This Half, the Commercial Music Society welcomed legendary artist Rick Astley into a tightly packed Election Hall. Having sold over 40 million singles and recently returned from his sold-out Reflection Tour, Astley reflected on the highs and lows of his tumultuous career.
Despite beginning his career forty years ago, Astley revealed that he is now more invested in music, “the most beautiful thing in the world”, than ever before. He still finds immense joy touring. The desire not to let his dedicated crew down has also helped keep his passion alive. He still often finds himself lost in a composition inside his garage-turned-studio at midnight, picking away at guitars and pianos. Whether prompted by the sounds of his television, or a feeling that reminded him of childhood, his devotion to music was impossible to miss.
Astley’s musical beginnings began humbly in a church choir in Lancashire. Yet, it was being cast as the lead in his school’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph that taught him how it felt to be a singer. Playing a flamboyant, “Elvis-like” character inspired him to start a band. As he began song writing, there was “something about it” that caught on to him.
The most iconic single in Astley’s discography is undeniably Never Gonna Give You Up, which helped him outsell every other artist in 1987. Yet “coming out of the gate” so quickly was, in his view, a complete accident. He jokingly recalled arriving to film the music video with a bag full of distinctly unremarkable chinos and blazers. His famous wiggle dance emerged from sheer nervousness as the cameras stared directly at him. This confession drew countless smiles from those in the audience who know the video as an internet staple.
Fame arrived overnight. Astley soon found himself signed to the very label that had managed his idols, including Elvis himself. The success quickly became overwhelming. He remembers sitting through press interviews, talking about himself fifteen times a day. He felt like a travelling salesman, convinced that “my older brother Mike could be doing this”. The industry had started to make him feel like a puppet who created for profit over passion.
The room was moved as Astley shared that a “soul destroying” burn-out led him to step away from music for nearly a decade. The irony of one of the world’s most recognisable singers resenting their own success brought a nuanced perspective into the nature of the music-making business. During those years, he only accepted projects that gave him tangible value, such as a family trip to Japan. He described his celebrity status as “not real”; one moment he was the centre of attention, and the next, he was simply back with his friends.
Astley is responsible for perhaps the most famous meme on the internet: the Rick Roll. The prank, which involves the unexpected playing of Never Gonna Give You Up, brought him unprecedented notoriety, with an estimate of 650 million people have fallen victim to it. Astley first encountered the phenomenon in Italy, when one of his friends caught him out with the video. Initially confused, he was reassured by his daughter that it would blow over within a fortnight and that the prank was not truly about Rick. Fifteen years later, Astley still relies on this perspective. The meme may bear his name, but it belongs to the internet. Much to the hall’s amusement, Rick said he now finds ten-year-olds excitedly running up to him while bewildered parents look on.
As the talk opened to the floor, there was a plethora of questions from the audience. On Artificial Intelligence, Astley expressed mixed feelings. He recognised its value as a tool, but insisted that the experience of someone performing to a room and “vibrating together in a certain way” was an irreplaceable part of human nature. When the Head of Singing, Ms Kemp, asked about vocal exercises, he admitted to neglecting them for years. He now follows a strict routine, including avoiding speech for the first half of every concert day. Meanwhile, his go-to karaoke song came from Beauty and the Beast, an album he discovered with his daughter, which it reminds him of a time preceding digital streaming.
Throughout the questions, Astley remained fiercely self-deprecating. Instead of presenting fame as glamorous, he spoke with unusual candidness about personal pressure, family and the strange afterlife of a song that has outgrown even its singer. Astley’s final words resonated firmly across the room. Luck had undoubtedly played a role in his career, but success, he suggested, stemmed from a conviction in oneself and love for what one does.
There was one final surprise.
Astley unveiled a gleaming microphone as Sebastian B (Year 13) took to the grand piano. Heads immediately turned toward the stage. The audience erupted in applause as he performed a silky, jazz-infused rendition of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon. Then came the familiar opening notes of Never Gonna Give You Up. The room exploded in cheer. Students leapt to their feet and phones shot up across the hall. For a few minutes, Election Hall resembled a proper concert venue.
The evening drew fittingly to a close. The society had begun as an encounter with one of pop’s most renowned figures. It concluded with a sincere dialogue on success and keeping hold of passion after the spotlight dims.
