Ahead of his two Morrissey-channelling gigs with Blossoms, the
Singer talks
Twitter, his
London pub and how he once followed Andy Rourke around the Arndale centre
![Rick Astley on his Smiths covers gigs: ‘I’ll use a karaoke machine if I have to’](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4d94e4753c97b911ec122723755784593f315d6b/0_49_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=39320bb412ab16bbfdda047dc5de6616)
Last 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. This was to announce two proper October tour dates – Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform Songs of the Smiths. With footage immediately doing the rounds, people quickly went bonkers.
“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. (“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!”). And he’s playing a gig here tonight with his house band (“No Smiths, we’re just going to jam”).