Forget Glastonbury; Worthy Farm is now known as Rick Astonbury.
At noon, a sizable crowd had gathered at the Pyramid Stage, eager to experience a live Rickroll.
And Astley didn't let them down, rewarding them with a joyous rendition of Never Gonna Give You Up that forever changed the definition of a crowd-pleaser.
Before the performance, he told the BBC that getting a booking at the festival was both "a bizarre stroke of luck" and "pretty bonkers.".
I'm still fine with that, he told entertainment reporter Colin Paterson, "if we get the smallest audience on the 12 o'clock slot that Glastonbury's ever seen.".
He didn't have to worry in the end. Festival goers descended in droves early in the morning, providing unambiguous evidence that the star is not new to love.
Debbie Anne O'Donovan, who was seated in the front row two hours before Rick Astley arrived, declared, "I'm here for Rick Astley.".
Since the 1980s, I've been an avid follower. He is something of a legend. He'll have a great rapport with the audience, in my opinion. ".
Penny and Corrie Wheeler, mother and daughter, made their reservations even earlier, at 07:30, and were determined to remain there until Guns N' Roses began their main set.
We do have supplies, and there are plenty of snacks, so we're pretty set, Corrie said.
Mark Old, who was watching with his wife, said, "I've seen him quite a few times. He performs brilliantly and has a really cool, smooth voice. ".
Astley entered the stage shortly after noon to the sound of the Star Wars theme before starting a disco-styled rendition of Together Forever.
He looked out over the crowd in a blush pink suit and exclaimed, "My god, look at you.".
He didn't remain still for very long, though; he was soon stalking the catwalk, reading out people's flags, singing to the front row, and obviously having a great time.
For those who were not familiar with his discography, he included covers of Harry Styles' As It Was and Chic's Good Times, the latter of which was combined with A-Ha's Take On Me.
Additionally, he used the opportunity of a national TV audience to perform his brand-new single, Dippin' My ft\..
He smirked, "I'm not an idiot! Of course I'm going to play my new song.".
He explained that he used to play Highway To Hell by AC/DC in his dad's greenhouse when he was a "15-year-old kid" until his drum kit broke.
He apologized for his performance after it was over, citing the fact that the kick drum pedal kept catching his suit pants.
"I'm sorry for wearing the wrong pair of pants, Glastonbury, is all I can say. ".
He obviously saved Never Gonna Give You Up for last, getting the audience to sing the first verse and chorus a cappella with him, then stomping on the groove for almost ten minutes, introducing his band, and throwing in the guitar solo from Queen's We Will Rock You for good measure.
He improvised: "Glastonbury, I'm feeling fantastic, thanks to you," as he sang the song's final refrain, "I just want to tell you how I'm feeling.". ".
It resembled a scaled-down version of Glastonbury's customary Sunday afternoon legend slot. It will be intriguing to observe how Cat Stevens, who performs in that capacity tomorrow, will contrast.
Astley, who is now 57, rose to fame overnight in 1987 when his song Never Gonna Give You Up reached the top of the charts in 25 different nations.
His rich, mellow baritone was paired with a corny dance beat and an equally corny video for this Stock Aitken Waterman hit that won the Brit Award for best single.
He had seven more top 10 hits over the following four years, including songs like "Whenever You Need Somebody" and "Cry For Help," but in 1991, he left the entertainment industry because he felt like he had no control over his career.
He raised his young daughter there for more than ten years while his wife was employed as a film producer.
Never Gonna Give You Up later had a strange second life as an internet meme known as "Rickrolling," in which users are sent a link and tricked into watching Astley's music video.
The video's YouTube page had 1 billion views by 2021; as of this writing, it is just shy of 1 point 4 billion.
The amiable star accepts his online notoriety and calls RickRolling "brilliant" and "funny.".
In 2022, he told the Associated Press, "The video and the song have drifted off into the ether and become something else, and I'm ever so grateful for it.
In 2016, the fame inspired him to come out of retirement. Since then, he has been on a new creative roll, releasing soulful and sophisticated pop albums like 50 and Beautiful Life.
That resulted in him receiving a Glastonbury invitation in 2020, before the festival was postponed due to the pandemic.
The BBC quoted him as saying, "I thought to myself, 'That's it, that's my shot gone. Because of the passage of time and the emergence of new artists, I didn't anticipate receiving a second invitation. I was therefore totally made up when they contacted me. ".
The celebrity's Glastonbury experience won't end on the Pyramid Stage, either. On Saturday night, he'll also appear on the Woodsies stage to play a set of Smiths covers with the Stockport indie band Blossoms.
The line-up for Saturday also features performances by Lana Del Rey, Lizzo, Manic Street Preachers, Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner, Eurovision champions Maneskin, and French superstar Christine And The Queens.
On Saturday, Guns N' Roses are the featured act, and Sir Elton John is the featured act on Sunday.
