great drummer, but I've got reasonable feeling stuff. And
it's just one of the old time records to learn
to play drums too. So even if you know, even
if we've gone through a whole technological age of drums
becoming a different thing in the way they recording, blah
blah blah blah blah, and go back to that record
(33:55):
because if you want to, if you want to, if
you want to try and feel something about playing the drums,
go to the Highway to Help by a c DC
that album because it's just phenomenal and that's the way
everyone should learn to play drums as far as I'm concerned.
But there you go, hey man, Mr Rick Astley, you
were the man. Thank you. Thank you so much for
your your time today and most importantly, your music. It's
(34:18):
been such a joy talking to Thank you, thank you,
absolute pleasure. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside
the Studio, a production of I Heart Radio. For more
episodes of Inside the Studio or other fantastic shows, check
out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite podcast.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Inside the
Studio on iHeart Radio. My name's Jordan run Talk. But
enough about me. You know my guest today. You love
my guest today. I promise you'd listen to his music
many times over the years, whether you wanted to or not.
I mean that the nicest possible way. Let me explain.
His indomitable soul pop classic Never Gonna Give You Up
(00:23):
famously received the new lease on life in the two thousands,
when it became one of the most famous viral videos
in history. Yes, I'm talking about the prank that dares
not speak its name. The song was a number one
single from the smash album Whenever You Need Somebody, which
has gone quadruple platinum since its release thanks to songs
like the title track, Together Forever, another number one, the
(00:43):
top ten hit It Would Take a Strong Man, and
of course, the Rick Rolling anthem. Now he's gearing up
to release an expanded thirty fifth anniversary version, featuring a
number of remixes and also reimagined versions of several tracks
alternate universe versions he calls him, including a surprisingly moving
piano a ballad version of Never Gonna Give You Up,
He's also hitting the road this summer with some big
(01:04):
name friends as part of the Mixtape US Arena Tour.
He's doing fifty seven nights alongside new Kids on the Block,
Salt and Pepper and then Vogue. He's got a busy
few months ahead of him, and I'm gratefully took the
time to stop by. I'm so happy to welcome Mr
Rick Astley. UM, you have a new Delexe greatly expanded
(01:27):
edition of Whenever You Need Somebody Do out in time
for the thirty fifth anniversary, and it features a number
of remixes and reimagined versions of a selection of tracts.
You call them alternate Universe versions, which I really love. UM.
Never gonna give you up as a piano ballad together
forever as like a jazz standard. I just think it's
so cool. What let you to decide to give these
(01:48):
songs a makeover? UM? To be honest, I have some
friends in the UK um in a band called Take That,
and I went on tour with them a couple of
years ago, and and other people obviously have kind of
reloked to their old songs, and obviously your fans want
you to play them live the way that they were
because they want their memories and all the rest of it.
(02:09):
But sometimes it's nice just to kind of fiddle around
with them a little bit. And it was just a
nice experience, to be honest. I mean, I've been singing
you know, never going to Give You Up Together forever
since nine seven, and it's been kind of nice to
sort of really look at them. And don't get me wrong,
I still when it comes to gigging, I understand that,
like I said, people want to hear the original versions,
(02:31):
but I kind of feel that every now and again
you can slip something in when no one's looking and
kind of just turn it upside down, you know what
I mean, And it's quite a nice thing to do.
So yeah, I mean, like I say, those songs are
pretty old, some of them, you know, So it's it's
it's I still enjoy singing them live, obviously, but it's
I think when I listened to them now, sometimes I
kind of think, how would we do that today? You know?
(02:52):
So yeah, Oh, it's I love the way it's sung
on these two because I mean, obviously, as you say,
the originals are classics, but by stripping some of the production,
it's almost like more of the emotion comes to the
forward too. I think it's so cool. Yeah, I also
think as well. I was a kid when I did
those vocals, a kid. I was plenty one when I
did those vocals. And I do think that I'm probably
(03:12):
a better singer than I was back then. I kind
of have had some life, you know, I've been through
some emotion in my life. You know, we have a
daughter who at years old now, can you believe um?
