Former 80s crooner Rick Astley is 50 years old and he could still get it any day of the week. He’s got a new album out, 50, his first in 11 years, which has been incredibly successful. It hit number one on the UK charts when it came out in June and is currently holding strong at number 14. This might not have been possible for Astley were it not for the phenomenon of Rick Rolling, a harmless Internet prank where you misdirect a link to the video for 1987’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” RickRolling has lasted over 9 years, an eternity in Internet time. Astley has always expressed gratitude for Rick Rolling and in a new interview with People he explains how he came to understand what it was. It took him a while for it to fully sink in.

“A friend of mine Rick-Rolled me a couple of times, and I didn’t really know what he was doing. I just thought he was being an idiot,” he admits now. “I just kept thinking, ‘What is this idiot doing? This is just not amusing. I don’t really know what’s going on.’ So we eventually got on the phone and he explained it to me.”

Even with an explanation, it took some time to sink in. “To be honest, I still didn’t really get it. It took a few weeks for me to grasp.”

“When people ask me if I’m embarrassed by some of the ’80s videos, I say: ‘Well, kind of.’ But if you look back at some video clips of you getting married or some college thing you did, most people would be pretty embarrassed by that as well. If you put 25 years on something, it gets a bit interesting.”

These days Astley is busy on the road playing songs from 50 – his first album of all-original material in 15 years. Out in the United States this October, the disc shot to No. 1 when it was released in the U.K. last June.

Even with all of his recent success, he reflects on his Internet superstardom with good humor. “I only view it as a positive thing. I don’t think you can really have any bad thoughts about an Internet prank that turned your song into a global moment.”

[From People]

That’s adorable and he’s so gracious about it. I just got RickRolled this summer. I was in the bathroom getting ready after a shower and I heard “Never Gonna Give You Up” playing loudly in the living room when I was the only one home! It would have been creepy if it wasn’t such an upbeat song. It turned out that I had left YouTube paused on the TV and my son was pranking me by playing the video remotely from his computer. I was more amused than mad because how can you get upset when Rick Astley is playing? I think that’s why that prank has lasted so long, it’s like someone is doing you a favor by putting some surprise Rick Astley in your day.

Fun fact: The Mets once got Rickrolled in 2008 when communities like Fark and Digg came together to vote for “Never Gonna Give You Up” as the fan-selected sing-along song in an Internet poll. Fox News called Astley a “has been English pop star” at the time but that’s no longer true!

Here’s the second single off Astley’s new CD, it’s called “Angels on My Side.” It’s very easy listening radio hit 80s and I like it. It’s not lighting up my life like classic Astley but it’s nostalgic and soothing and the video is clever.

photos credit: WENN.com