Look up UPS or ups in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

UPS may refer to:

Science, technology and medicine[link]

• Uninterruptible power supply
• Ubiquitin proteasome system
• Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy
• Universal Polar Stereographic coordinate system
• Ups (debugger)
• Medically "unexplained physical symptoms"

Companies and groups[link]

• United Parcel Service, international shipping company
• Universal Press Syndicate
• Underground Press Syndicate
• Union-Philanthropic Society of Hampden-Sydney College
• Union Philosophical Society
• Union Progressiste Sénégalaise, the former name of the Socialist Party of Senegal
• Universal Pantheist Society
• University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
• University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin)

Other uses[link]

• The UPS Store
• USS Puget Sound
• University of Phoenix Stadium, a stadium in Glendale, Arizona and the home of the Arizona Cardinals

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the group's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP Foster the People and their debut album Torches. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by frontman Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth.

The track received considerable attention after it was posted online in 2010 as a free download, and it helped the group garner a multi-album record deal with Columbia Records imprint Startime International before they had issued a commercial release. The song became both a crossover hit and a sleeper hit in 2011, as it received significant airplay on modern rock and contemporary hit radio stations. The song spent eight consecutive weeks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, making it the first Billboard Alternative Songs number-one single to crack the U.S. top 5 since Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" in 2009. The song was widely praised by critics, and it has been licensed for use in a wide range of popular media since its release. "Pumped Up Kicks" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Recording[link]

Soon after Mark Foster formed Foster the People in 2009, he wrote and recorded "Pumped Up Kicks" in five hours while working as a commercial jingle writer at Mophonics in Los Angeles.^[1][2] Thinking that he was just recording a demo, he played all of the instruments on the song. Ultimately, Foster's original version of the song is what ended up being released.^[3]

Composition and inspiration[link]

The lyrics to "Pumped Up Kicks" are written from the perspective of a troubled and delusional youth with homicidal thoughts.^[3] The lines in the chorus warn potential victims to "outrun my gun" and that they "better run, better run, faster than my bullet". Foster said, "I was trying to get inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid."^[3] He wrote the lyrics in order to "bring awareness" to the issue of gun violence amongst youth, which he feels is an epidemic perpetuated by "lack of family, lack of love, and isolation".^[5][6] The song's title refers to shoes that the narrator's peers wear as a status symbol.^[7] The issue of youth violence is a matter close to the group. Foster was bullied in high school, while bassist Cubbie Fink has a cousin who survived the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Fink said of his cousin's experience, "She was actually in the library when everything went down, so I actually flew out to be with her the day after it happened and experienced the trauma surrounding it and saw how affected she was by it. She is as close as a sister, so obviously, it affected me deeply. So to be able to have a song to create a platform to talk about this stuff has been good for us."^[4]

Contrasting with the dark lyrics of the song, the music, which was written first, is upbeat. Foster said, "It's a 'fuck you' song to the hipsters in a way—but it's a song the hipsters are going to want to dance to."^[3] Jeffery Berg of Frontier Psychiatrist said, "I was so engrossed with the cheery melody of its chorus that it took me a few listens to discover that the lyrics suggest dark, Columbine revenge."^[8]

Due to the opening lyrics, "Robert's got a quick hand," many have speculated that the song is a reference to Robert Hawkins, perpetrator of Omaha's Westroads Mall shooting. The band's publicist refutes this with "This is completely false. The character name in the song is just a coincidence."^[9] For play on the television channels MTV and MTVu, the words "gun" and "bullet" were removed from the song's chorus.^[10] Foster believes many have misinterpreted the song's meaning, and he has written letters to his record label and called radio stations to complain. He explained, "The song is not about condoning violence at all. It's the complete opposite. The song is an amazing platform to have a conversation with your kids about something that shouldn't be ignored, to talk about it in a loving way."^[2]

Release and promotion[link]

Initial attention[link]

"Pumped Up Kicks" was written by Mark Foster (pictured) while he was working as a jingle writer. Initially posted on his website as a free download, the song grew in popularity through viral outlets and earned the band a record deal.

