RICK ASTLEY
WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY
BMG
★★★★
© Getty early
Celebrating 35 years since the teaboy from Newton-le-Willows went global, at this remove it’s bizarre that Rick Astley was ever doubted. Sure, the perennial patronising of working class northerners in pop helped make Astley’s background seem unlikely for a superstar but, as soon as he sang, it was obvious there was a major talent ready to burst forth. In Astley, SAW had a gift for bringing their pop to life. Sure enough, Never Gonna Give You Up packed about 306 hooks around Astley’s boom, with the title track and Together Forever just as factory ready for eternal chart dominance.