Chart topper Rick Astley says pop trade “erodes your soul”
Rick Astley WAS almost gonna give it all up(Image: WireImage)
Chart icon Rick Astley believes the pop game “erodes the soul” and contributed to his fear of flying.
The Never Gonna Give You Up star embarks on a huge UK arena tour next month, but for many years he had retired from the business. He now keeps a check on his lifestyle after witnessing first hand the pitfalls of being part of a highly pressurised celebrity scene.
Rick said: “When you think about acts today how many – I want to call them casualties – because that’s kind of what they are. It’s an amazing business and it’s an amazing thing to go through, having a hit record and stuff, but it does take a toll on you personally because there’s so much you personally invest in it. It sort of erodes your soul..
“(There are) people in this industry we know and they’ve done all kinds of things to get their artist to get on that stage or that TV show. It is a slippery slope for a lot of people and every now and again it pops up where someone has ultimately lost their life to it.
“I was just super lucky not to be around any of that.”
Rick came to fame after working in a recording studio with Stock Aitken & Waterman who created massive hits for Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Cliff Richard.
He feels fortunate to have been surrounded by good people who kept him on the straight and narrow during the excesses of the 1980s.
Speaking to Magic Radio’s Nicki Chapman for ger series, Pop Idols Rick said: “‘I was very lucky that Tops [Henderson], my manager at the time, had never had a drink in his life, never smoked, didn’t go anywhere near drugs.
“Of course we’ve all been around drugs but we didn’t go near them. And because of his nature and the person he was when I’m in the car with him, literally on the M4 going to Heathrow, and I was tearing up and going ‘I just can’t get on that plane’ because I felt that the plane wouldn’t make it. That’s where my anxiety got to.
“And obviously I didn’t even use a word like anxiety back then, it was just in turmoil over everything – thinking why am I doing this when my daughter is at home and that’s where I really want to be.
“I just thought, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’!”
Rick Astley retired from the music industry in 1993 at age 27 to focus on his family and escape the pressure of fame. After his album Body & Soul, he took a long break before eventually returning to music in the 2000s.
Rick celebrated his 60th birthday with new song Waiting On You recently, underlining his distinctive ability to evoke timeless ‘60s soul influences and infuse them with a contemporary touch that is completely in tune with the present day.
Rick said: “The beauty of having a guitar older than I am is that it makes me play, write and feel everything differently. This track has a feeling of a decade long ago, lyrically and style wise. It’s been great to jump into new music but with an old heart at the centre of it.”
Currently working on more new music, ‘Waiting On You’ kickstarts a busy year to come for Rick.
April will see him embark upon the 12-date UK and Ireland ‘Reflection’ arena tour, culminating at the 20,000-capacity The O2 in London – with Gabrielle performing as very special guest at all shows. The summer then sees a mix of major festival dates and big outdoor shows across the UK and Europe.
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