a-ha on joining You Tube’s billion view club, Rick Astley on Fortnite and singing on The Lion King
They’ve teamed up for an Australian tour, now a-ha and Rick Astley talk hit videos, reinventing songs and hanging with Elton John
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Iconic pop acts a-ha and Rick Astley have kicked off their combined Australian tour, having only crossed paths a handful of times in the past.
“Rick came through that Stock Aitken Waterman pop machine,” a-ha’s Mags Furuholmen said. “He’s got the respect he deserved all long later in his career. That’s something we can relate to. Coming back in 2000 (after splitting) we finally got a lot of cred from a new generation of musicians like Coldplay, Travis and Keane. There’s bound to be some crossover between our fans and his fans, a celebration of a certain time for the people in the room.”
Norwegian trio a-ha landed in Perth to find out their 1985 video Take on Me had joined the exclusive 1 billion view club on You Tube.
It joins Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Guns N’Roses’ Sweet Child O’Mine and November Rain as the only videos from the last century to reach the milestone.
“There’s not many music videos that have had a billion views that already had their success happen prior to the internet existing,” a-ha’s Mags Furuholmen said. “In that respect it’s pretty incredible. I doubt it’s all 50 plus fans watching it on You Tube, it means it’s had a life of its own and has been discovered by new audiences and younger people who appreciate it for what it is.
“It’s a testament to the video that it’s stood the test of time, and also a testament to the song and the band’s enduring legacy in some way. I’ve been making a new animated video for one of my solo songs coming out this week which is like a darker cousin of the Take on Me video, so everything seems to be converging into a space of being about what happened all that time ago and what it means to us and our audience today.”
Their Australian tour, their first since 1986, sees them play their debut album Hunting High and Low in full, also home to hits The Sun Always Shines on TV, Train of Thought and the title track, which Coldplay have covered.
“We didn’t have a prolonged presence in Australia, so we have a lot of people who loved the band for the first album or the second album in this area, so this tour is a natural fit. We feel bad for not coming back. You tend to go where your records are doing best at the time.
“It’s an unfortunate fact of trying to manage a career around the world, sometimes you drop off the radar in an area that you really enjoyed being in at one point, but it’s not a natural fit for a stadium or arena tour because the promoters aren’t sure because you’ve been away for two long. Coming back now, celebrating that album now, is a nice thing you weren’t necessarily expecting to be doing five years ago.”
The trio’s first ever live show anywhere in the world was in Perth in 1986, making their return there 34 years later particularly poignant.
“Enough water has gone under the bridge, a gazillion shows later, there’s a professionalism that has crept in over the years! I mentioned it to Morten (Harket) and Paul (Waaktaar-Savoy) at the show, things were a little more controlled than the last time we were in Perth. We were venturing into the vast unknown, it was the first time we were in front of an enthusiastic crowd of people. Going back to where it all began was something we’ve been looking forward to since we agreed to do the tour.”
Meanwhile Rick Astley covered INXS’ New Sensation in Perth, replacing his usual cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell.
“I hope people don’t think that’s corny, I loved INXS,” Astley said. “I was touring America when that album was big, they were on every radio station. I saw them live, hung out with them a few times, great guys, great tunes. They were one of the bands who were massive just before I had my success.”
Astley is in Australia at the same time as his Elton John – he is good friends with the superstar’s guitarist Davey Johnstone.
Back in the early 90s, Elton played piano on two tracks on Astley’s album Free, home to his hit ballad Cry For Help.
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“Elton is one of those people who gets in touch with artists and says if you need anything, if you want advice, call me. He does that to this day. So he got in touch with me, my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife, he tracked me down, I don’t even know how, and invited me to dinner. During the dinner he said ‘If you ever want me to play piano I’m there’. He’s really interested in what’s happening, and that makes him interesting. Elton reached a point in his life where he knows he’s had an amazing career and he wants to give back. That’s what we all hope mega artists will be like.”
Astley was visiting Johnstone in 1994 when he was roped in to sing backing vocals on The Lion King soundtrack, including Can You Feel the Love Tonight.
“I was there, Gary Barlow (from Take That) was there and Elton said ‘Right, you lot go in there and sing.’ The Lion King soundtrack is the only gold disc I’ve ever had up in my house. I’ve received a few for my records, but that’s the only one we had up on the wall because our daughter loved The Lion King as a kid, she’s 28 now, but it was up in her bedroom. I just dropped in to say hello to Davey and suddenly I’m singing on Can You Feel the Love Tonight and it goes 12 times platinum or something. Crazy.”
Astley has just re-recorded his signature hit Never Gonna Give You Up as a stark piano ballad for his new compilation The Best of Me.
“It was nice to sing that song in a completely different way, different key, different tempo, I think the words mean something slightly different. We might play a snippet of it on the other Australian shows, I think it’s interesting to hear it in a completely different way, I’m also aware people are coming to hear the original version.
“That song lives in a whole other universe,” Astley said. “Fortnite have just copied my shuffle from the video and are using it, it’s taken me from Rick Rolling to singing it with the Foo Fighters. I have a lot of respect for that song, it’s hung around for so many years. It basically gave me a life. The internet can do some weird and wonderful things for musicians.”
The singer, whose album 50 saw him back at No.1 in the UK four years ago, is enjoying a career second wind – recording original music and touring the world again.
“I’m 54, my generation isn’t so preoccupied with peoples’ age anymore. When I was a kid 54 was ancient. Now at 54 people are learning how to skydive. The world has changed. What people want out of life is different. I do gigs and look and see people older than me but they’re still up and dancing and they want to go out and have a good night.”