Rick Astley takes poignant look back on his career, Bond songs and future hopes: "I'm just getting more emotional as I get older"

There are a few candidates to be the nicest guy in music, but Rick Astley is surely up there.

The Lancashire-born singer-songwriter is a quintessential voice of the 1980s, and the immortality of his biggest song Never Gonna Give You Up will forever guarantee him a place in the annals of pop history.

Following years of hiatus, Astley returned for the 21st century with a renewed sparkle, killer vocals and still one fantastic head of hair, winning legions of new fans.

Whether it's taking Glastonbury by storm or heading out on acclaimed tours and still producing new records, Astley is now a confirmed national sweetheart.

Now, Astley has sat down for an emotional instalment of Dermot O'Leary's Reel Stories, looking back at footage of his career, and it left him feeling sentimental.

Speaking with Radio Times for the release of Reel Stories and ahead of his much-anticipated 2026 live tour in the UK and Ireland, Astley discussed his career, aspirations for the future, and, of course, what he's watching on TV.

So, Rick, you took part in Dermot O'Leary's Reel Stories. Have you managed to see it yet?

"I was there on the day! I don't know whether I want to see it again. It was a really enjoyable thing to do, but it was a bit emotional as well. And I think that didn't completely catch me by surprise. Have you seen George Clooney's new movie [Jay Kelly]? Some similarities with that, where someone plonks you down in a cinema and then just goes like, 'These are some of the best bits of your life.'

"So it was pretty emotional. I think I'm more emotional about the last few years than I was when I was young, to be honest; when it was all kind of kicking off. Because it's a long time, for one thing, and my memories of it are pretty strong in certain ways, but they're also probably filtered for the good and the bad. So, whereas the most recent stuff is kind of a bit easier to relate to, I'm just getting more emotional as I get older. It's as simple as that."

Do you think that's also because you appreciate those experiences more now? When you're younger, lots of things just happen to you, and it's very fast-paced, and you kind of don't really take stock...

"You don't. And I also don't know if this might be a bit heavy...[you] kind of just get a lot closer to death every year. And you think, 'OK, well, you better start digging into some of these moments', and I've been doing that. Most of my friends are of a certain age – around my age, a bit older – and you're just kind of beginning to think, 'OK, well, for one, this may be the last time we ever do X.' And now, every time I do it, this time, I'm 100 per cent involved.

"Because when you're young, you just do, and so you should, for God's sake. I've always said music is a young person's game anyway, and I still think it is. It's vitally important that the new artists come through and kind of push the older ones aside, me included, and go, 'This is where it's at.'

"But as you get older, you do learn to appreciate those moments where you were in it, and you were right in the heat of the fire and all of that. And you think about some of the things that have happened in the last 10 years, which have been sort of unbelievable, and you would never have dreamt could have come round again. I've just hung on a bit tighter and gone, 'Yeah, I can appreciate what that actually is.'"

I was going to say, I think it's great how strong your voice still is. Like, really strong voice. Really good hair! Not a lot of of men can say that. What do you think that is – just sheer luck?

"I think it's luck. I mean, I never got into doing drugs. I love a glass of wine. I love a couple of beers, but I've never been, a big drinker generally. Well, certain nights I am, but I'm not one of those people who's out on the road, five of us in the bar at 2am, and we're going to be dragged out by a tour manager.

"The first proper tour I went on, you suddenly realise you can't do this and do the partying thing as well, not if you're the singer. The bass player and drummer can get away with it, but if you're the singer, forget it, because you just can't sing the day after properly. I've been at a certain festival where a certain artist didn't come and play, and then two days later, you realise, well, that's because they were up at four o'clock in the morning in some club in wherever.

"I've been kind of responsible about it, which sounds a bit un-rock 'n' roll and boring, but it's like, believe me, when you're about to go on stage, the last thing you want to be thinking is, why did I cane it last night?'"

Another thing people have always really liked about you is that you've not shunned the fact you had such an iconic song quite early in your career – when some people would get really funny about it. Has your relationship with Never Gonna Give You Up changed at all over the years?

"It probably has, to be honest. When I was 27, I closed the lid and went, 'Yeah, probably don't have to sing that ever again. That's OK if I don't sing that song ever again'. Not in a kind of like, 'I hate it' way, I don't mean that. I just sang it a lot.

"I mean, I was so lucky to have that song, and as the decades have gone by, that's become more apparent. But even at the time, I was thinking, 'Well, it's amazing we've got that song, but it would also be amazing if we could ever get past it.' And I realised after a few years, you're never going to do that. That's the biggest song you're ever going to have. Because it was just a monster out of a cave. I mean, it just came roaring out, and it was a bit of a phenomenon.

