Singer Rick Astley… “I wanted to be a more normal dad.”
That’s pretty much what the English soloist superstar Rick Astley did, but not before he’d chalked up an estimated 40 million sales for that number and others such as “Whenever You Need Somebody”, “When I Fall In Love”, “Together Forever”, “She Wants to Dance With Me” and “Cry”.
Astley is sitting in his study at home in London looking out the window when we chat by phone, and reflects that before a quite recent visit in 2012, he hadn’t been to Australia since 1991.
He astonished his fans by quitting showbiz from 1993 to 2008 and astonished them once more by returning, bigger and better than ever. And we’ll see him at Canberra Theatre later this month.
“The reason I gave up my career for a time was that I wanted to be a more normal dad,” he tells “CityNews”.
“I still made money and I was very comfortable, but I wanted to take my daughter to school, and not everybody gets to do that.”
On retiring from the stage he built a home studio, became a producer and wrote songs. Then in 2008, Astley was offered a gig in Japan.
“‘No,’ I said, but my wife and daughter made me go… so I dusted off an old shoulder-padded suit and went for the retro sound, it was pure nostalgia, but I absolutely loved it,” he said.
“After that I said: ‘Right, I’m up for it if you’ve got some more interesting places to go to’.”
He sings the old songs and a few new ones, pleases the audience and, above all, pleases himself.
“I really like it,” but he hates long flights so drives whenever he can. He even plans to drive himself around Australia. “Last time I drove all the way to Brisbane.”
Rick Astley, Canberra Theatre, November 26, bookings to canberraticketing.com.au or 6275 2700.
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