The Best of Me (Rick Astley album)

The Best of Me
Greatest hits album by Rick Astley
Released	25 October 2019
Label	RCA BMG
Producer	Rick Astley Matt Aitken Mike Stock Peter Waterman Phil Harding Ian Curnow Gary Stevenson Chris Braide Andrew Frampton
Rick Astley chronology
Beautiful Life (2018) The Best of Me (2019) Are We There Yet? (2023)
Singles from The Best of Me
"Every One of Us" Released: 12 September 2019

The Best of Me is a greatest hits album by English singer-songwriter Rick Astley. It was released on 25 October 2019 by RCA Records and BMG. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The album includes the single "Every One of Us", which was released in September 2019. The Best of Me reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and number 1 on the UK Independent Albums chart.

The album has two discs, a disc of old recordings, and a second disc that consists of new recordings of "reimagined" old songs with new interpretation. It includes a stripped-back, slowed-down version of "Never Gonna Give You Up" accompanied by pianoforte. ^[4] It also includes a new song, "Every One of Us", ^[5] which was released on 12 September 2019 as the first single from the album with a post on Twitter from Astley, who also confirmed the title of the album and its release date. ^{[6] [7]}

In 2024, it was re-issued with additional tracks and re-titled The Best of Me - Never Edition, in cross promotion with his memoirs Never.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Rick Astley, except where noted.

Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Every One of Us"			3:06
2.	"Never Gonna Give You Up"	Stock Aitken Waterman	Matt Aitken Mike Stock Peter Waterman	3:33
3.	"Whenever You Need Somebody"	Stock Aitken Waterman	Aitken Stock Waterman	3:52
4.	"When I Fall in Love"	Edward Heyman Victor Young	Aitken Stock Waterman	2:59
5.	"Together Forever"	Stock Aitken Waterman	Aitken Stock Waterman	3:24
6.	"It Would Take a Strong Strong Man"	Stock Aitken Waterman	Aitken Stock Waterman	3:39
7.	"She Wants to Dance with Me"		Phil Harding Ian Curnow Astley	3:14
8.	"Take Me to Your Heart"	Stock Aitken Waterman	Aitken Stock Waterman	3:27
9.	"Hold Me in Your Arms"		Harding Curnow	4:32
10.	"Cry for Help" (Single Edit)	Astley Rob Fisher	Gary Stevenson Astley	4:03
11.	"Sleeping" (Edit)	Chris Braide Astley	Braide Astley	3:43
12.	"Lights Out"	Astley Andrew Frampton	Frampton	3:12
13.	"Keep Singing"			3:58
14.	"Angels on My Side"			3:35
15.	"God Says / Dance"			3:15
16.	"This Old House"			4:30
17.	"Beautiful Life"			3:43
18.	"Try"			3:55
19.	"She Makes Me"			3:34
20.	"Never Gonna Give You Up" (Pianoforte)	Stock Aitken Waterman		3:33

Disc 2 – Reimagined Classics

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Together Forever" (Reimagined)	Stock Aitken Waterman	4:01
2.	"Whenever You Need Somebody" (Reimagined)	Stock Aitken Waterman	4:00
3.	"When I Fall in Love" (Reimagined)	Heyman Young	3:37
4.	"Beautiful Life" (Reimagined)		3:30
5.	"She Wants to Dance with Me" (Reimagined)		3:20
6.	"Hold Me in Your Arms" (Reimagined)		3:43
7.	"Cry for Help" (Reimagined)	Astley Fisher	3:49
8.	"Keep Singing" (Reimagined)		3:41
9.	"Angels on My Side" (Reimagined)		3:49
10.	"Try" (Reimagined)		3:46

