Rick Astley
Swinging Christmas Gig
Review written by Louise Cannon
Rick Astley makes Swing music cool again at the Usher Hall, Royal Albert Hall and other venues. If you ever get the opportunity to see him and his big swing band in future years, I highly recommend it. I saw him at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
Rick Astley gigs are like a dose of wellbeing to your heart, mind and soul. They’re a terrific, memorable night out!
“Fly Me to the Moon”, I was certainly on cloud 9 at this gig and loved every second of it. It was a relaxed gig in a formal setting, which was perfectly executed.
Rick Astley dazzled the audience with a mix of Christmas songs done swing style and the classic swing songs. Solo and group instrumental parts were a delight as he allowed his band to showcase their talents and what they could do with instruments such as the saxophone, drums and more…
He put together a great repertoire that flowed well. It included songs Christmas songs such as “Winter Wonderland”, “Santa Clause is Coming To Town”, “White Christmas”, romantic songs such as “Strangers in the Night”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” “As Time Goes By” and many more…
As Rick Astely sang, his voice for all his songs was exquisitely deep, rich, silky smooth and perfect for this style of music. I honestly couldn’t fault any of it as he emulated the original crooners. I was incredibly impressed!
The gig had heart, humour, poignancy and most of all, fun. He mentioned his mum and sang some of the songs she liked, he had a shot on drums himself and danced around. There was a festive, positive energy throughout. There were some audience singalong parts, of course, the major one being his 80’s hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”. He didn’t conclude on this, the last song was “White Christmas” and then you knew the festive season had officially begun. The gig started on a high and finished on a high. Not one bit of it waned. Everything he sang, everything he
Rick Astley has great longevity and deservedly so, especially as he does things how he wants to do them now. I’ve seen his Pop concerts and now this Swing concert and both styles show his enormous talent and a great sense of uplifting fun like he wants to be there and you don’t ever want him to leave.
If you ever get a chance to see any of his gigs, I highly recommend them. You won’t regret it and nor will you be disappointed. They’re a joy to the heart and soul.
Rick Astley also has a memoir – Never – Out Now!
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 
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