“So I confessed: one day, I just want to do a gig where I sing my favourite Smiths songs, walk off stage and go: ‘Ticked that box. We shouldn’t have followed him around the Arndale centre … Christ knows what would’ve happened if we’d seen Johnny Marr or Morrissey … We’d been busking in Manchester, saw Andy Rourke with his girlfriend and I’m ashamed to say followed him, because it was an actual, live human, from Manchester – a stone’s throw from us – who made music we loved. “My older brother Mike introduced me to the Smiths. ‘Working in a pub is hard, I don’t work here!’ … Astley co-owns the Mikkeller Brewpub in London “We were backstage, having a drink, which led to me appearing on Blossoms’ Pubcast podcast, chatting about the music we loved growing up.” (Blossoms are from Stockport, Astley from Lancashire.) So, where did this unfathomably unlikely idea come from? “I performed with Noel Gallagher, the Courteeners and Blossoms at Manchester Arena in 2017,” he continues. “Obviously, after the whole Rickrolling thing,” – the internet bait and switch prank that fooled you into landing on the Never Gonna Give You Up video – “people are going to see Rick Astley Sings the Smiths and think: yeah, right? So this was our way of saying: this is actually happening.” “This is both funny and horrible and at the same time,” the guitarist tweeted. “Shakin’ Stevens and the Charlatans perform the songs of the Fall?”Įven Johnny Marr has waded in.

“What’s next? Marti Pellow and McFly perform the songs of NWA?” “Has someone been stealing ideas from Alan Partridge?” Turns out we’ve both read the same thread, so we pull out our phones to compare favourite tweets. I was in bed with my wife this morning …”Ĭelebrating? “We’ll leave that where it is … and I was killing myself laughing.” “But” – back to Twitter – “some of the responses have been hilarious. This is both funny and horrible and at the same time Johnny Marr And he’s playing a gig here tonight with his house band (“No Smiths, we’re just going to jam”).

(“I’ve had a pint already, and some are quite strong,” he warns.) He’s co-owned the pub since 2019 (“Working in a pub is hard, I don’t work here!”). “I’m not a slave to Twitter,” says Astley three days later, supping on an afternoon beer outside the Mikkeller Brewpub in London’s Exmouth Market. With footage immediately doing the rounds, people quickly went bonkers. This was to announce two proper October tour dates – Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform Songs of the Smiths. L ast Monday, Rick Astley (as in 80s, bequiffed, Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley) made a surprise guest appearance at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town, with Blossoms, to sing Panic and This Charming Man by the Smiths.

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