And lots of things that come and go through anybody's life,
whether you know it or you don't. As a singer,
you kind of somehow draw on that and somehow kind
(03:33):
of filter it into the way you sing. I think,
you know what I mean, there's more If I sing
certain lines now, they mean more to me. And even
even a song light never going to give you up
when I sing that to an audience. Now, I really
appreciate it more than I did when I was having
a hit with it, you know, because it's been part
of my DNA for thirty something years, and so it's
just a totally different feeling, to be honest, it really is.
(03:56):
And but it's a good feeling. It's nice, you know.
You think that the best singers have a touch of
the actor in them to be able to dial that in,
like on the day on the stage when you've got
to the song. Yeah, I don't the way I talk,
I don't sing, you know what I mean. I didn't
grow up. I didn't grow up on an island in
between America and the UK to have this quasi sort
(04:17):
of American action when I sing. It's just all the
guys that taught me to sing. Um. Most of them
would say anyway, sang with an American heart and an
American soul and a bit of American r and being them,
do you know what I mean? And so therefore that
that's what most British singers do. We kind of, like
I said, whether we know it or not, or whether
we like to admit it or not, we've stolen something
(04:40):
from American music. And you've done it in reverse because
we gave you the Beatles and David Bowie and on
and on, so you've done it in reverse as well.
But I think that's more from I think that's more
from a musical sense than it is a vocal sense,
do you know what I mean? I think I think
the world has stolen from America in terms of how
to sing vocals on on a on a modern date,
(05:03):
let's say last seventy years of like what we call
modern music. You know, that's and I think that comes
a lot from gospel, It comes a lot from the country,
It comes a lot from you know, those those kind
of genres of music that obviously are American, you know,
oh absolutely. I mean you have such a look like
a Philly soul voice in a way to her motown
(05:24):
tambla motown me. Who are some of the people that
made you want to sing when you were first getting
in the music as a kid. I guess, I guess.
I'm the youngest of four kids, and my sister James
ten years older than me. She won't thank me for that,
but there you go. Jane Um she played everything, to
be honest, She loved all kinds of everything. And she
(05:44):
took me to some gigs in Manchester, which is the closest,
biggest town to where I grew up. Um so the
first band I think I saw um properly a real gig.
I was about ten years old, and she took me
to see Super Trump and Super Trump obviously, you know
amazing songwriters. Eight Live band and everything. It blew me away.
I was just like, I just couldn't even I just
(06:04):
didn't know what world had entered kind of thing. But
she also loved so she loved like a lot of
progressive rock. Funny enough, she loved like the early Genesis
and even deeper than that into progressive rock. But she
loved the Beatles, She loved David Bowie. But she also
loved Marvin Kae, Stevie Wonder, and I think a lot
of those things. And she loved Motown as well. And
(06:25):
I think a lot of those things. The melody of
what Motown always had. And I think someone like let's
say Stevie Wonder. I mean, that guy can sing the
birds out of the trees, but melodically he always did
things that you you you wanted to sing along with him,
do you know what I mean. He's one of the
most he's one of the greatest artists that's ever lived.
(06:47):
I think he's one of the most amazing songwriters as well.
But the way he sang, you can't help yourself but
sing along, do you know what I mean? He sort
of brings it out of you. And yeah, so so
I guess I heard a lot of records and my
two brothers as well. You know, I was the youngest,
like I said, so they force fed me all kinds
of music. But I think I think somehow also when
(07:11):
I was when I was really young, I was in
the church choir. I mean it wasn't a gospel choir obviously, um,
but the thing of singing with other people, I think
as well. I've always kind of really liked and when
I'm doing gigs and I kind of work with the
girls that we have in our band and what I've
you in terms of vocals and stuff. It's one of
my favorite things. And we have a song called Pry
for Help, and the girls at the end kind of
(07:32):
emulate what the choir we're doing in terms of ad
libs and stuff, and it's one of my favorite moments.
I just wanted to keep going, you know, I want
to be around other singers. It's just I think it's
an instinctive thing. When the human sings, it just draws
me in. You know. So I heard a story, I
don't know if this is true, that when We're Never
Going to Give You Up first came out before the
video came out, and there was just the picture of
(07:54):
you on the record sleeve. Some listeners were like, this,
this can't be a twenty one year old kid. This
has got to be forty five year old guy from Detroit.
