When you gonna - Rick and Lisa

In 1987, Rick Astley recorded his debut single, a duet with Lisa Carter called 'When you gonna'. Produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, the single sunk without a trace. However, shortly after that, Astley recorded 'Never gonna give you up', the song that propelled him to international stardom.

When 'Never gonna give you up' became a big hit, the record company decided to re-release 'When you gonna'. And despite the fact that it sounded quite different from his Stock/Aitken/Waterman-produced hit, it still managed to become a hit in some countries. In the Dutch Top 40, 'When you gonna' reached number 17.

My collection: 7" single no. 4782
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'When you gonna' / 'When you gonna (dub mix)'

Hopelessly - Rick Astley

Rick Astley's fourth album 'Body & soul' is considered a flop, as both singles from the album stranded in the lower regions of the UK singles chart and the album itself never made it into the albums chart. Released in November 1993, 'Hopelessly' was the last of the two, scoring a little higher than the first one, peaking at number 33.

The B-side of this single features a live version of 'Hopelessly', recorded in Milan, Italy for the programme Night Express.

My collection: 7" single no. 4502
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 30, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Hopelessly' / 'Hopelessly (live)'

Never knew love - Rick Astley

'Never knew love' was written by John Paul and Derek Bordeaux and recorded by Rick Astley on his third album 'Free', the one he made without the involvement of Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Instead, this track was produced by Gary Stevenson and Astley himself.

The single was not a big success, while it only charted in the UK, where it stalled at number 70. As a result, this third single was also the last from the album.

My collection: 7" single no. 4463
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received January 28, 2010
Cost: 2,2 euro
Tracks: 'Never knew love (remix)' / 'So glad'

Giving up on love - Rick Astley

'Giving up on love' was an US only single release, which came out just prior to Astley's tour in America. The track was taken from his second album 'Hold me in your arms' and remixed by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow to give it an even poppier sound.

The single reached number 38 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4210
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 0,66 euro
Tracks: 'Giving up on love (7" pop version)' / 'I'll be fine'

Move right out - Rick Astley

As Rick Astley left Stock, Aitken & Waterman behind, his singles became better artistically and less appreciated commercially. 'Move right out' was written by Rick Astley and Rob Fisher and was the second single release from Astley's third album 'Free' (1991).

The single reached number 58 in the UK singles chart and number 81 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Neherlands, the single failed to reach the Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1484
Found: July 3, 1991
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Move right out' / 'Move right out (vox, piano, strings mix)'

Cry for help - Rick Astley

Having left the Stock-Aitken-Waterman stable of stars, Rick Astley presented himself as a 'serious' artist in 1991 with his third album 'Free'. 'Cry for help', released as the first single from the album, was written by Astley himself with Rob Fisher, one half of the duo Naked Eyes in the Eighties.

The single reached number 7 in both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, it reached number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 1378
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 2, 1991
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Cry for help' / 'Behind the smile'

Hold me in your arms - Rick Astley

Rick Astley himself wrote 'Hold me in your arms' as well as the B-side of ths single. Although he made a name for himself with dance songs, this single was a ballad. It was released as the second single from Astley's second album of the same name. Contrary to previous singles, which were all produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, this one was produced by SAW-associates Phil Harding and Ian Curnow.

The single managed to reach number 10 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 754
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 17, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Hold me in your arms' / 'I don't want to be your lover'

Take me to your heart - Rick Astley

'Take me to your heart' was released as the second single from Rick Astley's second album 'Hold me in your heart'. The single reached number 8 in the UK singles chart and number 13 in the Dutch Top 40. It was also a top ten hit in Germany and Ireland.

When the American band Inner City released 'Big fun', it met with some controversy, as the music was very similar to 'Take me to your heart'. Stock Aitken & Waterman alleged that the band stole their music, but it is not known whether this led to any lawsuits.

