Foo Fighters Wow Fans With A Live Rendition Of “Never Gonna Give You Up” Featuring Rick Astley
Foo Fighters have always embraced the spirit of fun, and their London O2 show was a prime example. The band surprised their fans with a special appearance by Rick Astley, who performed his iconic hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” This wasn’t an ordinary performance—Foo Fighters cleverly mashed up Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with the chords of Astley’s classic, while Rick added a rock twist to his usual smooth vocals.
The collaboration worked surprisingly well, and the fans in the stadium erupted with excitement, fully enjoying the unexpected treat. The band’s joy was evident, as they clearly had a blast on stage. As anticipated with such a meme-worthy song, the performance quickly went viral online, amassing 9.1 million views, which you can check out here:
At the time of the performance, Rick Astley was 52 and had previously retired from music, yet his voice remained as strong as ever. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl couldn’t hide his delight throughout the performance, enjoying the blend of rock and pop with the iconic ’80s star.
Interestingly, Foo Fighters and Rick Astley share a history of collaborations. Grohl has shared the stage with Astley multiple times, with one memorable performance being their spontaneous jam of “Never Gonna Give You Up” live in Tokyo. In return, Astley has covered one of Foo Fighters’ hits, “Everlong,” in a studio session, which also gained significant attention online, gathering 5.3 million views. You can watch his cover here:
Astley’s version of “Everlong” features him on acoustic guitar, delivering a rendition that stays true to the original while adding his own vocal strength and dynamics, resulting in a beautifully powerful cover.
In an interview with Virgin Radio UK, Astley shared that his first performance with Foo Fighters in Japan was completely spontaneous and unrehearsed. He explained that he was part of the same festival lineup as the Foo Fighters and was watching their set from the side of the stage. He mentioned that he is a big fan of both Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins because, as he put it, “somewhere in my DNA I’m a drummer,” referring to his early days in music.
Astley recounted how a Foo Fighters roadie handed him a microphone and told him, “Dave wants you onstage.” Despite being jet-lagged and a couple of beers in, Astley jumped at the chance. He shared the surprising detail that the band had somehow learned “Never Gonna Give You Up” and had rehearsed it, intending to invite him to sing it during the festival.
Reflecting on the experience, Astley said, “I ended up singing to 50,000 people with the Foo Fighters on a weird and wonderful version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’ It was proper nuts.” He added a playful warning for anyone looking up the video on YouTube, noting, “there’s quite a bit of swearing at the beginning of it because I just lost myself in that moment.”
