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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://uk.youtube.com/user/RickAstleytv Rick Astley TV], ''[[YouTube]]''
* [http://www.bringvictory.com/ Rick Astley TV], ''[[YouTube]]''


{{Rick Astley}}
{{Rick Astley}}

Revision as of 23:03, 17 September 2008

For other uses, see Never Gonna Give You Up (disambiguation).
"Never Gonna Give You Up"
Song

"Never Gonna Give You Up" is a dance-pop song originally performed by Rick Astley. It was released as a single from Astley's multi-million selling debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody, which was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was a worldwide number-one hit, initially in the singer's native United Kingdom in 1987, where it stayed at number one for five weeks and was the best-selling single of that year. It was knocked off the UK number-one spot by M/A/R/R/S "Pump Up the Volume" who were sued by Stock Aitken Waterman using a distorted sample from their hit single "Roadblock". This was perhaps ironic/controversial as Stock Aitken Waterman themselves replicated the bassline from Colonel Abrams 1985 house hit "Trapped" in order to create the one used in "Never Gonna Give You Up".[citation needed]

It became number one throughout Europe and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States on March 12, 1988. It reached number one in Australia in December 1987. Soon after, the song was specifically mentioned in The Manual by hit-makers The KLF as a positive example of 'genius' chart pop lyrics. "Never Gonna Give You Up" is listed as the best charting single of the 1980s in Australia, by the Kent Music Report, due to its longevity in the charts. The song reached number 2 in the United World Chart, knocked-off the top spot by George Michael's "Father Figure".

The music video for the song has become the basis for the "Rickrolling" Internet meme.

Music video

File:NeverGonnaGiveYouUp official photo.jpg
Astley in the "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video.

In the "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video, directed by Simon West,[1] a smiling Astley sings and dances to the song in various outfits and venues in West London, sometimes accompanied by backup dancers. A bartender played by Clive Clarke gradually shifts from casually noticing Astley's singing to being fully engrossed in the song with energetic acrobatic moves. The athletic exertion of many of the other dancers also becomes more intense over the course of Astley's performance.

Rickrolling

Main article: Rickrolling

"Never Gonna Give You Up" is the subject of a popular Internet prank known as "rickrolling" involving misleading links redirecting to the song's music video. By May 2007 the practice had achieved notoriety on the Internet,[2] and it increased in popularity after its use as a 2008 April Fool's Day joke by various media companies and websites, including YouTube rickrolling all of its featured videos on that day and a website allowing people to Rickroll their friends' phones.[3]

In 'a couple of weeks', about 13 million people had been 'rickrolled' into watching Astley's video, the BBC reported on 1 April, 2008. "I think it's just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it," Astley told the Los Angeles Times in late March 2008, adding: "That's what's brilliant about the Internet."[4][5]

Cover versions and remixes

In 1997, the French band 2Be3 covered the song under the name "Toujours là pour toi", which had a great success in France (#4) and Belgium (Wallonia) (#12).[6] * Eurobeat artist Kevin Johnson also covered the song for the album Super Eurobeat 149.[7] In 2008, it has been covered by Ashley Tisdale for the Degree Girl website.

In April 2008 a house music remix of the track was produced by a group of London dance producers working under the pseudonym "The Rickrollerz" on the day of, and in honor of, the London Liverpool Street Station "Rickmob" on 11th April. UK Producer Simple Sigh also produced a remix in April 2008, entitled "Never Gonna Give You Up (Simple Sigh's RickRoll Remix). [8]

