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 best-selling album, which, according to his own official website, has sold 15.2 million copies worldwide.[6] The album is listed as the 136th best-selling album in Spain[7] and was the seventh best-selling album of 1987 in the United Kingdom.[8] A remastered version, containing rare remixes and extended versions, was released on 12 April 2010.[9]
Critical reception
Alex Henderson of AllMusic stated that SAW "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".[1] Much more critical of both SAW and Astley, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice 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".[4]James Hamilton of Record Mirror presented the album as being "as vigorously voiced and unsubtle as you'd expect".[10] Carmen Keats of Melody Maker described the album as "Yuppie-boy muzak for those too poor and thick to be Yuppies."[2] 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 is given by SAW's team.[11] 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.[5] 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.[12]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
References
^ a b cHenderson, Alex. "Whenever You Need Somebody – Rick Astley". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
^ a bKeats, Carmen (2 January 1988). "Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody". Melody Maker. Vol. 64, no. 1. p. 28. Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Internet Archive.
^Kirsch, Michele (14 November 1987). "Rick Astley: When [sic] You Need Someone". New Musical Express. p. 35.
^ a bHeath, Chris (18 November – 1 December 1987). "Albums" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 9, no. 22. p. 86. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
^"Biography". Rickastley.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
^Untitled. albertocomesana.es. Retrieved 8 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
^ a b"Gallup Year End Charts 1987 – Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. 23 January 1988. p. 37. ISSN 0144-5804 – via World Radio History.
^"Whenever You Need Somebody: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
^Hamilton, James (28 November 1987). "BPM by James Hamilton" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 19. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via World Radio History.
^L., D. (28 November 1987). "LP Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. p. 26. Retrieved 11 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
^Elliot, Mark (July 2018). "Top 15 Stock Aitken Waterman Albums". Classic Pop. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^"Whenever You Need Somebody (Deluxe Edition - 2022 Remaster)". Retrieved 25 March 2022.
^"Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 3 August 2018. Select "Rick ASTLEY" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Rick Astley – Whenever You Need Somebody" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 3 June 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Whenever You Need Somebody" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
^"Charts.nz – Rick Astley – Whenever You Need Somebody". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^"Norwegiancharts.com – Rick Astley – Whenever You Need Somebody". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^"New Zealand album certifications – Rick Astley – Whenever You Need Somebody". Recorded Music NZ. 24 April 1988. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 923. ISBN84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
^"Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 20 January 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Whenever You Need Somebody')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
^"British album certifications – Rick Astley – Whenever You Need Somebody". British Phonographic Industry. 3 June 1988. Retrieved 16 March 2021.