I mean, of course, of course, and a lot of
people definitely mentioned that, and I found that, I mean obviously,
you know, like I said, you know, Bill with us,
all the guys from Motown, um latter day, like James
(08:16):
Ingram as well and Luther Andrews and all those guys
taught me to sing. Michael McDonald was one of my
favorite singers. They didn't know where they were teaching me.
They didn't know they were teaching half the world to sing,
but they were because we all we all copied them. Um.
But I think for someone to say that I sounded
like a middle aged soul singer was a bit weird
to me because when I looked in the mirror, I
(08:37):
look like an eleven year old kid from the north
of England, you know what I mean. So I think
that's the best compliment though, of course, of course it's
a huge compliment, but it's also I actually think it's
one of the secret ingredients why that track worked, because
when people did see the video, they were so freaked
out because they might have heard the song on the radio.
That that was almost part of the charm of it.
It's like that, dude, you know what I mean? So so, yeah,
(08:59):
I mean I think that's the other that's the That's
the other thing is that obviously we have the Internet,
we have YouTube, we have you know, so anybody can
see anything now. Well, back then you had to go
and watch videos on MTV, and MTV was such an
influential thing. It it was such a massive thing for
an artist to get on MTV because you knew that
on a on a certainly on an American basis, but
(09:21):
on a worldwide basis. You know, you add not just
your song, but kind of your representation of what you were,
what was supposed to be and what you know. That
was a huge hoututube thing. So but I think I think,
I mean my videos my word, man, when I see
my videos now, it's really hard for me to watch them.
If I'm honest, I can giggle at them. I can
(09:42):
giggle at them, but it's really hard, yeah, because I'm like,
who is that guy? What the hell is he doing?
You know? If it's really weird? Yeah, it is. Do
you have any memories of from from shooting the video.
I mean, the main thing I've been talking about that
recently actually quite a bit. The main thing is that
I think people when they look at the raincoat still
still like a stripy t shirt by the way, but
(10:03):
when they look at their own coat, um, and the
turtleneck and that, you know, I think people think that
was all styled. There was no styling whatsoever. I just
wrote about with clothes in it. And it was the
middle of summer when we shot. It was actually a
hot day for once in England, in London, and they
just kind of staid, look, stand in front of that
chain link fence and do what you do. And I
(10:26):
was terrified, so I put my sunglasses on so nobody
could actually you know, just hit behind the sunglasses and
shuffle around a bit and you know, pretended to sing
the song. And but if you think about it, today,
everyone is used to being filmed because whatever you're doing
and wherever you go, I'm sure you've got several cameras
in the studio all the time with you what you know,
but also when you're you know, doing whatever you're doing.
(10:47):
In terms of any kind of media these days, whether
it's radio, whether it is actually a TV. Yeah, there's
the TV cameras, but there's also half a dozen other
cameras filming the cameras filming. You know, everything is filmed.
So and for younger people all now they just grow up,
you know, TikTok, Instagram, whatever, it's just film and stuff constantly.
We didn't do that. My generation didn't do that. Nobody
(11:07):
had a video camera. First time I saw a video camera,
it's like I've gone to the moon or something. It
was like space technology. You know, somebody's walking around with
something that you can film, you know what I mean.
It was like So to go and be in front
of the film crew to make a video was terrifying.
It was absolutely terrifying. And the other crazy thing is
there was no way of seeing what it looked like.
You just shut it on film, and then a week
(11:31):
or so later you went and looked at the edit
of it. Nobody could film it. Just think about that
for a second. Nobody could film it and go, Okay,
did we get the shot right? Is this right? What
does Rick look like? You know, should he really be
wearing that rain? Cool? There was none of that, you
know what I mean? It was just it's just you
film it, you put it in the can, and a
week later you're gonna see the edit. That was the
way it was. This begs the question do you still
(11:53):
have the rein code? No? It actually its well disappeared.