The Best Of Me: Never Edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Never Gonna Stop"	3:17
2.	"Never Gonna Give You Up"	3:33
3.	"Whenever You Need Somebody"	3:52
4.	"Cry for Help" (Single Edit)	4:03
5.	"Beautiful Life"	3:43
6.	"Keep Singing"	3:58
7.	"When I Fall in Love"	2:59
8.	"Together Forever"	3:24
9.	"It Would Take a Strong Strong Man"	3:39
10.	"She Wants to Dance with Me"	3:14
11.	"Dippin My Feet"	3:13
12.	"Giant"	3:49
13.	"Unwanted (Song from the Podcast)"	3:25
14.	"Every One of Us"	3:06
15.	"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"	4:18
16.	"Take Me to Your Heart"	3:27
17.	"Hold Me in Your Arms"	4:32
18.	"Angels on My Side"	3:35
19.	"Sleeping" (Edit)	3:43
20.	"Lights Out"	3:12
21.	"Dance"	3:15
22.	"Driving Me Crazy"	3:32
23.	"This Old House"	4:30
24.	"Try"	3:55
25.	"She Makes Me"	3:34
26.	"Forever and More"	3:37
27.	"Never Gonna Give You Up" (Pianoforte)	3:33
28.	"Together Forever" (Reimagined)	4:01
29.	"Whenever You Need Somebody" (Reimagined)	4:00
30.	"When I Fall in Love" (Reimagined)	3:37
31.	"Beautiful Life" (Reimagined)	3:30
32.	"She Wants to Dance with Me" (Reimagined)	3:20
33.	"Hold Me in Your Arms" (Reimagined)	3:43
34.	"Cry for Help" (Reimagined)	3:49
35.	"Keep Singing" (Reimagined)	3:41
36.	"Angels on My Side" (Reimagined)	3:49
37.	"Try" (Reimagined)	3:46
38.	"Love This Christmas"	3:11

Personnel

Musicians

• Rob Taggart – piano
• Simon Merry – drums
• Julian Cox – bass
• Adam Evans – guitar
• Dawn Joseph, Lauren Johnson, Stephanie Sounds, Annabel Williams – backing vocals
• Rick Astley  – all instruments on track 6, 8, 9, 10

Technical

• Recording engineers: Rick Astley, Bob Macfarlane & Mathieu Lejeune
• Recorded at Grey Room, Chicago Recording Company & Dean Street Studios
• All tracks mixed by Daniel Frampton
• All tracks mastered by Dick Beetham at 360 Mastering
• Photography by Peter Niell

Charts

Chart performance for The Best of Me

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA) [8]	50
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [9]	76
Irish Albums (IRMA) [10]	91
Scottish Albums (OCC) [11]	3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [12]	25
UK Albums (OCC) [13]	4
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [14]	1

Certifications

Certifications for The Best of Me

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [15]	Gold	100,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "The Best of Me by Rick Astley on iTunes". Apple Music . Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
2. Sinclair, Paul (11 September 2019). "Rick Astley / New greatest hits 'The Best of Me' / pre-order a signed CD". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
3. "Rick Astley Releases New Career-Spanning Compilation The Best Of Me On October 25th". Shore Fire Media. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
4. Garner, George (6 November 2019). "'It's important not to lose the song': Rick Astley on remaking his hits for his new Best Of collection". Music Week.
5. Savage, Mark (24 October 2019). "Rick Astley: Inside the home studio where he masterminded his comeback". BBC.
6. Astley, Rick [@rickastley] (13 September 2019). "My new single 'Every One of Us' is out now! Pre-order the new album 'The Best of Me' here" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 September 2019– via Twitter.
7. Wass, Mike (12 September 2019). "Rick Astley Announces Greatest Hits LP & New Single "Every One Of Us"". Idolator . Retrieved 13 September 2019.^{[ dead link ]}
8. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rick Astley – The Best of Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
10. "Irish Albums Chart: 1 November 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
11. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
12. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 44: del 25.10.2019 al 31.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 6 November 2019.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
14. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
15. "British album certifications – Rick Astley – The Best Of Me". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 October 2024.