Rick Astley on nostalgia, rickrolling and Are We There Yet?
The Homerun
Wednesday, 14 October 2026 - 14 minutes
Rick Astley has had a pretty extraordinary relationship with his biggest hit. Released in 1987, Never Gonna Give You Up was a global chart success, but decades later, it found an entirely new audience thanks to the internet phenomenon of 'Rickrolling'. It’s not every artist who gets to see a song take on a second life in quite that way - and Rick is well aware that, wherever he goes, people are going to want to talk about it.
Ahead of his appearance at Baloise Session in Basel, Rick joined Katt Cullen on WRS to talk about the unexpected longevity of the song, what has surprised him most about his music remaining relevant, and why he’s quite happy to embrace the nostalgia. After all, he knows what the people want - and when our Home Run presenter Katt Cullen suggested she might be the one interviewer who didn’t mention Never Gonna Give You Up, he insisted he would have brought it up himself!
But there’s much more to Rick Astley than one iconic 80s hit. He released a new album 'Are We There Yet' in 2023 and continues to make music, while his live performances also give him the opportunity to put his own stamp on songs by other artists, from Harry Styles to the Foo Fighters. He spoke candidly about what he loves about interpreting someone else’s material, what still scares him about performing in public, and the importance of knowing your own limitations.
Rick also gives us a taste of what to expect from his Baloise Session performance, with a set that promises to bring together new music and the classics that have followed him throughout his career.
Rick Astley plays Baloise Session in Basel on Monday 19th October. Find out more and join the ticket waiting list at baloisesession.ch.
Rick Astley, courtesy of BaloiseSession.ch