I saw it disappear. I went to do one of
one of the first first outdoor radio events that I
did was in Belfast in Northern Ireland, and I was
chanting to this guy who's a really big TV and
radio presenter and has been for a long time, but
you know, he was working there at the time, and
(12:15):
I had the rain coat on, and all these kids
just started getting close from clos from close until we
kind of both got mobbed really um and then someone
thought it's one of these kids, thought I'm having that coat.
So we just started it just basically just started pulling up.
Because I was live on the radio and I've never
really done a lot of this before. I thought, look,
I turned around and kind of like shove him or
pot whatever before not doing the rain court is just
(12:37):
sailing across this sea of like a thousand kids in
this like town square in Belfast, and I'm just going,
that's my I bought that coat man, that's not a
present in the back up company. That's mine. And so
that was it. I never saw it again, but I
do see it occasionally. Um. You know, obviously people come
to gigs very now and again wearing a rain coat,
(12:57):
so I do see it again every now and again.
But the original one, I don't know where that is.
But yeah, there they go. Well, we should put out
a call. Okay, I'm gonna give the end of this broadcast,
will put out the address for my heart. No questions
are send the rain cut back. We'll get it to Rick. Yeah,
we get We'll go Indiana Jones on him. We'll they
well sit this out. The phrase, you know, overnight sensation
(13:28):
gets tossed around quite a bit, but I mean, you
really did go from touring you know, pubs in Birmingham
to uh Wembley fairly quickly. Right, How did you come
up with that? I guess the one thing that happened
with myself was that it did happen so for quick
especially with that first song, never going to give You
a Bit. Went from me doing kind of like like
(13:50):
some radio promotion up and down the country and stuff.
We hadn't even made a video of the week that
it went to number one, and back in those days,
you didn't go into the chart number one. It took
by five or six weeks to get there, especially with
a new artist, And so it was kind of a
bit weird, if I'm honest, And I never really caught
up with myself even I don't think, you know. I
(14:12):
always felt like I just left the room and I
was entering the room from from another door, if you
know what I mean. So my career was like five
paces in front of me, and it was it was
really weird. And really, I mean, listen, a lot of fun.
I got to do some amazing things and see some
amazing things and being some great places and all the
rest of it. But it was pretty weird. And I
(14:34):
think I would have loved to have just paused it
for a second, to just take a breath and look around,
but there wasn't really time for that. That's what happens
in pot music very often. It's like boom and that's it,
you know. Um. And also because I was kind of
on my own, really, I traveled with somebody who was great.
It looked after me and everything. But I mean the
end of the day, I'm the one you know, in
the picture and that and that. So I had a
(14:57):
really good time and everything. But when I look at
certain artists today who you know, have been massive, like
let's say that I don't know, Justin Bieber or someone
like that, who's who's who it was? He was a
lot younger than I was, by the way. I mean,
he was a kid. He literally was a kid. But
you look at someone like that career, he's absolutely globally massive,
and it's his name at the end of the day,
and it's it's it stops with him, do you know
(15:17):
what I mean? I do kind of think sometimes the
pressure that people have got today is a lot more
than I had, because obviously they've got the Internet, and
like I say, every clown has got a camera in
the pocket, you know, having been to the bathroom, right
to the men's room. I'm stood in the men's room,
so you know what I'm doing in there, right, and
someone takes the phone. Someone takes the phone, and I'm going,
(15:39):
what the what are you? You know what I mean?
And they're looking at me as if I'm being weird
about it, right, So, so what he goes through, I
don't know, you know, maybe maybe he never goes in
a bathroom, you know, without security. Maybe maybe he doesn't,
I don't know, but you know, it's kind of I
think that. I think I think the generation of this
last ten years fifteen is, since you know, the technology
(16:02):
we have today and the social media we have, I
think it's gotta be tougher for them. I mean, I
I had a pretty fun time, to be honest, because
you know, I could I could kind of like have
moments of you know, getting drunk without anybody noticing and
doing hanging out with my friends. And there wasn't a
lot of that obviously, but you know, it wasn't the
same as it is today. So um, like I said,
(16:22):
I wish, I wish I could have been Actually, I
wish I could have grabbed it a bit more and
been in the center of it. And I kind of
felt it was happening into this other dude five steps
in front of me, do you know what I mean?