"Pumped Up Kicks" drew considerable attention online after Foster posted the song on his website as a free download in early 2010; Nylon magazine used the track in an online advertising campaign,^[11] and through various blogs, it went viral.^[12] Foster the People first performed the song live at the Stand Up Charity Benefit in Venice in February.^[13] The group, yet to be signed, reached additional audiences with performances at the South by Southwest music festival in March 2010.^[14] Foster was emailed by many people about the song, and needing professional guidance, he contacted artist manager Brent Kredel at Monotone, Inc., saying, "Everyone is calling me and emailing me—what do I do? Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys?" Kredel recalled that "He went from the guy who couldn't get a hold of anyone to being the guy who had hundreds of emails in his inbox." Kredel and Brett Williams were subsequently hired to co-manage Foster the People, and they helped the group get a multi-album record deal with Columbia Records imprint Startime International in May 2010.^[11]

"Pumped Up Kicks" was licensed for use in a July 2010 episode of the TV series Entourage, the first of many instances in which Foster the People's music was licensed in popular media.^[11] Wishing to release a record that would back up the song's success, the group wrote new material between July–September 2010.^[11] The song received its first widespread radio play in July 2010 on Sirius XM's Alt Nation channel and the Australian radio station Triple J.^[15] The song was released as their debut single on September 14, 2010.^{[citation needed]} In November, the University of Maryland's radio station WMUC played the song, marking its debut on US terrestrial radio.^[16] The song placed at number 32 in the Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2010,^[17] a big achievement due to the band being relatively unknown in Australia. Still, the group was inexperienced as a live act, and as a result, their booking agent Tom Windish secured them several club shows "to help them get their sea legs." Foster the People promoted these concerts in January 2011 by emailing fans who had downloaded "Pumped Up Kicks" from their website, notifying them of the shows. The group continued to grow its fanbase with a month-long residency of concerts in January at The Echo nightclub in Los Angeles. By the group's third show at the venue, according to Windish, "there were hundreds of people trying to get in outside... It was an obvious turning point that could be measured in numbers." The residency also drew the attention of music supervisors in attendance who would later help the group license their music.^[11]

Commercial breakthrough[link]

In January 2011, the band issued their first commercial non-single release, a self-titled EP on which "Pumped Up Kicks" appeared. Around the same time, many alternative radio stations began playing "Pumped Up Kicks", including Los Angeles terrestrial stations KROQ-FM and KYSR, and it continued to gain popularity on Alt Nation.^[11] Mark Foster credits Sirius XM's airplay with the song's success, saying, "Alt Nation played our music before any other radio outlet in the country."^[18] On January 29, the song debuted on Billboard's Rock Songs chart and a week later, it debuted on the Alternative Songs chart. In May, the track debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100, and later that month, the group released their first full-length studio album, Torches, on which "Pumped Up Kicks" appears.^[11] On May 23, 2011, BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James selected the song as his Record of the Week, which ran until May 27. During this time, James released an accompanying video of him dancing to the song which he entitled and promoted "The Bum Dance".^[19]

The song proved to be a crossover hit, peaking at number three on the Rock Songs chart in July and number one on the Alternative Songs chart in June, while breaking into the top 40 of the Hot 100 in late July and appearing on the Adult Top 40 and Mainstream Top 40 charts. Columbia senior VP of promotion Lee Leipsner said, "It was one of the only alternative bands I remember in a while that you could actually dance to. And the fact that the record has a groove and rhythmic feel to it—not heavy guitar-based at all—gave us a wide opportunity to cross the record." He credits the song's crossover success and push into the top 40 to a June presentation of new music by Clear Channel president of national programming platforms Tom Poleman. According to Leipsner, "After we showed our presentation, we had so many Clear Channel major-market programmers come up to us and say, 'The record I want to play besides Adele is Foster the People.'" "Pumped Up Kicks" peaked at number three on the Hot 100, spending eight consecutive weeks at the position.^[11] It has been certified 3× platinum in the US, Canada,^[20][21] and Australia,^[22] while receiving a gold certification in Germany.^[23] The song ranked as the sixth-best-selling digital song of 2011, selling 3.61 million copies.^[24]

