Michael Bublé Isn’t the Only Surprise Singer to Join Foo Fighters on Stage: Rick Astley Rocked Out
Crooner Michael Bublé may have stunned Foo Fighters fans during a recent show when he hopped on stage, but he’s not the first “out of left field” singer to join the band. One of the memorable Foo Fighters duos was with 80s singer Rick Astley.
Unlike Bublé’s appearance, Astley’s 2017 collab was unplanned. Astley met Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl at the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan. The band was playing a set, which was when Grohl surprised fans by asking Astley to join them on stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome our new best friend, Rick Astley?” Grohl announced to the crowd (via Louder).
Grohl and Astley spoke privately on stage for a few minutes and Grohl shouted: “This is f***ing crazy. I just met him two minutes ago!”
That’s when Astley uncharasteristically yelled, “Come on your motherf***ers!”
Rick Astley vs. Foo Fighters’ Nirvana cover
Instead of Astley singing a Foo Fighter song or vice versa, the musicians went with a mashup between Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Astley’s lyrics mixed with the enduring Gen X anthem’s tune in a sense as though they were almost created for one another. After the performance, Grohl snapped a photo with Astley and captioned it on Twitter, “Our new best friend.”
Is another Foo Fighters and Rick Astley collab coming soon?
Years later, Astley is still asked about another collab. “I think everyone has heard those rumors,” he told NME in 2023.
“I haven’t had a text from Dave if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. Adding, “I don’t know. I went to the Taylor Hawkins tribute gig at Wembley and I’m just really happy for them that they can go out and play live again. In a lot of people’s minds, it was unknown if they would. It’s a wonderful thing. If they did turn up at Glastonbury and there was a roof, then I’m sure they’d take the roof off.”
“I would never profess to being mates with Foo Fighters, but they’re always really lovely when we bump into each other. They’re super solid and real people,” he added.
Foo Fighter drummer Taylor Hawkins played the Nirvana and Astley collab during the 2017 performance. Hawkins died in March 2022.
In the meantime, the band hosted Michael Bublé
Grohl has joked about playing Bublé’s 2009 single, “Haven’t Met You Yet” and he recently had the opportunity to play the song with Bublé.
During a recent performance, Grohl said to the crowd, “The last couple shows — I always look out [into the crowd] — someone’s like ‘I know the Bublé song,’ ‘I’ll come up and sing,’ ‘I know the Bublé song,’” he said (via CNN). “And every time someone f***ing says they know the song, they don’t know the f***ing song. Do you know the f***ing song? Who knows the f***ing song?”
Out of the blue, Bublé was in the audience, holding a “I [Heart] Bublé” sign.
“Hold on a second — we got a superfan. This motherf***er better know the song,” Grohl joked as Bublé took the stage.
