Rick Astley Returns With “Lights Out”

Robbie Daw | May 11, 2010 11:00 am

No—you’re not about to be Rickrolled, folks. British singer Rick Astley, who hasn’t released original material in nearly a decade, is back with a new single called “Lights Out.” Gone are the dance-pop leanings that colored Rick’s classic hits “Together Forever,” “She Wants To Dance With Me” and “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Want to hear what he sounds like now? Then head below.

[wpaudio url=”//idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Rick-Astley-Lights-Out.mp3″ text=”Rick Astley – Lights Out” dl=”0″] Oooh—moody. “Lights Out” is out June 7 in the UK, and Astley’s official site reports today that the single has now been made BBC 2’s Record Of The Week.

To these ears the music sounds like Coldplay meets the latest incarnation of Take That, while still resonating with the unmistakable croon of 44-year-old blue-eyed soul singer.

Rick, who’s notoriously afraid of flying (which played heavily into him finally putting his career on hold after 1993 album Body And Soul), is currently touring around the UK with comedian Peter Kay. He has, however, made it over to this side of the pond in recent years—once was to attend the 2006 Academy Awards, where his wife Lene Bausager was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film for Cashback.

And then there was the time he Rickrolled the entire viewing audience of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008!

Sigh. Guess we couldn’t get through a post without hearing that jam, after all.