Rick Astley,
Main Stage, Electric Picnic
★★★★★
Walking on to the Main Stage at Electric Picnic to the Star Wars theme tune, it’s undeniable that Rick Astley knows how to make an entrance. “Are we in the mood? The sun is shining, Ireland. The sun is shining,” he says to the already grooving crowd before him.
Opening with Together Forever on the Main Stage at 5.30pm, the audience that was sitting on the grass enjoying the evening heat are immediately on their feet.
The 57-year-old has been active in the music industry for decades but created a whole new legion of fans following his performances at Glastonbury earlier this summer. His set with Blossoms, in which they performed songs by the Smiths, was a particular standout. Footage of it was shared and reshared on social media.
And the newfound audience is just in time, too. His forthcoming album, Are We There Yet?, is due for release on October 6th. Astley is well aware of the typical age demographic he attracts. Roaring into the microphone at the youthful crowd before him, he acknowledges this. “So you’ve all been going through your mum’s old CDs, then? Yeah,” he screams. “Put your hands up if you were actually born in the ‘80s?” As expected, very few hands raise.
Nevertheless, Astley’s performance is energetic from start to finish. Dressed in a rust coloured suit, his face turns red from the heat of the sun as well as the intensity of his performance. He’s hot and sticky, he says, but that’s no excuse to “wear a ratty T-shirt”. “Ireland, c’mon, you’ve got to wear a suit if you’re doing Electric Picnic, baby,” he adds.
Whipping out his teal green electric guitar, he plays a rendition of Harry Styles’s As It Was that has an even wider appeal than his own beloved hits. He performs it with his typical Astley-esque smoothness. During Cry for Help, the crowd transforms into a sea of arms swaying from side to side.
Five songs in, chants of Ole, Ole Ole have begun. Astley is excited by the praise, trying to play along on the guitar. Eventually, he interrupts the chants to introduce his next song. It begins with Never Gonna, but is “not that one”, he adds. The audience doesn’t care, though. He and the crowd begin an a cappella, audience-led rendition of the first verse and chorus of Never Gonna Give You Up. Now, he can finally get to the rest of the songs in his set list, which is a pleasant mesh of 1980s joy and newer hits.
It is difficult when an artist has a song that has become a global phenomenon, as the set can feel like waiting around until they finally play the one hit you want to hear. Finishing on the moment everyone is waiting before, he finally sings Never Gonna Give You Up in its entirety. Throughout the song, it is as though Astley has acquired an army of backing singers. If the goal is to reinvent himself as a beloved man of pop, then that has been achieved.
It’s difficult not to enjoy yourself when the man before you seems to be having the time of his life.
