Rick Astley Reflects on His Initial Thoughts About Kylie Minogue in the 1980s

Rick Astley recently opened up to the Life Of Greatness podcast about candid reflections on his early impressions of Kylie Minogue, his former label mate at Stock Aitken Waterman, or SAW. The pop icon revealed he thought Kylie Minogue would not cut it as a singer following her acting stint, which provided a glimpse into how his perceptions changed over the course.

Speaking about the 1980s era, Astley admitted that he initially dismissed Minogue’s musical aspirations. According to a report by Daily Mail, Astley viewed her, at the time, as mostly a soap star trying to enter singing. “The guys who signed me wanted to work with an actress soap star,” he explained, referring to Minogue’s well-known role as Charlene Robinson on the popular Australian series Neighbors.

At the time, Minogue was hailed for her screen presence rather than any evident vocal acuity, leaving Astley wondering why SAW wanted to use her for the group. He confessed to doubts, which he perceived at the time as a marketing decision based on “fame, rather than any musical substance.”. “I thought it was Mandy Smith all over again,” he remembered, comparing her to another artist whose career was tied to her celebrity status rather than her artistry. Despite his recent admission of early “snootiness,” Astley’s opinion changed drastically after he met Minogue during a promotional trip to Australia. While reminiscing about the meeting, he said of her, “She was fantastic—so warm and lovely, completely without airs and graces.” The rapport left a sense, and Astley confessed that he felt a desire to safeguard the budding young star, already so known for being one of the stars of Neighbors.

Astley reflects further on how he so underrated the Minogue potential in the music business. “I thought it might be a one-off. She’d go back to acting-it’s not as if she’d make a career out of being a singer,” he admits, underlining his skepticism at the time.

However, Minogue would prove him, and others, wrong. She would go on to become an international pop sensation who defied expectations with chart-topping hits like I Should Be So Lucky. A talented and determined music icon, her good run dominated his early sceptics, even silent Astley.

Astley’s accounts provide one of the most intriguing insights into how perceptions change and especially so in the highly volatile music industry. His account, therefore, underlines not only Minogue’s undeniable charisma but also her capacity to overcome skepticism and become part of pop music lore.