My collection: 7" single no. 749
Found: V&D, Den Haag, February 17, 1989
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Take me to your heart' / 'I'll be fine'

She wants to dance with me - Rick Astley

Although Rick Astley's debut album already contained a few tracks written by Astley himself, it wasn't until the release of 'She wants to dance with me', the first single from his second album, that a single was actually written by himself. His album was still produced wholly by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, but that would be over on his third album too. Astley was slowly taking artistic control over his career.

'She wants to dance with me' remained faithful to the SAW sound, which may be why it did so wel, peaking at number 6 in the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1335
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1990
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'She wants to dance with me' / 'She wants to dance with me (instrumental)'

It would take a strong strong man - Rick Astley

I bought this single of 'It would take a strong strong man' in 1995. I didn't know it had been released as a single, but since this was an American pressing I assumed it was only released over there. I was right, to a degree: this single reached number 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100, but it also reached number 2 in Canada and number 4 in Ireland.

The real treat here is the B-side: just like 'It would take a strong strong man', 'You move me' was taken from Astley's debut album 'Whenever you need somebody'. But 'You move me' is the best track on the album, a bouncy, soulful track that is still fresh two decades later. And the lyric is very appropriate for these times of crisis and people losing their jobs.

My collection: 7" single no. 2317
Found: Record fair, June 3, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'It would take a strong strong man' / 'You move me'

Together forever - Rick Astley

'Together forever' was the fourth single from Rick Astley's debut album 'Whenever you need somebody'. The track was remixed for the single by Pete Hammond.

The single reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and number 2 in the UK singles chart. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 12.

My collection: 7" single no. 2445
Found: September 2, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Together forever (Lover's leap remix)' / 'I'll never set you free'

My arms keep missing you - Rick Astley

Sometimes singles with a double A-side appear, but it doesn't happen so often that there are actually two different releases, switching the two A-side along the way. Sounds confusing? Well, here it is: during the chart run of 'When I fall in love', the record company decided that the song might have been appropriate for the Christmas season, but come January the other A-side, 'My arms keep missing you' would be more commercially viable.

And so, 'My arms keep missing you' was remixed and made the most important track of the double A-side release. It may have extended the chart life of this single, and at the very least it was an interesting new release for Rick Astley fans.

My collection: 7" single no. 2340
Found: Big Company Records, London, June 26, 1995
Cost: 35p
Tracks: 'My arms keep missing you (The 'Where's Harry?' remix)' / 'When I fall in love'

When I fall in love - Rick Astley

Due to his deep bass-baritone voice, Rick Astley was confronted often with the assumption that he was an African-American singer. Perhaps he and his producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman were pushing this point a bit when they released 'When I fall in love' in late 1987, a cover of Nat King Cole's 1956 hit.

It didn't matter much to the record-buying public: the single became a hit, peaking at number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40. The single was in fact a double A-side with 'My arms keep missing you', but more about that in the following entry...

My collection: 7" single no. 1426
Found: Record fair, April 7, 1991
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'When I fall in love' / 'My arms keep missing you'

Whenever you need somebody - Rick Astley

'Whenever you need somebody' was Rick Astley's second single. It followed up his debut single 'Never gonna give you up', which was a worldwide number one hit. Expectations were high, and they were met. This too was a top three hit in the UK.

I bought this picture disc single together with that other single when I was completing the collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 3498
Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2004
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Whenever you need somebody' / 'Just good friends'
Download: here

Never gonna give you up - Rick Astley

'Never gonna give you up' was written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Rick Astley. The song was a worldwide number one hit in 1987 and 1988. The song has more recently become the center of an activity named 'Rickrolling', which involved placing misleading links redirecting to the song's video.

I didn't buy the single when it came out, because it was on the radio so often that I didn't need to hear it on record anymore. My recent acquisition of the single was just to complete a collection of Rick Astley singles: I do have them all, you know.

My collection: 7" single no. 3497

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2004

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Never gonna give you up' / 'Never gonna give you up (instrumental)'

Download: here