{"id":67471,"date":"2023-09-29T06:51:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T06:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/?p=67471"},"modified":"2023-09-29T06:51:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T06:51:13","slug":"i-was-so-nervous-before-my-glastonbury-set-i-was-downing-shots-says-80s-icon-rick-astley-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/tv-movies\/i-was-so-nervous-before-my-glastonbury-set-i-was-downing-shots-says-80s-icon-rick-astley-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I was so nervous before my Glastonbury set I was downing shots, says 80s icon Rick Astley | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTHIS summer has been absolutely great, it\u2019s been a bonkers few months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over lunch in a restaurant near his Surrey home, Rick Astley is recalling how his recent shows at Electric Picnic, Hampton Court and Glastonbury proved him to be this year\u2019s festival favourite.<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

The likeable singer nailed this year\u2019s Glasto after opening the Pyramid Stage at noon with his own set before playing the Woodsies tent with Blossoms, performing covers of The Smiths for only the third time ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cF**king hell Rick Astley is absolutely killing it at Glastonbury,\u201d posted one onlooker on social media while another announced, \u201cWho\u2019d have thought Rick Astley won Glastonbury 35 years later?\u201d <\/p>\n

The singer, whose new album Are We There Yet is out on October 13, says: \u201cThe amount of people who have come up to me and said, \u2018I saw you at Glastonbury \u2014 it was amazing\u2019 has been something else. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never expected it to go off like that and I still find it a bit weird. <\/p>\n

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"It\u2019s not false modesty, it\u2019s just reality. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been super realistic and when someone suggested I play Glastonbury I thought, \u2018Are you kidding?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better to be like that rather than go, \u2018I want to play Glastonbury and you should have me on after whatever band\u2019. <\/p>\n

"Then you are digging a hole for yourself, to be upset when it doesn\u2019t happen. \u2018The tour opened my eyes in a lot of ways\u2019 <\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen things come to me, it\u2019s double the joy because I\u2019m not expecting it to happen anyway. <\/p>\n

"That was certainly the case with Glastonbury.\u201d <\/p>\n

Astley had been enjoying a revival since returning to music in 2016 following the Rickrolling internet sensation, playing with Foo Fighters, enjoying a No1 album and sold-out live shows. <\/p>\n

As popular as ever, Glastonbury earned the former Eighties star even more kudos in the cool stakes. <\/p>\n

He admits: \u201cThere were plenty of nerves at Glastonbury \u2014 it was stressful. We\u2019d been there since 9am. <\/p>\n

\u201cI looked out at the audience before my slot and there was nobody there. <\/p>\n

"I said to my wife Lene, \u2018This is going to be the most embarrassing thing we\u2019ve ever done!\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cOur daughter Emelie was steaming my suit and had to calm me down. She\u2019s been to Glastonbury loads of times. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe just sees me as Dad and jokes about my pop career. She niggles me like a daughter does with her dad.\u201d <\/p>\n

Astley says that downing shots of J\u00e4germeister with his band helped settle his nerves and the field filled up quickly for his first show of the day. <\/p>\n

He recalls: \u201cThe adrenaline, chemicals soon rush through you \u2014 it was a treat.\u201d <\/p>\n

Astley\u2019s afternoon slot with Blossoms performing The Smiths\u2019 greatest hits has gone down as one of the festival\u2019s legendary sets.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI was a very, very big Smiths fan when I was young. <\/p>\n

"But people remember me as a Stock Aitken Waterman singer (production trio Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman). <\/p>\n

\u201cI love Highway To Hell by AC\/DC. It\u2019s what I learned to play drums to, but people can\u2019t get their head around that. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut singing Smiths songs was just natural to me. And I\u2019ve met Morrissey, but very briefly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve not met Johnny Marr but I met Morrissey when he was doing his solo stuff. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted a photograph with me at Top Of The Pops. I thought it was a bit weird. <\/p>\n

"I thought he was taking the p*** but he wanted photos with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sadly, the collaboration might be short-lived as Astley does not think there will be more gigs with Blossoms.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cIt\u2019s been great meeting them. But it\u2019s time for Blossoms to get on with being Blossoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 57 and I\u2019ve had a career and sort of another one. They are a really good band and growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see them live, they are immense.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019m being Uncle Rick when I say it, but I do feel protective of them. <\/p>\n

"They are young guys and are still in the heat of moulding who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astley too is focusing on the present and the release of ninth studio album, Are We There Yet?<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI wrote quite a few of these songs during Covid.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it wasn\u2019t so bad, because I have a studio at home, so I could just jump in there whenever I wanted. <\/p>\n

