Rick Astley doesn't let Glastonbury down

Forget Glastonbury, contiguous Worthy Farm became Rick Astonbury.

Thousands of fans gathered astatine the Pyramid Stage astatine midday, anxious for the accidental to beryllium Rickrolled successful person.

And Astley didn't disappoint, rewarding them with a jubilant mentation of Never Gonna Give You Up that permanently redefined the word crowd-pleaser.

Speaking to the BBC earlier the show, helium said being booked to play the festival was simultaneously "a bizarre changeable of luck" and "pretty bonkers".

"If we get the smallest assemblage connected the 12 o'clock slot that Glastonbury's ever seen, I'm inactive OK with that," helium told amusement analogous Colin Paterson.

In the end, helium didn't person to worry. Early greeting festivalgoers arrived successful their droves, offering conclusive impervious that the prima is nary alien to love...

"I'm present for Rick Astley," said Debbie Anne O'Donovan, firmly planted successful the beforehand enactment 2 hours earlier the vocalist arrived.

"I've been a large instrumentality since the 80s. He's a spot of a legend. I deliberation he'll link with the assemblage truly well."

Mother and girl Penny and Corrie Wheeler reserved their places adjacent earlier, astatine 07:30, and were determined to enactment enactment until Guns N' Roses play their header set.

"We bash person provisions, we person plentifulness of snacks, truthful we're beauteous set," said Corrie.

"I've seen him rather a fewer times," added Mark Old, who was watching with his wife. "He's got a truly cool, creaseless dependable and he's a fantastic performer."

Astley took to the signifier soon aft midday to the dependable of the Star Wars theme, earlier launching into a disco-fied mentation Together Forever.

"My god, look astatine you," helium declared, surveying the assemblage successful a blush pinkish suit.

He didn't enactment inactive for long, though, stalking the catwalk, speechmaking retired people's flags, serenading the beforehand enactment and intelligibly having the clip of his life.

For those unfamiliar with his backmost catalogue, helium threw successful covers of Chic's Good Times and Harry Styles's As It Was, the second mixed with A-Ha's Take On Me.

He besides took the accidental of a nationwide TV assemblage to play his caller single, Dippin' My Feet.

"I'm not an idiot!" helium announced with a wink, "of people I'm going to play my caller song".

Then helium stepped down the drum kit for AC/DC's Highway To Hell, explaining it was a opus he'd play arsenic "a 15-year-old kid successful my dad's greenhouse" until his drum kit broke.

After it ended, helium apologised for his playing, saying his suit trousers kept getting caught successful the footwear drum pedal.

"All I tin say, Glastonbury, is I'm atrocious for wearing the incorrect trousers."

Obviously, helium saved Never Gonna Give You Up to the end, getting the assemblage to sing the archetypal verse and chorus with him a capella, past vamping connected the groove for astir 10 minutes, introducing his set and throwing successful the guitar solo for Queen's We Will Rock You for bully measure.

When helium reached the last refrain of "I conscionable privation to archer you however I'm feeling", helium ad-libbed: "Glastonbury, I'm feeling fantastic, acknowledgment to you."

It felt similar a miniature mentation of Glastonbury's accepted Sunday day fable slot. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot however Cat Stevens, who fills that relation tomorrow, volition compare.

Now 57 years old, Astley became an overnight sensation successful 1987, erstwhile Never Gonna Give You Up topped the charts successful 25 countries.

A merchandise of the Stock Aitken Waterman deed factory, it paired his rich, mellow baritone with a cheesy creation bushed and an adjacent cheesier video - and won the Brit Award for champion single.

Over the adjacent 4 years, helium had different 7 apical 10 hits with tracks similar Whenever You Need Somebody and Cry For Help; but, frustrated by a deficiency of power implicit his career, helium discontinue showbusiness successful 1991.

For much than a decade, helium lived successful Richmond, raising his young girl portion his woman worked arsenic a movie producer.

Then, successful the aboriginal 2000s Never Gonna Give You Up enjoyed a bizarre 2nd beingness arsenic an net meme: Rickrolling - wherever users are sent a nexus and duped into watching Astley's euphony video.

By 2021, the video's YouTube leafage had reached 1 cardinal views, . Today, it's nudging 1.4 billion.

The affable prima takes his net infamy successful his stride, describing RickRolling arsenic "brilliant" and "funny".

"The video and the opus person drifted disconnected into the ether and go thing else, and I'm ever truthful grateful for it," helium told the Associated Press successful 2022.

The notoriety encouraged him retired of status successful 2016, since erstwhile he's been connected a caller originative streak, producing soulful and mature popular albums similar 50 and Beautiful Life.

That led to him being invited to Glastonbury successful 2020, earlier the festival was cancelled owed to the pandemic.

"I thought to myself, 'That's it, that's my changeable gone'," helium told the BBC. "I didn't deliberation we'd get invited backmost due to the fact that clip moves connected and there's caller artists coming along. So I was really, wholly made up erstwhile they got successful touch."

And the star's Glastonbury travel won't extremity connected the Pyramid Stage. He'll besides play the Woodsies signifier connected Saturday evening, performing a acceptable of Smiths covers with Stockport indie set Blossoms.

Other acts connected Saturday's line-up see Lana Del Rey, Lizzo, Manic Street Preachers, Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner, Eurovision winners Maneskin, and French prima Christine And The Queens.

Guns N' Roses are the Saturday nighttime headliners, with Sir Elton John topping the measure connected Sunday.