That's what it felt like a lot of the time.
Do you have any moments though that's still I know
you would like Robert Plant wanting to get a photo
with you and stuff like that moment the hold on
to that, really, I think that's that's one of the
(16:45):
that's one of the craziest things about the fame side
of things, because like the line Julia Roberts says, it
isn't real, you know, and it isn't It actually isn't real,
you know, when I'm at home putting the kettle on
for what my wife, when I first thing in the morning.
Fame is not real at that moment. It's only real
when well, obviously, when somebody recognizes you. That's when it's
(17:07):
real and it's real. It's not even when you're on stage.
I don't think fame is real because I know you're famous.
But I think fame is that weird thing when people
it's almost that the height of it is when people
aren't expecting you there and then see you that that's
when it picks in it. Yeah, exactly. If you've bought
a ticket to go and see a band, you get
excited about it and everything. But the fame thing has
(17:29):
sort of slightly gone for me a little bit because
you're in the room with them doing what they do,
you know what I mean, and enjoying that and so yeah.
But I mean, obviously that in that particular example of
this thing, because I've I've said that about. You know,
I'm thinking Robert plant Is walking over to me, and
I'm like, what, what what I've done wrong? I'm kind
of looking at going like you know, um and and
(17:52):
I think it was his nephew. Is something just it
just you know, kind of like me. And he said, oh,
could I get a quick photograph because I want to
send it, you know, And and and again that would
have been back in the days of like a real
camera kind of thing, you know, that that you know,
it wasn't like a you know, but I met a
lot of people who, if I'm brutally honest, I would
(18:12):
have thought wouldn't have even spoken to me because I
was in a different genre of music, you know what
I mean. Obviously I was I was pop, and I
was I was pretty I'm not putting it down in
any way, shape or form. I'm just sort of saying
there are people that are what I call artists who
have written songs that have stood the test of time,
meant something lyrically when they wrote them and it still
has that message today. And then there's people who make
(18:34):
pop music, you know what I mean That there's sort
of different, you know, and I think sometimes I've met
people and I've been pretty shocked that they for one, no, no,
I am, and kind of also been pretty kind of
generous with the time. And you know what I mean,
you kind of think they're almost like look the other
way and hope that you know, I don't know, so
I think it's kind of nice when people kind of
do that. It's it sort of restores your faith into humanity,
(18:57):
you know what I mean, that they can be kind
of normal as well, and you know, want to take
a picture for the nephew, you know what I mean.
So well, you you did take a step back for
some time, something that I didn't realize into into looking
into it during I think this time you sang on
the Lion King soundtrack. I didn't realize that. How did
(19:18):
that come to be? Um? When you say a sang
on it? My voice is hidden in the background of it.
Literally do I listened to it after I found that
I can totally hear. Okay, Um, well, fully enough, I
my wife, one of her best friends is married to
Elton John's guitar player, So a guy called Davy Johnston
(19:41):
who's a legend. He's one of the loveliest guys in rock.
And roll. He's just he's the loveliest guy anyway, full stop. Um.
So we used to sort of go and see Davy
quite a bit, and obviously go to a lot of
Elton gigs and stuff. And when they used to come
to London to do a bit of recording, or they
were going to be there for a couple of months
doing recording and stuff, I got and see Davy sometimes
and hang out and have a coffee and do whatever.
(20:03):
And I went to the studio one day and um,
they were doing the Lion King obviously, and and a
guy called Gary Barler, who funnily enough is in Take
That and he's really good friends with Elton as well. Um,
and so there was a bunch of us there and
then we're going to do background vocals and and Davy
obviously was always done backgrounds with withouton. He's quite a
(20:25):
signature part of that sound of the bvs and everything
because they're just so great. Um, we just right, okay,
So like four of us went in there, and Bob,
who was the bass player in Elton, spanned as well.
I think the four of us just kind of stood there. Um.
I think Gary was actually leading it quite a bit
because Obviously he knows a bit about singing with guys,
you know, because he's been in a poet round for
thirty years. And and yes, so we just did we did.
