We reach a fifth episode in Rick Astley’s enduring relationship with his debut single, “Never Gonna Give You Up”! Rick has recently performed the song for BBC Music Live together with a small orchestra in an intimate studio setting, as Rick prepares to take to the road in support of his current smash hit album, “Are We There Yet?“.

This latest installment is the most raw and classical version of the song since he stripped it back for the piano forte version on his 2019 greatest hits album, “The Best Of Me“. Rick has of course performed the song at stadiums and at Glastonbury with bands, but these new orchestral treatments carry the 1987 number one into more mature territory and a far cry from the hit factory pop anthem of that Summer.

Back in 1988, Rick gave a rare, live performance of the song (unlike his mimed appearances on Top Of The Pops and other TV shows) at a charity rock gala event in support of The Princes’ Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in June that year. Among the other stars performing were T’Pau, Howard Jones and Wet Wet Wet, in the presence of the then Prince Of Wales, Prince Charles, now HM King Charles III.

“Never Gonna Give You Up” 1988

“Never Gonna Give You Up” 2024

Click here for all editions of “Never Gonna Give You Up” Then & Now