Who Is Rick Astley
Rick Astley is a British Singer, Songwriter and Radio Personality. He has been in the Music Industry for over 3 decades and has made quite an impact with hit songs such as “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Together Forever,” and “Whenever You Need Somebody.”
Is Rick Astley Gay? To the surprise of many, Rick Astley is not Gay. A lot of people think he is gay but he isn’t. He is straight and married to a woman.
Moving on in this article, we will be looking at Rick Astley’s early life, his career, rumours about his sexuality and the actual truth about it. Stick with us.
Early Life
Astley was born on February 6, 1966 in the Newton-le-Willows town of Lancashire of the English County. He is the fourth child of five offspring.
His parents, Horace and Cynthia Astley had a divorce when he was only 5 and he had to live with his father, a few blocks away from his mother.
Astley maintained a good relationship with his mother despite not being with her. He later left home when his father threw his mom out and his music career began as early as the age of 10 when he joined the church choir.
He later quit school at 16 and went to work as a driver in his father’s gardening business. He would drive during the day and play at local clubs at night.
He played drums for local bands such as FBI and Give Way. They won a couple of contests together.
Career
After some years of playing for bands, Astley recorded his debut song “When You Gonna.” He recorded the song with Lisa Fabien and was produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow.
In May 1987, Astley recorded another hit song “Open Up”. The song got played on Capital Radio. Without any promotions or awareness, the song clinched top 17 in the Netherlands music chart and No. 20 in Belgium.
In the same year, Astley recorded another song “Never Gonna Give You Up” and this time, it was not just a song but a liberation to his career.
The producers were not so impressed by the song at first but it turned out to be a hit. It topped charts in over 24 countries including the US and Australia. It also won the Best British Single in 1988.
In 1988, he performed the hit jam in front of an audience of over 100 million at the BRIT Awards.
The success of the song is greatly attributed to Astley’s unique deep voice and dance-pop combo.
In October same 1988, Astley dropped another single “Whenever You Need Somebody”. The song topped No. 1 in 7 countries and No. 3 in the UK.
Later in November, he released an album with the same title “Whenever You Need Somebody”. 4 tracks of the album were written by Astley.
The album topped No. 1 in Australia and in the UK and sat at No. 10 in the US chart. Also, it was Four times Platinum certified in the UK and Canada and Two times Platinum Certified in the US.
In addition, the album sold over 15.2 million copies globally, earning him the title as the top-selling British act of the year.
In December same year, Astley released a cover for the Nat King Cole Classic “When I Fall in Love”. The cover topped No.2 for 2 weeks in the UK chart.
His Fourth Solo hit “Together Forever” dropped in 1988 and topped at No. 1 just like “Never Gonna Give You Up”. With that, he became the first artist to top US charts with his first singles and also the most played US club act in the 80s.
His next hit was in 1991 album “Free”. The album featured famous artists, Elton John and Mark King. In 1993, he took a break from music.
He got back into the Industry with his 2001 jam “Keep It Turned On.” He went on to release another song “Portrait” in 2005.
In 2007, he became an internet sensation with the “Never Gonna Give You Up” video as it became the popular internet meme, “Rickrolling.”
In 2008, internet users voted him as the “Best Act Ever” at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Today, he’s on most social media platforms with millions of followers.
Rick Astley’s Gay Rumours
A couple of things have sparked questions about Rick Astley’s sexuality. Many people believe he is gay.
This speculation started with his 80’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video where he appeared to be gay through the lyrics:
“Gotta make you understand
I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Never gonna love you
Don’t tell me you’re too blind to see
I’m thinking of a guy.”
Many people, especially haters have concluded that Astley is passing a message about being gay.
It got to the point that some people had to cut out clips from the music video and edited it to look as though Astley was gay.
Recently, there has also been assumptions of him being gay after his song “Never Gonna Give You Up” was introduced as “a song by a gay guy” in one of the Family Guy comedy Episodes.
These are however rumours and assumptions. Let us now analyze his lifestyle and see if there’s truth in such assumptions.
Is Rick Astley Gay?
Of course not! Rick Astley is straight and we can prove it. Rick tied the knot with Lene Bausager in 2003 and they have been living together all these years.
They also have a daughter, Emilie Astley who stays in Denmark.
Rick has never been caught making out with a guy or giving off any vibes that would suggest that. The rumor is propagated by his haters and that’s just it.
The lyrics of the song were just mere words that haven’t been proven to have meant anything considered gay-like.
Even the Family Guy video was a joke and should be treated as such. Anyone who believes that Rick is gay because of that probably hates Rick or doesn’t understand the concept of comedy and clout chase.
An online poll that was conducted to ascertain whether people believe that Rick is gay or not showed that over 84% of the voters believed that he is Straight.
Rickrolling
In 2007, the internet went into a frenzy when “Rickrolling” became a popular internet meme.
Someone would add a link to a topic but when you click on the link to view the entire post, instead of seeing the information the anchored text suggests, you will be taken to YouTube to watch Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video.
Research showed that over 18 million adult Americans were rickrolled between 2007 and 2008 as it was so massive on April fool’s day, 2007 that YouTube employed it.
It was so popular that he was voted for the best act ever award, even though he was not nominated.
Is Rick Astley Alive?
Rick has joined the list of celebrities who have had to face a series of uncomfortable rumors. While searches about Rick’s sexual orientation seem to be popular on the internet, there have recently been even more searches about him being dead or alive.
If you are one of those who are curious to find out if he is alive or not, then relax your mind. Rick Astley is alive.
However, he is not so healthy as he is said to suffer from depression and anxiety (a condition he has had since childhood when his parents divorced and as a result of advancements in his career).
This death hoax went viral when a Facebook page with the name “Rip Rick Astley” made a post about the singer’s demise in the following words:
“At about 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday (February 21, 2023), our beloved singer Rick Astley passed away. Rick Astley was born on February 6, 1966, in Newton-le-Willows. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”
This post sparked a lot of reactions as many fans started posting his pictures and expressing their sadness over the singer’s demise.
However, a lot of fans were skeptical and even took a poll to ascertain the truth. Over 92% of the voters believed the singer was still alive.
Our research has shown that Rick is 100% alive. We, therefore, urge you to discard such rumors and see them as another death hoax on a celebrity.
Lifestyle
Rick is an easygoing person and he has been enjoying all the attention he has been getting from the internet.
He says his best vacation was with his daughter, Emilie when they visited Sardinia. He also has plans of visiting Paraggi next to Portofino on the Italian Riviera near Genoa
Rick finds listening to audiobooks fascinating and hopes to listen to more as he goes on road trips.
FAQs
Is Rick Astley Gay?
No. Rick Astley is straight
Is Rick Astley Married?
Rick got married to Lene Bausager in 2003. The union is blessed with a daughter, Emilie Astley who currently lives in Denmark.
Does Rick have a child?
Rick and Lene Bausager have a daughter named Emilie
Is Rick still singing?
No. Rick has retired from singing
What is Rick Astley’s Most Popular song?
“Never Gonna Give You Up”
What is Rick Astley’s Net Worth?
Rick has an estimated net worth of $16 million
Conclusion
Rick Astley is an English Singer, Songwriter, and Radio presenter. He has distinguished himself with many hit songs from the 80s and has won many awards as well.
There has been a lot of rumor about his sexuality with people calling him gay. However, we believe that we have been able to address that and prove that Astley is not gay.
With the recent death hoax about the singer, we hope you have been convinced that Rick is alive.
