Rick Astley teamed up with UK indie rock band Blossoms to perform a full set of The Smiths covers at Glastonbury on Saturday.
The 16-song set featured greatest hits like “This Charming Man,” “Big Mouth Strikes Again,” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “How Soon Is Now?” Watch fan captured footage and see the full setlist below.
Astley and Blossoms previously teamed up to cover The Smiths for a pair of shows in 2021. At the time, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr described the tribute shows as “both funny and horrible at the same time.” (Incidentally, Marr was on site at Glastonbury on Saturday as a guest of Pretenders. It’s unclear if he caught any of Astley and Blossoms’ performance.)
In a pre-show interview with NME, Astley said, “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.”
Astley also performed a set earlier in the day, which featured a mix of his own songs and covers of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” (with Astley on drums).
Rick Astley & Blossoms covering ‘Panic’ by The Smiths (Glastonbury 2023)
What a showman 🕺🏻
— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 24, 2023
Rick Astley on drum duty covering AC/DC #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/O0JI7zdSot
— Jay J (@JibbaJabb) June 24, 2023
Rick Astley and Blossoms’ The Smiths Covers Glastonbury Setlist:
This Charming Man
What Difference Does It Make?
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Cemetry Gates
Ask
Hand in Glove
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
The Boy With the Thorn in His Side
Girlfriend in a Coma
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Panic
William, It Was Really Nothing
Barbarism Begins at Home
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
How Soon Is Now?
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
Listen to Astley discuss “Never Gonna Give Up” on a past episode of The Story Behind the Song…