Music video[link]

The music video, directed by Josef Geiger, was filmed at multiple locations in Los Angeles with insert footage from San Francisco^{[citation needed]} and features the band playing a show. There are also cuts to band members doing other activities, such as playing frisbee and surfing. The video peaked at #21 on the MuchMusic Countdown in Canada.^[25] The video has received over 83 million views on YouTube.^[2]

Reception[link]

Critical reaction[link]

"Pumped Up Kicks" received positive reviews from critics. Barry Walters of Spin said that with the song as their debut single, Foster the People "announce themselves as major players".^[26] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described the song as having a "slinky groove, misty guitar flange and delicious astral-wimp vocals".^[27] Rob Webb of NME drew some parallels between the song and other indie pop hits like "Young Folks", "Paris", and "Kids" describing its rise in popularity as thus: "artist writes (undeniably brilliant) pop song, makes it catchy as hell, but quirky enough for the 'cool' crowd, song subsequently gets some big pimping from every blog/radio station/Hype Machine user on the planet and, seemingly overnight, becomes utterly, irritatingly inescapable."^[28] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times called it a "reputation-making single" that "cakes Foster in Strokes-y vocal distortion atop a loping synth bass".^[29] Jon Pareles of The New York Times called it a "pop ditty with dazed, dweeby vocals and a handclapping chorus that warns, 'You better run, better run, outrun my gun'".^[30] BBC Music's Mark Beaumont called the song a "psychedelic block party skipping tune". Reflecting on the song's fusion of various musical elements, Beaumont said the song is a prime example of how they "adapt Animal Collective's art-tronic adventurousness to incorporate the funky danceability of Scissor Sisters, the fuzzy pop catchiness of 'Kids' and the knack of throwing in deceptively downbeat twists akin to Girls, Sleigh Bells or Smith Westerns".^[31] Matt Collar of Allmusic said the song, like other tracks from the album, is "catchy, electro-lite dance-pop that fits nicely next to such contemporaries as MGMT and Phoenix".^[32] The Guardian's Michael Hann was less receptive, saying it "amounts to little more than a bassline and a chorus" and that "It's as irresistible as it is infuriating".^[33]

Accolades[link]

A Rolling Stone readers poll named it the second-best song of summer 2011.^[34] Claire Suddath of Time magazine named "Pumped Up Kicks" one of the Top 10 Songs of 2011.^[35] In end-of-year polls, writers for Rolling Stone selected "Pumped Up Kicks" as the 11th-best song of 2011,^[36] while the publication's readers voted it the year's sixth-best song.^[37] A listeners poll by Toronto radio station CFNY-FM (102.1 The Edge) voted it #1 in a list of the top 102 new rock songs of 2011.^[38] Entertainment Weekly selected the song as the second-best single of 2011.^[39] NME ranked it number 21 on its list of the "50 Best Tracks of 2011", writing, "Unusually for a song so omnipresent, listening to its hyper-upbeat melodies about a psycho high-school kid-killer is still an enjoyable experience."^[40] The magazine's readers voted "Pumped Up Kicks" the year's eighth-best song.^[41] At the end of 2011, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.^[42]

Impact[link]

In an article for The Huffington Post, DJ Louie XIV singled out "Pumped Up Kicks" as one of several popular songs that helped usher in the return of commercially successful indie music. In discussing the growing acceptance of fringe cultures, he wrote, "It seems only fitting, then, that the soundtrack to this time period should be music that was itself once viewed as fringe culture."^[43] Reflecting on the song's success, Gary Trust, the associate director of charts/radio for Billboard, said, "They're walking a tightrope very well in terms of eras, formats and styles. When you mix all that together, it becomes a very good recipe for a hit that works on so many levels. It's the perfect song." Foster said of the song, "There's a spirit there and that's what people resonate with. 'Pumped Up Kicks' wasn't an accident."^[2]

Use in popular media[link]

The song was used in TV series such as Entourage,^[44] Gossip Girl, CSI:NY, Cougar Town, Homeland, Warehouse 13 and The Vampire Diaries and also in the 2011 films Friends with Benefits^[11] and Fright Night, as well as sampled in Shawn Chrystopher's song "All the Other Kids", from his 2010 hip-hop album You, and Only You. The whistling part of the song is part of the rotation of bumper music played on the Michael Medved syndicated radio program. The song is also used on the BBC programme Match of the Day. On October 8, 2011, Foster the People performed the song on Saturday Night Live. The song was also used in Australian beer XXXX's "XXXX Summer Bright Lager" television commercial.^[45]

Cover versions and remixes[link]

The official remix of the single was released by New York City-duo The Knocks in April 2011, under the name "Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Speeding Bullet Remix)", and was made available to subscribers to the band's email list. The song was covered by Weezer during their 2011 North American Tour, at the Orange County Fair on August 4, 2011. Weezer also played the song during their grandstand performance at the Minnesota State Fair on September 3, 2011.^[46] Mark Foster said in reaction, "Nine years ago, I met Rivers Cuomo at a party, and I had my acoustic guitar with me. He taught me how to play 'Say It Ain't So'. So nine years later, to watch him play one of my songs - it was wild. I can't wait to meet him and remind him of that story."^[47]

In 2011, The Kooks covered song in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.^[48] Australian musician Owl Eyes performed a version of "Pumped Up Kicks" for Triple J's Like a Version. In the Triple J Hottest 100, 2011, Owl Eyes' version came in at 28, four positions higher than the original did the previous year. Singer-songwriters Dani Shay and Justin Chase covered the song in a theatrical music video October 2011^[49] and released the single in November 2011.^[50] A parody of the song was performed by Taylor Swift and Zac Efron on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as a serenade to the host. Its lyrics were about how they felt weird when Ellen used to put them as a couple when they were not.^[51] On March 12, 2012 singers Lex Land and Charlotte Sometimes performed the song during the second "Battle Round" episode of The Voice.^[52]

Track listing[link]

Charts[link]

Release history[link]

See also[link]

• List of number-one Billboard Alternative Songs of 2011
• List of number-one dance airplay hits of 2011 (U.S.)
• List of number-one singles of 2012 (Australia)

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Pumped Up Kicks" Official music video on YouTube

Rick Astley
Astley performing in Santiago de Chile, in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Richard Paul Astley
Born	(1966-02-06) 6 February 1966 (age 46) Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, blue-eyed soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards
Years active	1985–1993 2000–present
Labels	RCA, Polydor, Cruz
Associated acts	FBI Stock Aitken Waterman
Website	rickastley.co.uk

Richard Paul "Rick" Astley ( /ˈrɪk ˈæstli/; born 6 February 1966) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries.^[1] Astley holds the record for being the only male solo artist to have his first 8 singles reach the Top 10 in the UK^[2] and by retirement in 1993 had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.^[3][4][5]

After retiring from the music industry in 1993, Astley made a comeback in 2007 when he became an Internet phenomenon, as his video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" became part of a popular Internet meme known as "Rickrolling".^[6] Astley was voted "Best Act Ever" by Internet users at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008.^[7]

Early life[link]

