Haydock Park – 20/07/19
I have never been to the races before, so the chance to go and see some horse racing at Haydock Park followed by live music delivered by Mr Rick Astley was too much of an opportunity to pass by. Jockey Club Live really is a great concept, mixing racing and music and promised a great evening for all.
So upon my arrival and after some nail biting racing action (no, I didn’t win anything) it was time for the show to start. We all shuffled down to the stage, which was set up down by the starting line and Rick Astley appeared. Straight away he had the crowd onside being a local lad, even asking if any of the crowd went to his old school. Judging by the cheer, I think most of them did!
He kicked things off and it was just as good as I expected. Rick Astley still has it. The crowd were very excitable and only got more excited when he launched into ‘Together Forever’, the second song of his set. This sounded just as good as the record.
When Rick announced he was going to be singing all of his old hits, someone in the crowd shouted ‘do some new ones too’. You could see how genuinely moved Rick was to hear that and he thanked them for their support. Talking of his new songs, he performed a handful of them from his album, 50. The album that he made ‘in his garage’ – just for fun. What fantastic songs. Just as catchy as the old ones and a chance I feel for Rick to show off, not just as a singer, but a musician too. As Rick was handed a guitar he jokingly said ‘I have a guitar, so you know this is a new one’. I really enjoyed the new songs; ‘Pray for Me’ was great but ‘Keep Singing’ was something else. Introduced by Rick as the song to inspire you to just keep on trucking, it really got the crowd going, the next Rick Astley anthem perhaps?!
As well as performing his new songs, Rick announced that whenever he and the band go out on tour, they always try and learn someone else’s song and perform that in the set. The first cover was George Ezra’s ‘Shotgun’ – a brilliant rendition of the song. He also did Rag ‘n Bone Man’s Giant whichI thought was brilliant, as good, if not better than the original! The penultimate song, yet another cover, was the most surprising. Rick headed back to the drums and took his place at the kit. He then told the story of how he used to drum in the first band he played in and they would do rock covers! He said one of his favourite songs to play was AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’. Cue three and a half minutes of rock bliss at a pop concert, complete with an excellent Angus Young style guitar solo. The only thing missing was Angus’ signature Duck walk!! It was just brilliant and the song was just another fine example of Rick Astley’s mighty fine musicianship.
Following ‘Highway to Hell’ Rick brought the party to a close with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. If I thought the crowd were excited before, this was something else. The whole crowd were bouncing, what a fantastic way to close a brilliant show.
Rick Astley performed for nearly two hours and put on an absolutely fantastic show. I have to mention his incredible band as well, Rick’s “Angels on My Side” as he calls them. They were so incredibly tight. Rick was such a genuine chap and came across as such a nice guy with a cracking sense of humour! He even stopped the show to sing happy birthday to a girl in the crowd. Despite being a ‘southern softie’ now by his own admission, he still holds onto his northern roots and at least his drummer, who stepped in at the last minute to play that night, was ‘really northern with thighs made of pies!’ Hats off to him, what a great job he did, learning a two hour set at the last minute and one hell of a drummer.
I had a great time, the crowd were in their element and everyone went home happy, I think even Rick’s old “Uncle Pete” enjoyed himself, AKA Pete Waterman. Rick Astley is one hell of a showman. He is not only a great singer and dancer, but he plays guitar and drums too. Talk about a triple threat. I would definitely see him again and if you haven’t seen him, catch him on the road, you’re in for a treat!
