Richard Paul Astley is an English singer, radio DJ and a podcaster. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album Whenever You Need Somebody, which sold 15 million copies worldwide and was certified Platinum by both the BPI and the RIAA. His debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up" was a No. 1 hit in over 25 countries, winning the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single. The song also stayed at the top of the UK chart for five weeks in 1987 and was the best-selling single of that year. His 1988 single "Together Forever" also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and was one of his eight songs to reach the UK Singles Chart Top 10.
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by the Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B charts for eight non-consecutive weeks. The song's success, in the wake of the relative underperformance of the previous Temptations' single, "Get Ready", resulted in Norman Whitfield replacing Smokey Robinson, producer of "Get Ready", as the Temptations' main producer. In 2004 it finished number 94 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll thanks to its inclusion in The Big Chill soundtrack.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
"Never Gonna Give You Up" is a pop song by English singer Rick Astley, released on 27 July 1987. The song is widely regarded as Astley's most popular, as well as his signature song, and it is often played at the end of his live concerts. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released by RCA Records as the first single from Astley's debut studio album, Whenever You Need Somebody (1987), with a music video directed by Simon West.
"Together Forever" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley and released by RCA and BMG as the fourth single from his debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody (1987). The song reached number two in the United Kingdom, behind Neighbours star and fellow Stock Aitken Waterman artist Kylie Minogue's debut single "I Should Be So Lucky". The single was a worldwide hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 June 1988, becoming Astley's second US chart-topper. It also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland and Spain, and was a top ten hits in many European countries.
Whenever You Need Somebody is the debut studio album by English singer Rick Astley released on 16 November 1987 by RCA Records. It is his highest-selling album and has sold 15.2 million copies worldwide. The album is listed as the 136th best-selling album in Spain and was the seventh best-selling album of 1987 in the United Kingdom. A remastered version, containing rare remixes and extended versions, was released on 12 April 2010.
A Ton of Hits : The Very Best of Stock Aitken Waterman is a compilation album released in the UK in November 1990 bringing together the hits of Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) in a continuously sequenced mix. It was released by Chrysalis Records on their subsidiary label Dover Records and followed the previous "Best of Stock Aitken Waterman" collections; The Hit Factory: The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman, The Hit Factory Volume 2 and The Hit Factory Volume 3. The album reached #7 in the compilation Top 20. Notably absent from this release are Bananarama and Dead or Alive, presumably due to licensing issues, whilst including nine songs by Jason Donovan, and ten by Kylie Minogue.
Stock Aitken Waterman Gold is a compilation album released in 2005 by Sony BMG, PWL Records and EBUL.
"Whenever You Need Somebody" is a song written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, which became successful for two of their artists, namely O'Chi Brown and Rick Astley.
Hold Me in Your Arms is the second studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 26 November 1988 by RCA Records. It is the follow-up to his successful debut album Whenever You Need Somebody, and was his last album produced and written with the Stock Aitken Waterman team. It helped to continue Astley's commercial success, with it achieving Platinum and Gold certifications worldwide and three of the five singles from the album becoming Top 10 hits in the United Kingdom.
Free is the third studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 12 March 1991 by RCA Records. It was his first album not to be produced by the noted production team of Stock Aitken Waterman. It gave Astley another hit single in the ballad "Cry for Help", which became a Top 10 in both the UK and US. Further singles "Move Right Out" and "Never Knew Love" were less successful. Free reached the UK Top 10 and the US Top 40 and marked the end of a successful four-year period for Astley.
The discography of English singer and songwriter Rick Astley consists of nine studio albums, five compilation albums, two remix albums, and twenty-four singles.
Body & Soul is the fourth studio album by English singer Rick Astley released in 1993. It was not commercially successful and became the first album released by Astley to miss the UK album chart. It did enter the Italian album chart at #28. Two singles were released to support the album, "Hopelessly" which charted in the UK at #33 followed by "The Ones You Love" which peaked at #48.
"Hold Me in Your Arms" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley. Released in early 1989 as the third single from his album Hold Me in Your Arms, it became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2019, Astley recorded and released a "reimagined" version of the song for his album The Best of Me, which features a new piano arrangement.
The Hits Album 10 or Hits 10 is the tenth release of the Hits compilation series, compiled by BMG, CBS and WEA. It was released in the UK on 22 May 1989. With this release, the compilers returned to the tradition of a volume issue number and the revival of artwork used from Hits 6 to Hits 8, with the issue number forming a central graphic against a black background. It was a successful album and reached number one on the UK Compilation Album chart for six consecutive weeks and achieved a Platinum sales award.
"My Arms Keep Missing You" is a song by Rick Astley released in 1987 as the second half of a double A-side single. The first A-side is a cover of the pop standard "When I Fall in Love". "My Arms Keep Missing You" was released as an independent single in Germany and reached number 6. The song's first appearance on an album was the 2002 compilation Greatest Hits, and it later appeared on the 2010 expanded version of Hold Me in Your Arms as a bonus track. The song also appeared on the remastered edition of Whenever You Need Somebody, which was released on 20 May 2022. In addition, a digital EP was released on 13 April 2022, including the single and its remixes. The song was also included on a limited edition 12" double A-side red vinyl issue of the "Love This Christmas" single, along with "When I Fall in Love".
"Hopelessly" is a pop song performed by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley and written by Rob Fisher and Astley. It was produced by Gary Stevenson and Astley. The song was recorded for Astley's fourth album, Body & Soul (1993). It was released as the album's second and first single on 3 April 1993 by RCA Records. The single peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, number 28 in the US and at number eight in Canada. It is still a recurrent play on most North America hot AC stations, given the fact that it was a hit single in that format. It was featured on the compilation Reflections of Love.
Ultimate Collection is a compilation album released by English singer Rick Astley in 2008. It contains the song "Full of You," considered previously unreleased as it only appears on the Germany album Keep It Turned On. The album reached #17 on the UK Album Chart.
"She Wants to Dance with Me" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley, released as the lead single from his second studio album, Hold Me in Your Arms (1988). The song was released in United Kingdom on September 12, 1988 by RCA, and became an international success, peaking in the top ten in many countries, including Canada, where it topped the chart, and the US and the UK, where it reached number six. In 2019, Astley recorded and released a "reimagined" version of the song for his album The Best of Me.
Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory is a compilation album released in July 2012 collecting 39 hits produced by Pete Waterman. Included are a vast number of tracks that were written and produced by Waterman along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during their most successful period working as Stock Aitken Waterman, becoming among the most successful music producers of all-time.
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