(20:48):
We did the BBS on can You Feel a Love Tonight?
And I think it was just that one song. Actually
I can't remember, maybe a couple but anyway, um, and
it was pretty amazing because obviously it's job, come on.
And also it was amazing because he was doing something
quite different. He was kind of being himself as an artist,
(21:10):
Elton John, but he was also writing songs to be
basically in an animated movie, do you know what I mean?
And and it was like, how do you get that right? What? Where?
Where's the where's the line of it being schmaltzy and
sort of like this kid's movie or just writing a
really great song, do you know what I mean? And
(21:31):
you know, he's written quite a lot of great songs,
so I'm sure you know, he was pretty comfortable and confident.
But it's I was pretty impressed, is what I'm saying,
because I think it's a hard line to navigate to
do something that works on its own as just being
a great song, but really works within that doing the
job it's meant to do, do you know what I mean,
which is there to you know, make the movie rise
(21:52):
at wive And so it's a pretty amazing thing just
to be there on the day, never mind singing it.
And that, to be honest, is the only it's the
only gold or platinum record we've ever hung up in
the house because because it was in our daughter's real
that's the only one. Yeah, because that's because I was
in our daughter's bedroom because she loved obviously that movie
and anything like that, and so it went up in
(22:14):
her room. Yet, so well, hey, did YouTube send you
a plaque for never Gonna give you up? Breaking a
billion views? That astonishing? No, I'll have to get onto that. Yeah,
I need a plaque for that, of course I do.
Um No, I mean, it's just crazy, and I mean,
obviously I've been super lucky with that song. I can
(22:35):
understand that a lot of artists would be freaked and
they'd be upset because you know, the whole rick rolling
thing and everything that's happened with that song. Some artists
would probably balk at that and run a million miles.
But I also think that the rick rolling thing started
around two thousand and seven, I think, and I only
just started around that time to think about and start
(22:56):
doing a couple of gigs and stuff. So I think
I might have done and gigs in Japan by then.
Maybe I went. I used to get office to go
and sing my old songs, and I just didn't do
it for like ten or fifteen years. The only time
I sung them was at friends weddings. That's the only
time I did, right, And so I got this offer
to go to Japan, and as usual, I was just
(23:18):
saying thank you very much. I don't really do that anymore,
but it's a lovely offer. Thank you. And my wife
and our daughter is about fifteen at the time, kind
of huddled together in the kitchen and then came over
and sort of said, we're going. So we went to
Pra because we knew we'd get looked after. You know
what I mean. I mean, going to Japan or something
(23:38):
is one thing, but doing it when you're doing gigs
and everything, it's a totally different ball game. Because, you know,
so we went out a family holiday and everything, and
you know that song from around that moment and me
digging again and what have you has just sort of
taken on a life in the world of its own.
So and obviously YouTube was in its infancy around two
thousand and seven, I would imagine, but it's just become
(23:59):
a well go to you know, and it's it's crazy
to think about the Other thing is this, I've said
this recently. Whoever said a billion of anything in the eighties?
A million dollars? You know what I mean? It's like,
who used the term a billion of anything? Right? And
now it's just become part of everyday language, do you
(24:21):
know what I mean? It's like, oh, you know this
song stream three billion whatevers and this, you know, the thought,
the thought of a billion of anything is weird. And
so we're living in kind of strange times. If if
you're young and that's what you used to then we're
not that. They're just your times and that's what's normal.
But for somebody at my age, you know, I'm in
my fifties, it's kind of like, what the hell? You know?
(24:42):
So it's pretty pretty amazing really to be part of
a very small group of people who have had a
billion streams of their song on YouTube. It's kind of
not you know, I think it's something like twenty three
videos from the pre Internet that I'm sure. I'm sure
that's going to ramp up. You know, it will be
a very really steep ramp I think there's going to
be a lot of people doing that for sure, you know,
(25:03):
because that's what the world does. It just sits on
its phone looking at stuff, doesn't it, you know what
I mean? So you know, yeah, that you mentioned going
to Japan. There is a great clip from I Think
of You with the food Fighters doing barn stage. Yeah.
