The excitement continues to build as Rick Astley gears up for the highly anticipated release of his ninth album, ‘Are We There Yet?’, scheduled to drop on 6th October. The artist is keeping fans on the edge of their seats by sharing his latest single, ‘Never Gonna Stop.’ This follows his extraordinary double performance at Glastonbury, which propelled him into the national spotlight. Astley’s first appearance kicked off the Saturday festivities with a triumphant blend of ’80s classics and elegant covers, while later in the day, he joined forces with Blossoms for an exhilarating set featuring iconic tracks from The Smiths.
‘Never Gonna Stop’, a towering R&B ballad infused with warm live instrumentation, serves as a testament to Astley’s evolving vocal prowess. His emotive vocals imbue the lyrics with deep sentiment, exploring the notion that personal human connections possess the potential to counteract the chaos that pervades the world. Like the entirety of the ‘Are We There Yet?’ album, ‘Never Gonna Stop’, was written, produced, and primarily performed by Astley in his south-west London home studio.
Astley expressed his anticipation for the release, saying, “I am so excited about the release of ‘Never Gonna Stop,’ the second single from my forthcoming album ‘Are We There Yet?’ I love the vibe of it and I hope you love it too. Rick x.”
Astley plans to celebrate his new album ‘Are We There Yet?’ through two intimate album launch shows. He is scheduled to perform at Sheffield Leadmill on 29th October, followed by a Kingston Pryzm performance on 30th October, with the latter hosted by Banquet Records. Tickets for both shows are available at https://rickastley.lnk.to/AlbumShowsPR.
This latest single, ‘Never Gonna Stop’, follows in the footsteps of the album’s lead single, “Dippin’ My Feet,” which made its radio debut on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show. These two songs offer a preview of the twelve-track album, inspired partly by the vast North American landscapes that surrounded Astley during his monumental arena tour alongside New Kids on The Block, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue. The tour rekindled Astley’s appreciation for the Memphis soul tradition, the timeless R&B of Stax Records, and a touch of Americana.
The ‘Are We There Yet?’ tour is set to begin with two sold-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall in November. This will be followed by a series of arena shows next year, including a homecoming show at Manchester’s AO Arena with a capacity of 20,000.
The full list of dates is:
2023
Sunday 29 October Sheffield, Leadmill (JUST ADDED)
Monday 30 October Kingston, Przym (JUST ADDED)
Wednesday 01 November London, Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
Thursday 02 November London, Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
2024
Thursday 22 February Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Friday 23 February Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Saturday 24 February Leeds, First Direct Arena
Monday 26 February Cardiff, International Arena (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday 27 February Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Thursday 29 February Bournemouth, International Centre (SOLD OUT)
Friday 01 March Birmingham, Resorts World Arena
Saturday 02 March Manchester, AO Arena
Monday 04 March Belfast, The SSE Arena
Tuesday 05 March Dublin, 3Arena
The tour features an array of special guests: Belinda Carlisle and The Lottery Winners (both at all shows except for London, Belfast and Dublin); The Feeling (London only) and Scouting For Girls (Belfast and Dublin only).
Tickets are available now at https://tix.to/RickAstley.
