THE Astley show Rick-rolled into town – or rather into the forest – on Friday night.

In the first of this year’s Forest Live gigs, the 80s pop legend and soul star Rick Astley, played Dalby Forest. Not content with a performance alone, Astley made the night a real Rick-experience with even his own Rick Astley Northern Hop beer on sale.

Support act Rumer brought an air of the lounge into the forest tracks from her Bacharach album, before Astley took to the stage in front of crowd including long-term fans loyal since his early 80s pop years.

Thirty years after his first album, Astley is a polished performer with a witty and self aware stage presence, and he has the air of a man who could not be happier – and maybe can’t even believe his luck – to be on stage with not just his old hits but also tracks from his 2016 number one album 50.

The show opened with one of those new tracks – “Coming Home Tonight”, but with 1988’s “Together forever” following close on its heels to reassure the gathered fans their old favourites would not be ignored.

A good mix of old and new followed, with a couple of short diversions via an Ed Sheeran cover, a spell on the drums for “Highway to Hell”, and even a Rihanna mash-up – something the 51-year-old Astley admitted he needed his teenage daughter to explain.

But a Rick Astley gig could never be complete without his most famous offering, and even though Astley made the fans wait until the very end, as night fell and the wind picked up in Dalby Forest he showed he knows the rules, and he really is Never Gonna Give You Up.

By Victoria Prest