Rick Astley reunited with Blossoms for a surprise Glastonbury set of covers from The Smiths’ catalogue.
The Never Gonna Give You Up star and the Manchester pop group played an hour-long set on the Woodsies Stage on Saturday, paying tribute to the Morrissey-fronted band.
Opening with This Charming Man, they performed a total of 16 tracks, including Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, Panic and How Soon Is Now?.
Fans at the event and watching from home soon took to social media to react to their performance, calling the show “masterful” and writing: “Phenomenal performance and the #Glastonbury crowd at Woodsies Stage are loving it”.
It comes after Rick delivered a lunchtime set of his biggest hits on the Pyramid Stage, including classics like Together Forever and Never Gonna Give You Up, along with his new single, Dippin My Feet.
The track is lifted from the star’s first album in five years, ‘Are We There Yet?’, which builds upon the experiences he’s gone through since the release of 2018’s ‘Beautiful Life’ and was born in 2020, taking shape over the years that followed.
With a multitude of inspirations – from his experience in lockdown to celebrating the music of The Smiths during life-affirming shows with Blossoms and his huge sold-out North American arena tour with New Kids On The Block, Salt ‘N’ Pepa and En Vogue – ‘Are We There Yet?’ reflects the mindset of a musician 35+ years into his career.
“Now, that phrase has multiple meanings,” says Rick of the album title. “Are we there yet in my musical ambitions? Am I done with my career? Have we arrived? Or are we still travelling?”
Entirely written, recorded and produced by Rick at his home studio in southwest London, the LP proves the eighties icon is still pushing to reach even greater musical heights, with plans to bring the new tracks to life with an arena tour early next year, following a pair of gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall in November.
He’ll be joined by The Go-Go’s legend Belinda Carlisle for the shows, aside from his dates in the Autumn, which will feature The Feeling as special guests.
‘Are We There Yet?’ is out October 6 and available to pre-order now. Tickets for Rick’s UK tour are on sale now.
The full list of dates is as follows.
NOVEMBER 2023
1 – Royal Albert Hall, London
2 – Royal Albert Hall, London
FEBRUARY 2024
22 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
23 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
24 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
26 – International Arena, Cardiff
27 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
29 – International Centre, Bournemouth
MARCH 2024
1 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
2 – AO Arena, Manchester
