Rick Astley will release his first album in five years, Are We There Yet?, on October 6.
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“Now, that phrase has multiple meanings,” said Astley of the cryptic album title. “Are we there yet in my musical ambitions? Am I done with my career? Have we arrived? Or are we still traveling?”
Are We There Yet? is inspired by soul greats like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Bill Withers, and follows up Astley’s 2018 release, Beautiful Life and 50, released in 2016.
Astley also described his Southern soul-pop lead single “Dippin My Feet.” “It’s not Americana, but the tag-line at the start of the chorus is: ‘Dipping my feet in the Mississippi River,’” he explained. “It’s definitely not country, but I’ve never twanged a guitar as much as I have in the past couple of months. And there’s a bit more emotion with those guitar parts. I just think spending five months in America has retuned my ear a little bit.”
Along with the forthcoming release of the album, Astley is scheduled to perform at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday (June 24) and will continue on an upcoming U.K. tour in 2023 and 2024, which will include two nights at Royal Albert Hall in London in November.
In 2022, Astley celebrated the 35th anniversary of his debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody with a remastered reissue of the album. The project included the hit “Never Gonna Give You Up,” which went topped the charts in 25 countries, including the United States.
“Never Gonna Give You Up” saw a massive resurgence in popularity in 2007 after the song became the punchline for an internet meme called “rickrolling” or “rickroll.” Rickrolling is a comical and relatively harmless prank that occurs when a link to the song’s music video is sent under different pretenses.
Are We There Yet? Track List:
1. “Dippin My Feet”
2. “Letting Go”
3. “Golden Hour”
4. “Never Gonna Stop”
5. “Close (Your Shoes)”
6. “High Enough”
7. “Forever and More”
8. “Driving Me Crazy”
9. “Maria Love”
10. “Take Me Back to Your Place”
11. “Waterfall”
12. “Blue Sky”
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Rick Astley 2023-2024 Tour Dates:
November 1, London Royal Albert Hall
November 2, London Royal Albert Hall
2024
February 22, Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
February 23, Newcastle Utilita Arena
February 24, Leeds First Direct Arena
February 26, Cardiff International Arena
February 27, Glasgow OVO Hydro
February 29, Bournemouth International Centre
March 1, Birmingham Resorts World Arena
March 2, Manchester AO Arena
Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
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