Rick Astley's memoir 'Never: The Autobiography' delves into his unexpected journey to fame with the viral hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' and its lasting impact. He addresses the meme culture surrounding the song, his initial discomfort with it, and how he eventually learned to embrace it as part of his identity.
In a new memoir, ‘Never: The Autobiography,’ the English rocker opens up about “ Never Gonna Give You Up ,” the viral meme that followed and how instant fame affected his personal lifebecame an instant sensation — topping charts in the United States, United Kingdom and more — the ’80s earworm was introduced to a new generation, thanks to one of the Internet’s first viral moments.
In 2007, a YouTube user posted what appeared to be the link to a new video game trailer on an online forum, but it redirected to the charmingly cheesyThe meme — named Rickrolling — took off, helping the music video rack up more than 1 billion views and counting. And Astley scored his first No. 1 album in decades, started to sell out arenas and Rick Astley Waited to Write a Memoir Until His Parents Had Passed So He Could Be ‘Completely Honest’ He narrates his unusual trajectory as a pop icon — rising to stardom at 21, his “retirement” from music in his late 20s amid a depressive period and his return to the spotlight as “Never Gonna Give You Up” got its second wind — in a new memoir,Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Astley, now 58, reveals that he’s only instigated the prank “professionally” — through brand partnerships and at live events — but not on his own. “I’ve never really appreciated what it is, I think, because I’ve just had to sort of shut down that part of my brain,” says the star. “I was lucky enough that it happened when I was a lot older, and I was like, ‘The guy in the video, yes, I know it’s my physicality, but it’s not me.’ I’ve got enough distance.”After the meme exploded, he Rickrolled the live audience at the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he’sby a fan on Reddit. When the meme started gaining traction, Astley says, he actually leaned on his teen daughter for advice about how to navigate his viral moment. “She was saying, ‘Don’t sweat it. It has nothing to do with you,’ ” he remembers. “And I’m like, ‘How can it have nothing to do with me?’ And she said, ‘Just leave it where it is. Don’t try to embrace it and try funny things with it.’ ”to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. So that’s what Astley did, and the song ballooned in success. He still sticks “Never Gonna Give You Up” at the end of his concert setlists — even when many artists would scoff at the expectation that they play a 40-year-old song every night. “I understand a lot of artists would freak and would have a meltdown if somebody instigated this thing,” acknowledges Astley, but adds that he “appreciates the life it gave me.”“It introduced that song to a lot of people and a generation that would have no clue, and that’s kind of gold dust really,” he says. “I’ve learned to appreciate that it’s part of my DNA.” The performer also isn’t afraid to admit that there was “so much luck involved” in the song’s massive popularity: “You can either recognize it as that, even at the time or certainly later, or you can say, ‘No, I’m amazing, it would’ve happened anyway.’ And I fall into the first camp,” says Astley. “There’s people who probably have more talent than me who didn’t get their goal for whatever reason,” the rocker continues. “I can get quite emotional about that at times, because the luck involved in having a hit record that’s a lifechanger is so narrow a bandwidth, it’s unbelievable.”*NSYNC’s JC Chasez, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick Reunite at Justin Timberlake Concert, but Where Was Joey Fatone?Kesha Reminds Fans Her Hit ‘TiK ToK’ 'Is Forever' amid Ban of Social Media Platform TikTok How Quincy Jones Helped Michael Jackson Craft the Smash 'Thriller' — and How the Epic Music Video Almost Didn't HappenChappell Roan Says She’d Be 'Way Bigger' If She ‘Wore a Muzzle': 'I'd Be More Successful'Joni Mitchell Spotted During Rare Outing in Los Angeles 1 Year After Grammys PerformanceKelly Clarkson Reveals She Just Started Her Own Record Label — and Why It's Been a Challenge: 'I've Earned It' Graham Norton Says Taylor Swift 'Seems So Grounded' Despite Being Able to 'Change the Economy of Our Country Just by Showing Up' Ed Sheeran Slams 'Divisive and Damaging' Reports That He Attended J.K. Rowling's New Year's Eve PartyAlbum Goes No. 1 on iTunes After She and Spencer Pratt Lost Home to Los Angeles Wildfires Katy Perry Says She Was 'So Excited' to Attend Taylor Swift's Eras Tour After Previous Feud: 'I Love Her So Much'
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