"I would kind of chase that song around the world. I've said this before, I've been to places that I never thought I'd ever go in my whole life. You go, 'Oh, I get it. I'm already famous. Yeah, famous here. I haven't set foot in the place. I've not spoken to one journalist yet, and I'm already famous. I'm walking through the airport, and people are going, 'Oh!' That's a weird thing to digest at the age of 21."

In light of your success in recent years following your hiatus, are there any remaining dreams or aspirations that you've got?

"I've done a bunch of swing shows in the last few years. I just really like doing it. I've got a great group of people who do it with me, but it's just a gorgeous thing to do. It's really good fun. And when I think about certain places in the world that I've been to do my everyday gigs, I've kind of thought, 'Oh my God, this would be amazing to do a swing thing here, it's on a lake, for God's sake!'

"Listen, loads of people do it. And I think there's a reason for that. When you stand in front of a big band or even an orchestra and sing some of those songs that our generation of parents loved and grew up with, and have now just become part of the super music, they genuinely believe that was their music. So as a kid, my dad sang those songs around the house. And I know them all because of my dad, not because of Frank Sinatra, really. I know them because of my dad.

"And I think someone like RAYE, who has that in her locker, the whole orchestral thing, and it's kind of glamorous, you know? I'm like, 'Wow, that is amazing!' Because she's young, she's in the white heat of her career, but she can press that button quite strongly, and it's like, 'Oh, my god, she could have been around in the '50s!' That's what's beautiful about the way she does certain things. She kind of transcends the age of it, because she's in a moment of her own. Whereas when you see an old bugger like me doing it, it's like, well, it's just an old guy singing songs his dad likes! It's a different thing."

If she did an album of old classic standards, would you feature, if you could?

"She's got a few people knocking on her door, I think! I'll definitely go to the gig, I'll tell you that."

RAYE is one of the favourites to sing a Bond song. Would you do a Bond song if you could?

"I think most people would do it, to be honest. I think it's big boots to fill. There's been some amazing ones over the years. I think the Sam Smith one was great as well. I think the Billie Eilish one was great, obviously. Adele's one was really good.

"Adele's one, for some reason, a friend of mine, we were on a road trip across America, we weren't even working, we just did it for a laugh, and it was on the radio all the time, and for some reason, he started singing 'A trifle and apple crumble' instead of Skyfall. So now, whenever that song comes on, all I can sing is, 'A trifle and an apple crumble.' I'm like, 'Steve, for God's sake. Why did you do that? Because I love that song (laughs).'

"I think they've always been really good at marrying that thing together, that the song has all the atmosphere of Bond. I don't think they've ever really screwed that up yet. So I think anyone would do it, to be honest, but I think there's probably about 1,000 people in front of me to get that job, and that's OK, that's all right."

You've got your own live tour coming up in 2026. How are you feeling about going back on the road?

"I'm still getting a genuine buzz about it, and I feel there is no substitute for that. Hit records are amazing, and the only reason I'm getting to talk to you today is that I had that record in 1987, but in terms of the reward of it, you hang around all day in a pretty crappy dressing room most of the time, doing nothing, eating something you don't really want to eat, because it's like, 'Well, I can't have dinner, so I'm just going to eat a little bit of this.' And after all that nonsense to just go on stage and the moment that the lights go down, you go, 'Oh yeah, I remember now. I get it now.' It's still the most special thing."

On the subject of film, music biopics are all the rage right now. Have you ever thought about someone playing you, if that were ever to happen?

"I mean, in my twenties or whatever, even though he's a bit older than that, it's Jack Lowden from Slow Horses. I saw him actually in a play some months ago. He was incredible in it – really, really amazing. And I like him on screen, but it needs someone with a bit of Celtic in them, because of my hair and all this. And he's got great hair, so obviously it's all about the hair. And he's a handsome devil as well. So, what can you do? You've got to punch up, haven't you?"

Finally, Rick, as we are Radio Times, what TV shows could you never give up, which have never let you down, and which could you never desert?

"I'd say Match of the Day.

"I think back in the day, Top of the Pops was exactly what it should have been. It was a bit preposterous doing it, but as a viewer, it was amazing. It was exactly what it needed to be. It was short and punchy and like, 'This is what's happening right now in the UK pop chart.'

"Slow Horses has been pretty exceptional. Every now and again, a TV show gives the world of movies a bit of a kicking, and it says, 'Are you guys watching?' Some of the best acting and directing and all the rest of it. And, obviously, the budgets are up there now for a lot of those shows, so they look great, and they're directed really well.

"I think that has been amazing. That's never really been one where I've watched an episode and gone (grimaces). I've really loved that show. Gary Oldman, obviously, is just incredible. But the whole cast is fantastic in it."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Dermot O'Leary's Reel Stories with Rick Astley is available now on BBC iPlayer. Tickets for Rick Astley's The Reflection Tour are now available.

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