Rick Astley (b. February 6, 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, United Kingdom) was one of figures to rise up in the dance/pop-driven late '80s. He started as a studio-tea-boy in 1985 at the and released his first own single in 1987, .

In 2007, Rick Astley became the subject of a viral internet meme in which millions of internet users were tricked into watching Rick Astley's video Never Gonna Give You Up by posting it under the name of other popular video titles. The practice is now known as rickrolling.