LOVE THE 80’s: 35 Years of Rick Astley’s ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’

Rick Astley – “Hold Me In Your Arms” (1988)

Rick Astley had a pretty good start to his career with four UK top three hits, two American number ones and a multi-Platinum selling debut album, so all eyes were on what he would bring out next. Following the release of “Together Forever” and some US promotion in the first half of 1988, Rick and producers Stock Aitken Waterman turned their attention to a follow up and some more of the same. Rick had other ideas. He wanted to be more involved with the next album and would write or co-write half of the songs that would eventually appear on it.

He made his mark and his presence felt with the lead single itself, “She Wants To Dance With Me”, which would come out in September that year. Self penned and produced by the boys at PWL, this was nothing out of the ordinary but still retained the Rick magic for an instantly catchy tune and found favour with a wide audience across the globe. The album itself had been scheduled to follow “She Wants To Dance With Me” soon after, but a fire at PWL studios resulted in some of the material being destroyed. Finally in November, the follow up, “Take Me To Your Heart”, written, produced and arranged by…, came along and again was an instant hit internationally.

Only three singles from the album that was titled “Hold Me In Your Arms” would be released in the UK, with the title track itself following in February 1989 and giving Rick an unbroken run of top ten hits in his home country. Americans got “Giving Up On Love” and a cover of The Temptations “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” instead of these and both would become top 100 charting singles there. “Hold Me In Your Arms” would not replicate Rick’s debut “Whenever You Need Somebody” for sales, but a Platinum disc in the UK and a Gold certification Stateside confirmed it nevertheless as a solid hit.

2023 will see the album remastered with additional tracks to celebrate its 35th anniversary, just as Rick did in 2022 with “Whenever You Need Somebody”. The album will also feature Rick’s ‘re-imagined’ versions of the two lead singles that featured on his 2019 greatest hits album, “The Best Of Me“. Turn on the tunes and crank up the volume for this last hurrah between Rick and SAW before he grew up, flew the nest and made a “Cry For Help” elsewhere.

“She Wants To Dance With Me” UK No.6, US No.6