Uses in the media

File:NeverGonnalfg.gif
Never Gonna Give You Up on Looking For Group
  • Brian Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) sings "Never Gonna Give You Up" in the Family Guy episode "Meet the Quagmires", introducing it as "a song by a gay guy". The episode parodies Back to the Future, involving Brian going back in time and performing the song; Rick's "cousin," Marvin Astley, holds up a telephone for him to listen to "that mediocre, generic sound [he's] been looking for."
  • The song plays briefly on a car radio during the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day", which is set in late 1987.
  • Mike Peters, host of the radio program Prerecorded Comedy Live on 91.7 FM WSUM in Madison, Wisconsin, devoted an entire hour to the song on March 29th, 2008 as an April Fools' joke. Starting with the original, each subsequent song was then a cover version of some kind usually followed by the original song and then another cover. The covers consisted of amateur covers lifted off YouTube, a MIDI-version, a sped-up version of the original and a distorted version of the original.[9]
  • The Web comic xkcd featured Rick Astley getting Rickrolled in Comic 351: Trolling[10], and later featured sheet music to an excerpt from 'Never Gonna Give You Up' in Comic 389: Keeping Time[11].
  • In May 2008, the Web comic Looking For Group featured the character Richard singing the first verse of 'Never Gonna Give You Up' on page 144[12]. Later on, Dave Mitchell, who will provide Richard's voice for the upcoming LFG animated film, posted his own in-character cover ("Dick Roll'd") on his Myspace page.

The song is mentioned in Weezer's song "Heart Songs" off their eponymous 2008 album. Nick Lowe's song "All Men are Liars" references the song with the lyrics, "Do you remember Rick Astley?/ He had a big fat hit that was ghastly / He said I’m never gonna give you up or let you down / Well I’m here to tell ya that Dick’s a clown." The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an 80s hit song, named an episode after this song.[13]

Track listings

Credits

  • Written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman
  • Engineer : Mark McGuire, Mike Duffy
  • Mixed by :
    • Escape from Newton mix : Mixmaster Pete Hammond
    • Escape to New York mix : The Extra Beat Boys

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Canada[14] Gold May 17, 1988 50,000
France[15] Silver 1988 200,000
Germany[16] Gold 1987 150,000
Sweden[17] Gold October 21, 1987 10,000
UK[18] Gold September 1, 1987 400,000
U.S.[19] Gold February 24, 1989 500,000

Charts

Preceded by UK number one single
August 29, 1987 - September 26, 1987 (5 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Swedish number-one single
September 30, 1987 - November 11, 1987 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Oh Mama" by Lili & Sussie
Preceded by
"Brilliant Disguise" by Bruce Springsteen
 Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single
43/1987 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"I'm Beggin' You" by Supertramp
 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
January 16, 1988 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
February 5, 1988 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number one single
March 12, 1988 – March 19, 1988 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ Simon West (I)
  2. ^ "Rick Roll related Google Trends". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ PrankDialer.com - A website allowing people to Rickroll phone numbers.
  4. ^ Rickrolling and the league of web fame, BBC News entertainment reporter Mark Savage, 01-04-2008. Accessed 04-05-2008.
  5. ^ Web Scout exclusive! Rick Astley, king of the 'Rickroll,' talks about his song's second coming, Los Angeles Times blogs, 03-25-2008.Accessed 04-05-2008.
  6. ^ "Toujours là pour toi", French and Belgium (Wallonia) Singles Charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 14, 2008)
  7. ^ Discogs album listing for Super Eurobeat 149
  8. ^ Simple Sigh's RickRoll Remix
  9. ^ [1] - WSUM Prerecorded Comedy Live archive from March 29th, 2008
  10. ^ xkcd, Comic 351: Trolling
  11. ^ xkcd, Comic 389: Keeping Time
  12. ^ Looking For Group, page 144
  13. ^ Degrassi: The Next Generation - Never Gonna Give You Up in IMDB.
  14. ^ Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved September 2, 2008)
  15. ^ French certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved September 2, 2008)
  16. ^ German certifications musikindustrie.de (Retrieved September 1, 2008)
  17. ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 11, 2008)
  18. ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved September 2, 2008)
  19. ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved September 2, 2008)
  20. ^ a b c d e "Never Gonna Give You Up", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 14, 2008)
  21. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 41, 1987". Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  22. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 6, 2008)
  23. ^ "Never Gonna Give You Up" Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved February 14, 2008)
  24. ^ "Never Gonna Give You Up" Hit Parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  25. ^ "Never Gonna Give You Up", UK Singles Chart Everyhit.com (Retrieved February 14, 2008)
  26. ^ a b c Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 2, 2008)
  27. ^ 1987 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved August 1, 2008)
  28. ^ 1988 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved September 1, 2008)
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