Rick Astley in Birmingham this weekend
At the age of 50, he launched the comeback to end all comebacks. Rick Astley's first album in 11 years, 50, debuted at number one and earned him a gold disc, adding to the 40 million records he's sold worldwide.
The man who gave us Never Gonna Give You Up, who unwittingly spawned an internet craze with 'rickrolling' and who was voted Best Act Ever in the MTV Music Awards was both astonished and delighted.
He'd walked away from music at the height of his career when, aged 27, he'd decided to quit.
The former recording studio tea boy who became one of the biggest stars of the 1980s traded in the highest levels of success for obscurity.
And though he returned to singing after about a decade out, he didn't imagine he would return to number one.
It still feels a bit bonkers if I'm honest. If someone had said, 'Look we're going to try to get it in the Top 20', I would have gone, 'Great, that sounds good.' So any more than that is just crazy."
He doesn't regret his time out: "I think I'd just got sick of the whole thing. I was beginning to feel like a salesman who was selling a product that he didn't understand any more. I'd do TV shows all over the world and they hardly ever wanted me to sing live. Usually I'd turn up, they'd put the music on and I'd mime to it because that's what makes for an easy TV show. Eventually I started thinking, 'What the hell do I do? What do I actually do?'
"I always used to say it is a bit like being in your favourite football team but they never give you the boots. You have to sit on the bench in your trainers and your tracksuit and you never get a game."
Rick's back on the road, following his whirlwind year.
The Grammy-nominated singer is looking forward to taking his first studio album in a decade on the road. His return to his musical roots – marrying Rick's distinctive, soulful vocals with gospel influences in an entirely self-penned album that draws on his experiences and inspirations, – struck a chord.
He'll perform at Birmingham's Symphony Hall tomorrow and on Sunday and can't wait.
"The response to the new material has been genuinely overwhelming. I've been overjoyed by the way the public have taken the songs of 50 to their hearts. I could not be more excited to share it with my fans everywhere," says Rick.
l Doors open at 7pm and show starts at 7.35pm. For tickets visit www.thsh.co.uk
