RUDY BOLLY
© Rankin
TO BE HONEST, IT WAS REALLY HARD, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO GET ON THE RADIO OUTSIDE OF THE UK”
RICKA STLEY
Two years ago, when Rick Astley announced his return to planet pop with 50, his first studio album in over a decade, few could have predicted such a strong comeback. The album “incredibly” – his word not ours – sold more than 300,000 copies on its way to No.1, landing him his first platinum-selling album in 28 years. Eighteen months of promotion and touring followed before Rick caught his breath and reflected: “Did that really happen?” Back at his home studio, Rick set out to prove to himself, and the world, that 50 was no fluke. His next, Beautiful Life, is a musical celebration of his rise from the ashes as he also tackles personal demons.
That chart-topping album, forged without the assistance of old pals PWL, still smoulders while yet another self-produced opus is ready to go, along with global tour dates booked for the next 12 months. “You have to find a way to live that beautiful life and I certainly have these last two years”, notes the singer, basking in a sun-kissed booth at Ronnie Scott’s club in London. At the same time, he is taking nothing for granted. “Even though we had this amazing success with 50, I went back into the studio with trepidation and thought: ‘How do I do that again?’ I’d made 50 with no expectations whatsoever but with this one, I kind of knew somebody might hear it.” As with 50, Rick wrote, recorded and produced Beautiful Life by himself, seeing it as an opportunity to learn from previous mistakes. “I did some lyrical things on the last album which I might not have said”, he confesses. “I was doing it completely subconsciously. The opening lines to the song Keep Singing are about my dad having a bit of a meltdown in the car when I was a young lad. It just came out of me one day when I was sat at the piano and arrived fully formed. My mum and dad went through a terrible divorce and, as kids, we experienced it. If
I’d known I would be on BBC’s The One Show singing about it, I might have approached it differently.” That unfiltered emotion was a major factor in 50’s success, but perhaps the tone of Beautiful Life is a little more ambiguous. A greater achievement is creating another song collection in just two years, rare in a music industry where artists are encouraged to rinse every last penny from an album. “We did quite a bit of touring and visited Japan and the States, but it’s not like the record was a worldwide sensation”, he says, downplaying his achievements. “We did well with it here but to be honest, it was really hard, if not impossible, to get on the radio outside of the UK. In the US, there’s no outlet for it. I get played quite a bit over there but it’s always Together Forever and a bit of Cry For Help. In the UK, radio has allowed people to connect with the music and that’s translated into sales, so I started the new album last September, jotted down loads of ideas, then picked my favourites.”
The 2016 album 50 sold more than 300,000 copies, was a No.1 hit, and became Rick Astley’s first platinum-selling LP in 28 years