Rick Astley tells us about his Glastonbury secret set of Smiths covers with Blossoms

Rick Astley and Blossoms have announced the return of their Smiths supergroup covers band for a secret set at Glastonbury 2023, with the pop icon telling NME about what went into it and the backlash from Johnny Marr.

Astley, who this weekend made his Glastonbury debut by opening up the Pyramid Stage, made headlines last year when he joined Blossoms on stage in London to perform a number of Smiths covers – before they then played a number of full gigs dedicated to the iconic ’80s indie icons. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was less than pleased having not been told about it, before telling NME that he’d been in touch with Blossoms and “dealt with it“.

Now, they’ve announced that the tribute project will be performing at Glastonbury on the Woodsies stage at 6pm tonight (Friday June 23), filling in one of the TBA slots with a secret set.

“I can’t tell you how much I love doing this,” Astley told NME of the covers band. “I know it’s sacrilege and they should hang the lot of us on the line for doing it, but I also just don’t care. I’m 57. I’ve talked it over with the guys from Blossoms many times and said, ‘If at any moment any of you decide that you don’t want to do this, just holler’. They’re in the middle of their career, four albums in. I’ve got nothing to lose. You can hang me, you can do whatever you want. It doesn’t matter.”

He continued: “I’ve had an unbelievable time in music and I’m ever so grateful for it. I’m aware of how fickle it is, how you can be totally out in the desert and no one will pick up the phone or let you in the building. It’s a delicate thing playing those songs because they mean so much to people. They mean so much to me and the guys too. We bonded over that fact.”

The ‘Never Gonna Give Up’ star said that forming a Smiths covers band was something he’d “always wanted to do”.

“Even when I was in bands as a kid we never played The Smiths’ songs because they were a bit too intricate for us,” he said. “I never saw The Smiths but I’ve seen covers bands of them, and I just fall in love with them every time.

“I built a shed in my back garden a couple of years ago when you couldn’t go anywhere or do anything [during lockdown], and did this thing where you go back to the start of an artist’s career and play every single record they ever made. When it came to do it for The Smiths, I was like ‘What the hell, man’.”

Not long after Astley and Blossoms announced their first shows, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr gave his verdict on the stunt – describing their collaboration as “funny and horrible at the same time,” before adding that Blossoms failed to tell him about their gigs upon meeting but that he “had no problem” with covers bands or Astley.

Responding to the reaction, Astley told NME: “I’ve never met Johnny Marr and I daresay our paths may never cross, but I get it. I don’t know how I’d feel about it if I was Johnny Marr. What can you say? It’s his work and his life, but it doesn’t seem like they’re ever getting back together – so there are either bands who go out there and do it, or… It’s a difficult one, but I did it from a place of absolute joy and love for those songs.”

He continued: “If we burn in hell for doing it, then we’ll have to live with that. The audiences that we’ve done it for in the past have always got it, got involved and loved it. You’re either a Smiths fan or you’re not, and if you are then it’s very hallowed ground. Learning the songs reaffirms how great but individual they were as a band.

“Yes, it was a Marmite situation. I’ve got loads of friends who do not understand it, but they’re in a poorer world because of it. We just have to do it with love and hope people get that.”

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey, however, thanked Astley and Blossoms for the tribute shows – writing: “Anything that generates interest in that tired old Smiths warhorse is testimony to the wallop it packed”.

Speaking of Morrissey’s praise, Astley added: “I take all of that with a pinch of salt. I met Morrissey a million years ago and we had a photo together – I his behest, I would add. I would never have dared to ask him!”

Check out all the latest from Glastonbury 2023 on the NME liveblog here, and see more news, reviews, photos, interviews and more here.

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