Without the internet, memes wouldn’t be anywhere near as prevalent as they are today. And one of the earliest ever examples was the Rickroll where unsuspecting users would click on a video, only to be rudely interrupted by Rick Astley and his seminal 80s hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Admit it, we’ve all fallen victim to it at one point, and we’ve likely managed to successfully Rickroll someone else in the process.
Well, Rick Astley has been biding his time it would seem. The 55-year-old singer from Newton-le-Willows has been patiently waiting his time before claiming back his meme and becoming the king of Rickrolling. He may have needed a little help from a rag-tag bunch of aliens in the process, but he got there in the end.
On his reclamation of Rickrolling, Rick Astley said: “For years I’ve been biding my time, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to take back ownership of the Rickroll. When I found out Never Gonna Give You Up was in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it was clear this was the opportunity I had been waiting for!”
He continued: “In all seriousness though, I’m genuinely excited to be part of the game’s soundtrack, to feature alongside so many wonderful songs that defined a decade and have personally influenced my youth and musical career. With the game’s music focused on the ‘80s, I expect many gamers, particularly the younger ones, will be hearing some of the featured tracks for the first time. I hope these songs bring players the same joy and inspiration they gave me, and spur them on while they’re saving the Galaxy!”
The particular moment in the game that Mr. Astley has hijacked is a feature known as Huddle. These moments are where Starlord can give the rest of the Guardians a much need pep talk. One particular Huddle can result in an in-game Rickroll. You have been warned.
So, there you have it. Rick Astley is once again king of the Rickroll, and he managed it thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy. As far as sentences I never thought I would type out go, this one is going straight to the top of the list.
Stay tuned as we will have a full review of Guardians of the Galaxy coming very soon on Xbox. Find out whether our reviewer was Rickrolled successfully or not.