Rick Astley

So where has Rick Astley been all our lives? For a start, it's unjustly forgotten sometimes that after that first, prestigious American success, Astley recorded the incredible scorecard of two US ..1s from two releases there, when 'Together Forever' also hit the top. Rick went on having top ten UK singles through into 1991, when the reflective ballad 'Cry For Help' sent another signal of his knowing touch with more adult material.Astley established his songwriting credentials on the 1993 album 'Body & Soul,' working with collaborators such as Lisa Stansfield and the late Rob Fisher, once of Climie Fisher. Then he decided that his wife and young daughter were more important to him than the chart ratrace, and he unofficially retired from recording and performing.At the turn of the millennium, Rick was back in the studio making the album 'Keep It Turned On' for Polydor Germany, now happily admitting that its pop-dance direction was a turn the wrong way. But in 2002, RCA's 'Greatest Hits' underlined the affection for his singles chart successes when it was certified gold in the UK.Last year, he found himself being asked to come back to the home of his chart triumphs to make an album for what is now SonyBMG. "I'd been doing some film music, and this idea of me doing some gigs last year came about. I really enjoyed it, I wasn't there to promote anything, I was just there to sing a bunch of old songs I remember as a kid, that my mum and dad and my sister used to play or sing around the house. Some people at BMG came to the gigs and said "Why don't you make us a record? That for me is a really comfy place to be coming from."So now we know where Rick Astley's been, let's concentrate on where he's got to. "I've come full circle. I'm so removed from 1987, I can look back on it myself and say 'Wasn't that a bit of fun?' I'm getting another crack of the whip in a very different way. It feels great to be doing stuff I'm enjoying, and I don't feel I've got to prove anything."