I mean, I've been to Japan a bunch of times actually,
(25:24):
and I've had just some amazing experiences. They're just some
crazy like I hadn't going back to that first time
when we went on a family holiday, I literally had
not sung Never, Never, Going to Give You Up Together
Forever and any of those songs. I've never sung any
of them for about fifteen years in front of an audience,
a real audience with a band and the whole thing,
you know, everything, And so that was just crazy. And
(25:46):
and then obviously going to do that festival, which I
was you know, I'm not I'm not embarrassed to admit this.
I was lucky to get on that festival. It's a
really really big thing, and it was like, you know,
and I saw food fight as we're headlining. I was
just thinking about me crazy whatever, but you know, great.
So but then first night we didn't get to see
them because it's in a soccer and it's in Tokyo
(26:08):
and we just because of scheduling, we just couldn't get
to do it. So the second night, I do done
like it because it was the afternoon. So I've done
my thing, so I'm done. So I'm jet like, like
you wouldn't believe. I've had a couple of beers. I'm
still at the side of the stage because those guys
are amazing and they're really comfortable with having anybody just
sit where they want and just let's get on and rock,
you know. And so yeah, so I ended up being
invited on stage. They'd already kind of jammed through, never
(26:32):
going to give you up in their way, and I
got invited onto the stage to sing it, and it
was just just pure madness, you know. Um and but
just as we all know, just one of the greatest,
greatest bands ever, you know, so fantastic. We're speaking I
think less than a week after the beyond tragic death
(26:53):
of Taylor Harkers, do you have any memories of I mean,
obviously I met them. I met a bunch of times
and hung out with them, and and you know, I
was invited to sing a couple of times with them, obviously,
and you just I've got no words for it, to
be honest. I mean, I just don't think there's any
way of describing the emotion around that. I just think
it's just it's actually, it's just too much, That's what
(27:14):
it is. It's just and I can't you know, I
just can't even put it into I can't even put
it into thought really. And obviously it's not like it's
not you know, it's not like I knew them super
well or anything, but I just can't imagine. It's just, yeah,
it's just too much. Just it's just a beautiful, beautiful
energy around a human being, you know, and it's just
(27:36):
it's just too much to even think about it. Really. Well,
you are about to hit the road very soon without
(27:57):
a bunch of musical friends New Kids on the Block,
Salt and Pepper and Vogue for the mixtape Rena fifty
seven dates. That is that they would have said that
first time I said, um, now, we we got this offer.
I don't know when it was now, sometimes sometime ago,
and and obviously you've just mentioned three artists there who
(28:20):
have been absolutely massive, you know, on a worldwide basis.
But I remember coming to America especially and always feeling
a bit um. I don't have impostor syndrome exactly, but
I think when you come to America you realize somehow
how small Britain is, and even though you've been big there,
and you might have been big in Europe, in different whatever,
you come to American and you go, now, we're playing
(28:42):
with the big boys, And um, I still have that
feeling a little bit, if I'm honest, I do, because really, yeah,
I do a little bit, because it's I think. I think.
I think the music business in America has been a
profession for a long time, and I think the rest
of the world is slowly caught up. I think here
black movies. You know, it's like, no, no, I work
(29:03):
in movies, that's what. Yeah, But when you're going to
get a real job, no, no, I work in movies.
That's what you know. And I do. I think it's
always been that way a little bit. And I'm not
saying I think from a creative point of view, a
small country like Britain as way out punched itself, do
you know what I mean, punched way above its way.
But I just think, you know, those three bands that
(29:23):
we've just mentioned, new kids, Salt and Pepper on Vogue,
I remember looking at them on MTV and stuff and
just sort of thinking, yeah, that's how you do it,
you know what I mean. I'm not just building them
up for the sake of it. I'm saying from a distance.
I used to always sort of think because I don't know,
I mean, I don't I think it's hard sometimes to
(29:43):
really see yourself. I think because you're in you're in
the bubble too much. You need to be outside of it.