Richard Paul Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, becoming the fourth child of his family. His parents divorced when he was five, and Astley was brought up by his father.^[8] His musical career started when he was ten, singing in the local church choir.^[9] During his schooldays, Astley formed and played the drums in a number of local bands, where he met guitarist David Morris.^[2][10] After leaving school at sixteen, Astley was employed during the day as a driver in his father's market-gardening business and played drums on the Northern club circuit at night in bands such as “Give Way” - specialising in covering Beatles and Shadows songs - and “FBI”, which won several local talent competitions.^[9]

Signing to Stock Aitken Waterman[link]

In 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer with a soul band named FBI, with Morris on guitar. They were a well known local band writing and performing their own music, gigging in pubs and clubs. When FBI's lead singer left the band, and Morris left to concentrate on his career in hairdressing,^[10] Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. This was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman, who persuaded him to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio,^[2] with RCA Records publishing his records. Under the tutelage of the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, known as Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio 'tea boy'.^[11] The reason for Astley to be hired initially as a 'tape op', was to overcome his shyness.^[12] SAW also hired most of FBI, including Morris as a guitarist/songwriter.^[10]

Success[link]

His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna", released as a collaboration with Lisa Carter, with little promotion. It did not chart. His first solo offering was "Never Gonna Give You Up", recorded on New Year's Day 1987, and released eight months later, in August. Astley's distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance pop, made the song an immediate success,^[13] spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. The song was also a worldwide number one hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the U.S., Australia, and Germany. It would become the first of 13 (worldwide) top 30 hit singles for him. "Never Gonna Give You Up" won Best British single at the 1988 BPI awards (now called the BRIT Awards),^[14] and he performed the hit in front of a global audience of 100 million.^[2][15]

His next single was "Whenever You Need Somebody", which was released in October. The single was a recycled Stock, Aitken, Waterman song, originally recorded by O'Chi Brown in 1985. It became a successful European hit, reaching #1 in seven countries, including Germany and Sweden, following up the success of his debut single. It also reached #3 in the UK. It was not released in North America.^[16]

In November 1987, the album Whenever You Need Somebody, containing four Astley-written tracks, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, and #10 in the U.S. It was certified 4x Platinum in the UK and Canada, and 2x Platinum in the US. Overall Whenever You Need Somebody sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making him the top selling British act of the year.^[2]

In the run up to Christmas 1987, Astley released a cover version of the Nat King Cole classic "When I Fall in Love". This single is mainly remembered for a closely fought contest for UK Christmas Number 1. Rivals EMI, hoping to see their act the Pet Shop Boys reach #1, re-released the version by Nat King Cole.^[17][18] This led to a slowdown of purchases of Astley's version, allowing the Pet Shop Boys to reach the coveted top spot. Despite selling over 200,000 copies and gaining a Silver certification from the BPI,^[19] it peaked in the UK at #2 for two weeks. The re-release of Nat King Cole's version reached #4. The B side was a dance number "My Arms Keep Missing You", which was successful in mainland Europe.

Astley's fourth single release would be "Together Forever" in 1988, reaching #2 in the UK. It was denied the top spot by Neighbours sensation Kylie Minogue's debut "I Should Be So Lucky".^[20] "Together Forever" was more successful state-side, topping the U.S charts, making it his second U.S chart topper, which meant Astley was one of the few British acts to crack the American market. In 1989 he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, but lost to Tracy Chapman.

His fifth and final release from his debut album was "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man". It was a more soulful song, when compared to his other releases, and was mainly intended for the North American market. Thus, it was not released in Britain. It was another hit for Astley, reaching #10 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, and #1 in Canada. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world.^[21] In the UK, he was in the Top 40 every week for the first 6 months of his career.^[2]

A fire in the PWL studios destroyed much of Astley's new material,^[2] causing a delay in the release of his second album. Hold Me In Your Arms was eventually released in January 1989, containing five singles, and reached #8 in the UK and #19 in the US, being certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.

Astley's relationship with British media deteriorated significantly after the release of Whenever You Need Somebody, with the media calling him a 'puppet' of Stock Aitken Waterman.^[14] This was despite Astley writing five of his new album's tracks. The negative press inevitably affected the sales of his singles.^[22] The first single from the album to be released was "She Wants To Dance With Me", a number penned by Astley himself. It was another successful single, reaching #6 on both the UK and US charts. "Take Me to Your Heart" was the next single to be released from the album. It reached #8 in the UK and was not released in the US. The Astley-written ballad "Hold Me in Your Arms" reached #10 in the UK and was also not released in North America. The next two singles released from the album were intended for the North American market. "Giving Up On Love" and a cover of The Temptations song "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" charted at #38 and #89 in the US respectively.

In December 1989, Astley set off on his first world tour, touring 15 countries including the UK, US, Australia, and Japan.^[2] By the end of the tour, Astley was tiring of the negative press, and wanted to explore alternative paths as a musician. Thus, he left his producers Stock Aitken Waterman, with RCA records buying out his contract with PWL.

Switching to soul and AC[link]

By 1990, Astley had parted company with Stock, Aitken, and Waterman. He also decided to leave his dance-pop days behind him, moving towards his passion, soul. This shift in musical genre led him to change his image too, ditching the boy next door look, presenting himself as a mature and passionate musician. His third album, Free, was released in 1991 containing collaborations with Elton John.^[14] The album contained three singles, and reached #9 in the UK and #31 in the US.

He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry for Help", which reached #7 in both the UK and the US. This would place Astley in The Guinness Book of Records, as he became the first male solo artist to have his first eight singles all chart in the UK Top 10. This record still stands to this day.^[2] The other two singles from Free were not as successful. "Move Right Out" reached #58 in the UK and #81 in the US; and "Never Knew Love" reached #70 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Free would mark the end of Astley's successful period, and "Cry for Help" would be the last Astley single to make the Top 10 in either the UK or US (as of May 2010).

His next album, Body and Soul, was released in 1993, and was largely an Adult Contemporary album. By the time the album was released, Astley had decided to retire from the music industry. As a result, the album did not get a lot of promotion,^[2] not charting in the UK but managing to make the Billboard 200, peaking at #182. The two singles, "The Ones You Love" and "Hopelessly", performed very well on the US adult contemporary chart, peaking at #19 and #4 respectively. "The Ones You Love" peaked at #48 in the UK but did not chart in the US. "Hopelessly" also crossed over and peaked at #28 on the US Billboard 100, staying in the US top 40 for five weeks, and #33 in the UK. It was named as one of the most performed songs at the 1994 BMI Awards,^[23] and is one of the few songs to achieve BMI 'Million-Air' status.^[24]

Retirement[link]

After 1993, Astley decided to retire from the music industry at the young age of 27, deciding that family life was more important. During Astley's time out of the music business, he raised his daughter Emilie, born in 1992. Thus, for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight. One notable musical appearance by Astley during retirement was as a backing singer on The Lion King soundtrack in 1994.^[11]

Return to singing[link]

Almost 10 years after Body and Soul, Astley finally returned to the music world, signing a co-publishing deal with Polydor and releasing Keep It Turned On in 2002. The album featured the single "Sleeping", which became a minor club hit, thanks to a set of remixes from U.S. house producer Todd Terry. Keep It Turned On was only released in Continental Europe.^[2]

Astley's first compilation album, Greatest Hits, was released in 2002, and reached #16 on the UK Albums Chart. With no promotion from Astley, it sold over 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the BPI.^[2] After retirement in 1993, Astley continued to write songs for various acts and in 2003 he managed to chart at #10 in the UK as a songwriter with "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" performed by short-lived boy band One True Voice.

In 2004, Astley toured for the first time in 14 years, which led him to a record contract with Sony BMG.^[2] In March 2005, Astley released the album Portrait in which he covered many classic standards such as "Vincent",^[25] "Nature Boy" and "Close to You". Both Astley and Sony BMG were unhappy with the end result so the album was poorly promoted,^[2] yet managed to reach #26 on the UK Albums Chart.