"Then after that, we went to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2022, Astley toured for three months with New Kids On The Block, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, which he said was enjoyable as well as a learning experience.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cThe tour opened my eyes in a lot of ways. <\/p>\n

"It\u2019s very different to going out and doing your own gig, being the headliner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did it on my own, was the only solo act and everyone else had choreography.<\/p>\n

\u2018I felt my age by the end, I was knackered\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt was tight \u2014 you can\u2019t mess about \u2014 well, I did. I messed about a lot, but in a fun way.<\/p>\n

"It\u2019s important to me to bring humour into the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like laughing at yourself, but it\u2019s just acknowledging I\u2019m older and the audience is older but we are here for a good time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know any of them before and everybody got on really well.<\/p>\n

"Which is good as we did 56 gigs in a stupid amount of time and often five shows in a row. The travelling was tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a New Kids tour really and they were so welcoming.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonnie Wahlberg is like a force of nature. He\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is married to (TV star) Jenny McCarthy. We went to their house in Chicago and had dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

America plays an influence on his upcoming record Are We There Yet? and first single Dippin My Feet has an Americana feel to it.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a lot more twangy guitars on this record than before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought some of that back and it has ended up on the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote some songs on the road and as soon as I was home I wanted to get in the studio again. I\u2019d go in there all day, almost every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre We There Yet? as a title also relates to being the age I am. I felt my age at the end of the tour, I was absolutely knackered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did 22,000 miles in all and covered so many places. We even went through a tornado in Wisconsin, which was pretty scary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got home, we went on a ski holiday with friends and our daughter and her boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other standout songs on the new record include the catchy Take Me Back To Your Place and Waterfall, which Astley says \u201cis about life \u2014 we are always under a waterfall. <\/p>\n

"Life is either great and lovely. While at other times it\u2019s literally drowning\u201d.<\/p>\n

The song also namechecks Bill Withers and Martha Reeves while Golden Hour and new single Never Gonna Stop shows off Astley\u2019s power pop-soul voice and was also influenced by his heroes.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI\u2019m not shying away from the fact that loads of my childhood artists have stuck in my brain and heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever Gonna Stop is influenced by Marvin Gaye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not getting anywhere near Marvin Gaye by the way \u2014 I\u2019m just a boy from Newton-Le-Willows (in Merseyside), but he\u2019s played a part. <\/p>\n

"I can\u2019t completely go down that road because part of my DNA is that I was signed to Stock Aitken Waterman. I know what my audience want.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met Stock, Aitken and Waterman, I hadn\u2019t got a clue what I was doing or wanted to sound like. I\u2019d never really been in a studio before.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve absolutely loved these last few years\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI also knew that I wasn\u2019t going to go against Mike Stock. If Mike wanted me to sing like that, that\u2019s the way I was going to sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I have got an ego. And I want to try and carry these new songs off. <\/p>\n

"But I also know I\u2019m 57 and I\u2019m not a new artist today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of new artists today, I like how Harry Styles has found his way as a solo artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got great songs and has the whole thing going on. And I think he\u2019s underrated as a vocalist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Album closer Blue Sky is a special track that is stripped down and a more vulnerable sound that we have heard from Astley before.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cThe first time I did a vocal on Blue Sky it was really early.<\/p>\n

"I\u2019d just had a cup of tea and gone in the studio and didn\u2019t sing it in the normal octave I usually do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played it to Lene and she said she loved the words and a friend told me not to change it as there was something in my voice. <\/p>\n

"There\u2019s a lyric in there about birds and that\u2019s because everything sounded sweeter and greener in Covid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a real appreciation of nature in the back garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything smelt better and looked better in that horrible, terrible time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astley\u2019s renaissance means he is enjoying every minute of his current popularity and success. <\/p>\n

He says: \u201cThe rest of the year is fairly full-on, but that\u2019s how I want it to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no point making a record and going, \u2018I don\u2019t want anyone to hear it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s somebody\u2019s bag but it isn\u2019t mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve absolutely loved these last few years playing gigs or playing new songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make sure we play the old ones too and that it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing two nights at the Royal Albert Hall in November and then there is a big tour next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a rehearsal recently, for no other reason than I wanted to hear how the new songs sounded live.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to get out there and enjoy it all.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHaving done the Glastonbury set and the Blossoms thing, it has put me on the map a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n