Whenever You Need Somebody is the debut studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 16 November 1987 by RCA Records. It is his highest-selling album and has sold 15.2 million copies worldwide. The album is listed as the 136th best-selling album in SpainUntitled. albertocomesana.es. Retrieved 8 January 2010. and was the seventh best-selling album of 1987 in the United Kingdom. A remastered version, containing rare remixes and extended versions, was released on 12 April 2010.

Critical reception

Alex Henderson of AllMusic stated Astley and his producers "should definitely be proud of their work" on this "often captivating debut album" which "proved [the singer] to be a welcome addition to the British R&B scene"; he added that the "music approach is very much a production of the '70s" and underlined tracks like "Together Forever", "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Don't Say Goodbye". In contrast, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave a much more negative review and ranked the album in the "Must to avoid" category, and added: "Musically [Astley]'s a throwback to such long-forgotten big-band singers manqué as Don Rondo" revealed "as I-am-somebody for nobodies with a master plan". James Hamilton of Record Mirror presented the album as being "as vigorously voiced and unsubtle as you'd expect". Carmen Keats of Melody Maker described the album as "Yuppie-boy muzak for those too poor and thick to be Yuppies." According to a reviewer of British magazine Music Week, the album proves Astley to be "a respectable if so far unexceptional writer", but concluded that the tone of the whole album was established by the production team. Chris Heath of Smash Hits praised the album full of songs with "the same straightforward, deliriously catchy dance music as his first two hits", and underlined "Don't Say Goodbye" and "When I Fall in Love" as "brilliant" songs. Retrospectively, in 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Whenever You Need Somebody as the ninth best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and underlined its worldwide success, selling 15 million copies.

Track listing Original 1987 release

2010 expanded remaster

2022 Remaster

Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Whenever You Need Somebody.

Musicians Rick Astley – vocals; guitars on "No More Looking for Love" and "You Move Me" Mike Stock – keyboards Matt Aitken – keyboards, guitars Paul Cox – guitar on "Together Forever" A. Linn – drums (e.g.: Linn 9000 on "Never Gonna Give You Up" and LinnDrum on "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man") Ian Curnow – Fairlight programming; keyboards on "The Love Has Gone" and "Slipping Away" Daize Washbourn – keyboards and drums on "No More Looking for Love" and "You Move Me" Gary Barnacle – saxophone on "Slipping Away" Shirley Lewis, Dee Lewis, Mae McKenna, Suzanne Rhatigan – backing vocals

Technical Stock Aitken Waterman – production on "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Whenever You Need Somebody", "Together Forever", "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man", "Don't Say Goodbye", and "When I Fall in Love" Phil Harding – production and mixing on "The Love Has Gone" and "Slipping Away" Ian Curnow – production on "The Love Has Gone" and "Slipping Away" Daize Washbourn – production on "No More Looking for Love" and "You Move Me" Mark McGuire – engineering and mixing on "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" and "When I Fall in Love" Phil Harding, Karen Hewitt, Mike Duffy, Jamie Bromfield – additional engineering Yoyo, Jonathan King, Peter Day, Boky, Gordon Dennis – engineering assistance Pete Hammond – mixing on "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Whenever You Need Somebody", "Together Forever", "Don't Say Goodbye", "No More Looking for Love", and "You Move Me" Paul Cox – photographer on "Never Gonna Give You Up"

Charts

Weekly charts +1987–1988 weekly chart performance for Whenever You Need Somebody Chart (1987–1988) Peakposition Australian Albums (Australian Music Report) 1 European Albums (Music & Media) 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 2 French Albums (IFOP) Select "Rick ASTLEY" from the drop-down menu and click "OK". 5 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Whenever You Need Somebody" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca". 2 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) 1

+2022 weekly chart performance for Whenever You Need Somebody Chart (2022) Peakposition

Year-end charts +1987 year-end chart performance for Whenever You Need Somebody Chart (1987) Position UK Albums (Gallup) 7

+1988 year-end chart performance for Whenever You Need Somebody Chart (1988) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 4 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 10 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 74 European Albums (Music & Media) 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 7 Norwegian Winter Period Albums (VG-lista) 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 30 UK Albums (Gallup) 39 US Billboard 200 15

Certifications

References