And I think especially as well, you know, listening to
one Vogue vocals and stuff, it's something like I said
at the beginning of this, it's always really, really really
moved me when people can really sing UM. So that
(30:04):
that in really looking forward to that. For one thing,
I'm probably going to watch their set every single night,
to be honest, fifty seven times UM. And obviously you
know Salt and Pepper, they've got something monster Monster Tunes
and it's so funny because you you say their name
and everybody sings, you know, one of many songs back
to you straight away. But also they do it even
(30:26):
if they're like twelve years old, or if they're old
enough to be around when the songs came out the
first but you know what I mean, and it's I
think that stands. They still the test of time, those
songs really really well and new kids, it speaks for itself,
you know. You know, I'm an invited guest on this
massive arena tour, and like I said, you know, those
(30:46):
guys were probably one of, if not the I think
about first, but there were a boy band that exploded
in such a way globally that it was just like
what the hell is going on? You know, because we've
seen band bands do it, but in terms of even boyband,
I didn't even know what that term meant to be honest,
I don't think I think that was like I didn't
(31:06):
even realize what that meant. And and so I think
they kind of carved out their own space sort of thing,
you know. So yeah, so I think it's going to
be I mean, I've looked at the you know, in
terms of like the hits that those three and myself
have had and I've kind of thought, you know, that's
that's going to be quite a long gig, like and
um yeah, So I, like I said, I'm I'm buzzed
(31:28):
about it, and I kind of do feel not like
an impostible I'm the one British guy and and uh,
you know, it's going to be interesting. You know, I
have done little tours in America and and I love it.
And like I say, it's where a lot of the
favorite music that kind of got me into music and
taught me out to sing and allers. So it came
from Um. So, I think it's going to be interesting
(31:49):
to actually go and play in front of an audience
that I used to seeing new kids for one thing,
because obviously there's going to be a lot of their
audience there, you know, that's kind of it's the mix tape.
At the end of the day, we're invited guests, you know,
So it's gonna be amazing. I think. My last question
before I let you go, you're you're known for performing
Highway to Hell by A C D C d C
(32:09):
at the end of some of your shows. Do you
have any any surprises in the Settlers as tamarando. I
think I'll be doing that on that No. I mean
one of the things. I got started in a band
at school, like a lot of people do. And I
was playing drums when I started, but I used to
sing a little bit because I always sung anyway in
the choir and school plays and everything. So I used
to sing police songs from the drums in the first
band I was ever in second band I was in,
(32:31):
used to drum and sing a little bit and stuff,
and we used to murder various songs by various artists.
But I love doing it. And the band that works
with me all the time might have kind of live
band and what have you very often, especially especially, and
we all kind of know it's coming when we go,
like let's say, to Asia. So we've done Singapore, Kuala Lump,
(32:52):
but what on a run of gigs or what have you.
We know we're getting on a plane home and it's
going to be like twelve hours fourteen hours flight home.
So we know the night before we're all going out
big time. Right, So Julie and our tour manager is
already looking for a bar that's got a set up,
you know what I mean, Drums based all right, and
we're in it. That's that, that's just happening. And I
(33:12):
love it. I absolutely love it. And sometimes when we
played festivals recently, we will go and find the secret
stage and ask can we play like the Night before?
You know, and they may be involved, but we never
play my songs. We just go and play covers and
I absolutely love it. And and that song in particular,
(33:33):
and that album Highway to Hell is how I kind
of taught myself to play drums. And listen, I'm not
a great drummer, but I've got reasonable feeling stuff. And
it's just one of the old time records to learn
to play drums too. So even if you know, even
if we've gone through a whole technological age of drums
becoming a different thing in the way they recording, blah
blah blah blah blah, and go back to that record
(33:55):
because if you want to, if you want to, if
you want to try and feel something about playing the drums,
go to the Highway to Help by a c DC
that album because it's just phenomenal and that's the way
everyone should learn to play drums as far as I'm concerned.
But there you go, hey man, Mr Rick Astley, you
were the man. Thank you. Thank you so much for
your your time today and most importantly, your music. It's
(34:18):
been such a joy talking to Thank you, thank you,
absolute pleasure. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside
the Studio, a production of I Heart Radio. For more
episodes of Inside the Studio or other fantastic shows, check
out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite podcast.
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