Rick Astley

I had my 15 minutes of being the new boy of pop, like lots of people before and after me. Overnight, everyone starts treating you differently, and perceives you differently.

Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and musician.

Quotes

• I took the first few years off and spent them recovering. I didn't even know what day it was or who I was anymore, so I made a conscious effort to end it all. I thought my days were numbered as a pop star anyway. My girlfriend and I had a daughter, I had some money, so I just took the time off to chill out.
  • On his leaving the music industry after his hits of the 80s, as quoted in Metro (3 September 2004)

• I didn't like the music business and I didn't like me. There's an element of falseness about the whole thing. Even things like doing an interview. It's not as though we just met in the pub and are having a chat — it's part of a process. If you do it all day, every day for years, you end up thinking: 'Who the hell am I?' I was lucky enough to make some money, enough to let me kick back. It was a great experience and it was nice to have a couple of No.1s but the best thing about it was that the money I made allowed me to have freedom and choice in my life.
  • As quoted in Metro (3 September 2004)

• I did enjoy it," he says. "But it was very, very weird. You can blab on about seeing the other side of fame, but it doesn't mean shit until it happens to you. It wasn't so much the going on TV, or going to award ceremonies, or having a camera focused on your face. It was being famous in the supermarket, being famous in a restaurant. Fame is not just about being able to get out of a limo in Leicester Square, it's about trying to get into your house when there are eight photographers outside. When you think about being famous, you don't think about all that stuff. You think about the glamour. I wanted to turn the tap off when I'd done my job. But you can't.
  • As quoted in "Rick Astley: The pop idol returns" in The Independent (13 October 2005)

• I had my 15 minutes of being the new boy of pop, like lots of people before and after me. Overnight, everyone starts treating you differently, and perceives you differently.
  • As quoted in "Rick Astley: The pop idol returns" in The Independent (13 October 2005)

Quotes about Astley

• You got Rick Roll'd!
  • A common expression associated with the internet Rickrolling phenomenon.^{[citation needed]}

• Well, do you remember Rick Astley?
  He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly
  He said, I'm never gonna give you up or let you down
  Well, I'm here to tell you that dick's a clown
  • Nick Lowe, "All Men Are Liars from his 1990 album Party of One

• Rick walked away right at the height. People look at other artists like Simply Red and say they were big, but he out-sold them two to one.
  • Pete Waterman<ref>"Top Ten: 1987" - Channel 4, UK. Biography, BBC music announcer, on Astley's leaving his singing career.