THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

627-Rick Astley-Never Gonna Give You Up.

1987-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 2.16. The jewel in the Stock, Aitken, and Waterman crown.

Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, (abbreviated as SAW) are the English songwriting, and record production trio of Mike Stock, who was born on December 3rd, 1951, in Margate, Kent, England, Matt Aitken, who was born on August 25th, 1956, in Coventry, England, and Pete Waterman, who was born on January 15th, 1947, also in Coventry, England, the trio are one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, having achieved over 100 UK top 40 hit singles, and selling in excess of 150 million records worldwide. The trio were active between 1984-1993, and then again between 2005-2010, they got together again in 2015, and are still together at the time of writing. ‘SAW’ who produce music in the genres of ‘Hi-NRG,’ ‘Eurobeat,’ ‘Pop,’ and ‘Dance/Pop,’ have written and produced for some of the worlds top artists including Donna Summer, (1948-2012) Cliff Richard, and Kylie Minogue, in fact there are 96 different acts listed for whom ‘SAW’ have either written or produced for. In the UK they have achieved 13 Number 1 singles between 1985-1990, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100, three of their tracks have made the Number 1 spot between 1986-1988, including ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’

‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ was the debut single from Rick Astley, and was written and produced by ‘SAW.’ It was the first of six singles issued worldwide from Rick Astley’s debut studio Album ‘Whenever You Need Somebody,’ from November 1987. The song would go on to become the best selling UK single of 1987, spending five weeks at Number 1, and has since gone on to sell in excess of one million copies in that country. ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ also topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, and has also reached Number 1 in 25 other countries around the world in total. Mike Stock has readily admitted that the 1985 song ‘Trapped,’ (UK-Number 3) by the American ‘House Music’ artist Colonel Abrams, (1949-2016) (see also best songs 935) was a big influence on ”Never Gonna Give You Up,’ with Stock saying, ‘For Rick Astley’s song I didn’t want it to sound like Kylie or Bananarama, so I looked at the Colonel Abrams track ‘Trapped,’ and recreated that syncopated bassline in a way that suited our song.’ The songs lyrics came about after Rick Astley overheard a telephone conversation between Pete Waterman and a woman Waterman had been seeing for three years, who was on the other end of the line. After the phone call had ended Astley said to Waterman, ‘You’re never gonna give her up.’ Matt Aitken and Waterman then changed the story a bit, and made the songs narrator the one who was the vulnerable one.

Richard Paul Astley was born on February 6th, 1966, in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, and while still at school, he played the drums in a number of local bands. In 1985 Astley was drumming, and singing with a ‘Soul’ band called ‘FBI,’ this was where he came to the attention of Pete Waterman, who persuaded him to go to London, and be schooled for a career with ‘SAW.’ Astley would stay with ‘SAW’ until 1990, then leave to pursue his passion of ‘Soul Music,’ and ditching the boy next door look, growing his hair, and presenting himself as a mature and passionate musician. Rick Astley retired from music in 1993 to concentrate on his family life, but returned to the music industry in 2000, when signing with ‘Polydor Records,’ and then finally returning to touring in 2004.

The discography of Rick Astley includes nine studio Albums released between 1987-2023, and 24 singles released between 1987-2024, there are also 12 official compilation Albums, and two remix Albums available. In the UK, Rick Astley has had two Number 1 Albums, and nine top 40 hit singles, with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ being his only Number 1, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100, seven of his singles have reached the top 40, with both ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (1988) and ‘Together Forever,’ (1988) making the Number 1 spot. Of his success in America, Rick Astley has said,’If you really want to say to the world, that was a proper hit, you’ve got to have a hit in America, If you don’t do it in America, then it’s not really worldwide, is it?’

‘We’re no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do I. A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of, you wouldn’t get this from any other guy. I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling, gotta make you understand.’