Astley performing in Denmark '09

In April 2008, the album "The Ultimate Collection: Rick Astley" was released by Sony BMG and by early May it had reached #17 on the UK Top 40 Albums Chart,^[26] again with no promotion from Astley.

In September 2008, Rick was nominated for the 'Best Act Ever' award at the MTV Europe Music Awards^[7] The push to make Astley the winner of the award continued after the announcement, as well as efforts to encourage MTV to personally invite Astley to the awards ceremony.^[27] On 7 November, following a massive internet campaign by fans, Rick won the award in Liverpool, but was not there in person to receive it. Perez Hilton collected the prize on his behalf.^[28] On the back of this, "Never Gonna Give You Up" returned to the UK charts, over 21 years after it was released, peaking at #73 during the Christmas period.

During the late 2000s, Astley continued touring across the globe, touring with various other '80s acts, such as Boy George and Belinda Carlisle, in the Here and Now Tour.^[2] In April 2009, he wrote an article for Time about moot.^[29]

Astley today[link]

Astley was a special guest throughout Peter Kay's new tour, The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour, from 27 April to 22 May 2010. To mark the occasion, Rick Astley released a new single "Lights Out" on his own label. It was released on 7 June 2010.^[30] This was Astley's first release in the UK Singles Chart in 17 years. It was well received by radio, peaking #15 on the UK Airplay Charts, but failed to become a commercial hit, reaching only #97 on the UK Singles Chart.

During the summer 2010, Astley became a radio DJ for London's Magic FM, presenting a Sunday show.^[31][32] Initially the contract was 8 weeks but he proved popular with listeners and his contract was extended till the end of the year.^[33] In December 2010, Astley co-hosted the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 with Peter Kay,^[34] and in March 2011 appeared in Comic Relief's Red Nose Day telethon on the BBC.^[35][36]

Personal life[link]

Rick Astley is married to Lene Bausager, and the couple have one daughter, Emilie, who was born in 1992. Astley met Lene when she was working as a promoter with RCA in 1988.^[8] Lene is a film producer, and was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the Sean Ellis film Cashback, where she was the main producer.^[37][38] The family lives in the London suburb of Richmond.^[39]

Discography[link]

Canada Top data: for singles and albums from The Record magazine. US Top data: for singles from The Billboard Hot 100, for albums from The Billboard 200; UK Top data for singles and albums is from UK Singles Chart. Based on various music charts in the UK, US and Canada, Astley has charted a grand total of 14 different hit singles and 6 different hit albums, as of April 2010.

Studio albums[link]

• Whenever You Need Somebody (1987)
• Hold Me in Your Arms (1989)
• Free (1991)
• Body & Soul (1993)
• Keep It Turned On (2001)
• Portrait (2005)

Rickroll internet phenomenon[link]

Astley rickrolling the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2008

In 2007,^[40] Rick Astley became the subject of a viral internet meme known as Rickrolling. This is where internet users are tricked into watching Rick Astley's video "Never Gonna Give You Up" by following a link that claims to be something else.^[41] Views of this video on various websites are now in the millions. The phenomenon became so popular that on 1 April 2008, YouTube pranked its users by making every single featured video on its front page a Rickroll.^[42]

On November 27, 2008, Astley himself participated in a live Rickroll during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends characters were singing "Best Friend", the theme from the 1970s TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Midway through the song, Astley emerged from the float and began to lip sync his signature hit. At the end of Astley's performance, Cheese (a character from Foster's) shouted out "I like Rickrolling!".^[43][44]

Despite the video garnering millions of hits on YouTube, Astley has earned almost no money from the meme, receiving only US$12 in royalties from YouTube for his performance share.^[45]

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
• List of number-one albums (UK)
• List of number-one singles (UK)
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of songs by British artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)
• The Rickrollerz

References[link]