Rick Astley
Person · 7 cases · 2008–2025 · British singer
How Rick Astley spread
Pete Waterman brought Astley to London, where his solo hit reached international charts before Rickrolling introduced him to internet audiences.
- Most often
- Carried it 4 of 7
- Topics
- Entertainment 4 · Culture 1, Finance 1
1985
First big pushAudio
Producer Pete Waterman heard Astley singing with FBI and invited him to pursue music in London. classicpopmag.com
1987
StartMay · Audio
Astley's first single, a duet with Lisa Fabien called 'When You Gonna', was released. dutchcharts.nl
1987
BreakoutJul 27 · Audio
Astley's first solo single, 'Never Gonna Give You Up', launched his partnership with Stock Aitken Waterman. web.archive.org
2007
New audienceOpen web
Rickrolling circulated the video for 'Never Gonna Give You Up', bringing Astley to a new internet audience. vh1la.com
2016
MilestoneAudio
His comeback album '50' debuted at number one on the UK album chart. bbc.com
drivers license
Kept it going · Feb '24
8.1M impressions
Rickrolling
Carried it · Nov '08
64M views
Uptown Funk
Carried it · Jun '15
159M impressions
Specsavers: The Misheard Version
Started it · Oct '23
7M views
CSAA Rickroll 2.0
Carried it · Aug '22
2.2B impressions
Jay's Virtual Pub Quiz
Carried it · Jun '20
1.6K Wikipedia views in a day
Chappell Roan's 2024 breakout
Kept it going · Mar '25
423K sold
Picture: Wjack12, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped