Rick Astley has announced he’s releasing a new album later this year, and he’s heading out on a huge arena tour of the UK to celebrate.
It may have been 36 years since the iconic singer-songwriter first shot to fame with his massively-popular 1987 hit song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ – but Rick Astley is arguably a more prominent force in popular culture now than he ever has been before.
Over the past couple of years, it seems the 57-year-old has been amassing new fans left, right, and centre, all thanks to on-stage performances with the likes of US rockers Foo Fighters, Take That or Blossoms, and claiming the strongest run of album chart positions of his entire career.
After having become an unlikely social media sensation since the turn of the 21st century, Rick says he’s been “simply embracing the unending love” from all his enthusiastic supporters.
Image: Rick Astley (via Facebook)
And now, the popstar is ready to make his fans’ days after announcing a new album and UK tour.
Rick’s long-awaited ninth studio album, titled Are We There Yet?, is set to be released out into the world on 6 October 2023, and to give people a taste of what’s to come, the first single off that album, ‘Dippin My Feet’, is out today.
But the new album isn’t all that fans of the Lancashire legend have to look forward to, as Rick says “the road ahead remains open for further exploration”, and so has today revealed details of a major UK headline tour starting later this year and drawing to a close in early 2024.
Rick Astley – UK Tour Dates 2023/24
2023
Wednesday 1 November – Royal Albert Hall (London)
Thursday 02 November – Royal Albert Hall (London)
2024
Thursday 22 February – Motorpoint Arena (Nottingham)
Friday 23 February – Utilita Arena (Newcastle)
Saturday 24 February – First Direct Arena (Leeds)
Monday 26 February – Cardiff International Arena
Tuesday 27 February – OVO Hydro (Glasgow)
Thursday 29 February – Bournemouth International Centre
Friday 1 March – Birmingham Resorts World Arena
Saturday 2 March – AO Arena (Manchester)
Two prestigious dates at London’s Royal Albert Hall will kick-off Rick’s UK tour this November, followed by a series of massive arena dates nationwide.
Speaking ahead of the release of his new album, Rick said: “The phrase ‘Are We There Yet?’ has multiple meanings. Are we there yet in my musical ambitions? Am I done with my career? Have we arrived? Or are we still travelling?”
He admits the new album and accompanying singles are Americana-influenced.
Image: Supplied
“It’s definitely not country, but I’ve never twanged a guitar as much as I have in the past couple of months,” Rick continued.
“And there’s a bit more emotion with those guitar parts. I just think spending five months in America has retuned my ear a little bit.”
Rick Astley’s ninth studio album ‘Are We There Yet?’ is now available to pre-order here.
Fans who pre-order before 7pm today (20 June), will receive access to a pre-sale for tour tickets – which opens at 9:30am tomorrow (21 June) and will remain live until remaining tickets go on general sale from 9:30am this Friday (23 June).
You can buy tickets to Rick Astley's gig at The First Direct Arena on Saturday 24 February 2024 here.
You know the venue, and you know the operators behind it, but things are looking a little different over on Sovereign Street.
Leeds' very own Kirkstall Brewery has teamed up with street food legends Little Bao Boy to totally reinvent the city centre taproom formerly known as North Taproom.
At the all-new The City Taproom, you'll find a way cosier space alongside their sun-soaked terrace, as they aim to reimagine a traditional city centre pub.
Across 16 tap lines there are loads of Kirkstall Brewery classics, like Kirkstall Pilsner, Virtuous and Judicious, plus a rotating selection of guest beers from top British breweries - and Guinness, of course.
The City Taproom will also feature two new cask lines: one serving Three Swords as a staple, and the other on rotation starting this month with Golden Hour.
There's a bigger kitchen for Little Bao Boy too, which means an even larger menu of bao and Asian street food, like loaded fries, noodles, and rice bowls.
Little Bao Boy was founded 10 years ago by James Ooi, specialising in home-made bao buns and traditional Asian street food with a contemporary western twist.
Kirkstall have injected the huge space with the traditional essence of a proper Kirkstall establishment, with that kind of cosy atmosphere you know them for at the brewery's other sites.
Little Bao Boy at City TaproomKirkstall Brewery pints and cocktails
This is yet another of the local brewery's openings in the city centre, joining their recent renovation of The Victoria & Commercial in partnership with Whitelocks, plus their stewardship of the historic Tetley brewery building.
James Ooi, founder of Little Bao Boy said: "We have been part of this venue since day one, through COVID, outside seating, and new owners, and we are so excited for this refurb.
"On the food side, expect more collaborations, faster service, and a better overall customer experience. We are extremely grateful Kirkstall saw the value in this refurb and can't wait to get back open."
Steve Holt, founder of Kirkstall Brewery, said: "We're delighted to unveil a new presentation for the Taproom on Sovereign Street.
"It has been named The City Taproom after a famous but long-gone Leeds pub known as ‘The City’, which was situated where the statue of the Dortmund Brewer now stands. Images of the original City pub are a feature in the new look City Taproom, which can best be described as a 're-imagination' of a traditional city-centre pub.
"The City Taproom celebrates Leeds and its rich pub and brewing heritage. We hope that it will become a popular addition to the amazing and diverse venues that make Leeds such a vibrant City for hospitality and entertainment."
It's all the bits you loved before, just a little bigger and a whole lot better.
The City Taproom opens at 3 Sovereign Street on Thursday 23 April.
The route for next year’s historic women’s Tour de France has been announced – and it all starts in Leeds
Danny Jones
The route for next year's women's historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to begin the race from right here in Leeds.
Announced back in January, the 2027 Tour de France Femme avec Zwift will be making its British debut next year.
And this week, the full route has been revealed, which will all begin here in the race's host city of Leeds.
From here, riders will zip across through Yorkshire to Manchester, before turning back and heading down through the Peak District to Sheffield.
Around 230,000 people packed into the city centre to cheer the riders on their way during the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2014, with another two million spectators lining the rest of the race’s Yorkshire route. It's hoped that similar scenes will happen again this year.
It's yet another big coup for the region and Yorkshire's sporting scene.
Speaking with Manchester City Council earlier this week, Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and on to our friends in Greater Manchester.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event's breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of 'The Big Loop' in more detail below.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "We might be more than a year away from welcoming the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to Leeds, but there is already a good deal of excitement building around the event.
"Today’s route announcement will hopefully whet people’s appetites still further and get them thinking about where in the city they will be watching the race.
"We recognise that some residents and businesses will now have questions about how an occasion of this size could impact local communities on the day.
"They can be assured that we will be working hard alongside the race organisers to minimise any disruption and will also make every effort to keep people fully informed as plans for the event continue to take shape."
Clementine Hall -
20th June 2023 
