Rick Astley’s second big comeback has been a lot more culturally sound than the first.
That first time the 80s cheese-pop star reignited in the public consciousness was the ‘Rick Roll’ internet meme — sending unsuspecting scrollers to clips of his hit Never Gonna Give You Up, through exasperating bait & switch misdirection.
But even though that YouTube video now has 1.5 billion views, there’s only so much mileage he can get being in on the joke since 2007.
And 2023 has been the year no one predicted — Astley’s second-second coming has been met with buckets of goodwill.
He performed Glastonbury twice — once fronting a Smiths tribute act with Blossoms, that had hysterical fans declaring he was better than Morrissey.
Legendary producer and recording engineer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, Fugazi) even declared: “Make a list circa mid-80s: Morrisey, Lydon, Rick Astley. Kinda nuts who turned out the best by a mile.”
Astley also hit No2 in the UK charts with his album Are We There Yet?. He then finished 2023 headlining the BBC’s New Year’s Eve concert.
So he’s arriving for these arena shows on a huge roll. Like Lionel Richie, Astley leans into the cheesiness with a self-deprecating grace and perfect comic timing. He’s attracting diehard 80s pop lifers as well as TikTok kids ready to capture their own IRL Rickroll moment.
He’ll be playing newer comeback era stuff, but you’ll never be too far from hearing a pop or rock classic, even if they’re not all his own. Astley drumming and singing AC/DC’s Highway to Hell at Glasto was one of the feelgood viral videos of the summer, and it’ll surely be a buzz at the gig.
Rick Astley plays 3Arena in Dublin on Monday, March 4, and Tuesday, March 5.
Moo Kid 