TWENTY years ago, British pop singer Rick Astley was on top of his game, selling millions of chart-topping records and sending female fans into a frenzy.

But, at the peak of his career in the early 1990s, he quit showbiz and opted for well-heeled obscurity and anonymity.

That all changed in the past year.

Astley, 42, became an overnight Internet star and was reluctantly thrust back into the limelight after what is known as the rickrolling phenomenon.

More than 20 million Web users have been tricked into thinking they were clicking on their desired links, but found themselves (mis)directed to the music video of Astley's 1987 hit Never Gonna Give You Up.

On April Fools' Day this year, YouTube rickrolled its users by linking every featured video on its main page to the video.

Rickrolling has since taken on a life of its own, with YouTube users creating their own lip-synched routines and live rickroll interruptions at anti-Scientology protests, subway train stations and even a New York Mets game.

During a phone interview with The New Paper from his London home, Astley addressed this cyber-movement with good-natured humour and self-deprecating candour.

He said people recognise him on the streets '5 per cent' more since rickrolling started, and that '50 per cent' of the people he meets at dinner parties ask him about it.

'NOTHING TO DO WITH ME'

'It's all so bizarre, strange and weird because it has nothing to do with me really. If anything, it has to do with the kid in America who started it and thought it was such a naff (British slang for uncool) '80s pop song, he had to use it,' Astley said with a chuckle.

He also admitted that some of the rickrolling videos make him laugh.

'If I started getting serious, then I'd be in trouble. I don't treat it as a compliment because they're making fun of me, but it's funny as hell.'

His indifference is also partly because he feels 'removed' from 'the public Rick Astley'.

He explained: 'I know I had a hit with that song, but it's like a different life, like I'm somebody else.

'It's like when you look back at school photos from 20 years ago and you think, 'My god, how could I have worn those clothes?'

But even before the rickrolling phenomenon, for the past few years, Astley has been earning a good living and enjoying doing 'very small shows at tiny clubs' in the UK on an ad-hoc basis, singing old Frank Sinatra classics before 300 people per night.

Last month, after years of rejecting big-money offers, he finally embarked on the successful Here And Now nostalgia concert tour in the UK with other '80s acts, such as Bananarama, ABC, Johnny Hates Jazz and Paul Young.

Surprisingly, when it ended, he 'wasn't ready to stop (and) wanted to do a few more'. Which brings him to our neck of the woods.

Astley will be in town performing at SingFest 2008 on 3 Aug - it's his first time in Singapore - after back-to-back gigs in Jakarta and Manila.

His only other Asian stop was in Japan two years ago for a series of concerts - only because he was 'paid loads of money' and his 16-year-old daughter Emilie and film producer wife Lene Bausager were insistent on taking a holiday there.

But don't call this a comeback because one gets the feeling Astley is content with the status quo.

He insisted: 'It's not like I'm trying to keep my career going. I'm not treating it like a career move, more like a trip down memory lane. I'm 42 and I don't think I wanna do this when I'm 50. So I thought I'd have one final go at it - have fun at gigs, travel and put some money in the bank.

'But in a year's time, I'll probably stop and never do it again and that works for me because I enjoy being retired.'

He added: 'To some degree, I was burnt out. Even if I could create something big-scale in future, I'm not sure I would want to because it's not on my list of priorities. Maybe it has to do with fear too. What if I try and it doesn't work?'

NEVER GONNA CHANGE MY LOOK

But even though his professional life has undergone a makeover, the well-preserved man himself certainly hasn't.

On the secret to his youthful looks, Astley - who has never smoked or taken drugs and who claims drinking as his only vice - said: 'When you're young and people tell you have a baby face, you wish you didn't. Now that you're in your 40s, you think - Yes!'

Or maybe it is because he seems to have retained his '80s hairstyle.

He said: 'It's not really by choice because I can't do anything else with it. It's either short or long, otherwise it'll just stick up.

'But I noticed that if it's really short and I put wax in it and pull it down, I don't get recognised. If I try a mini Elvis coiff, people recognise me more. But I haven't touched a hairdryer in 18 years.'

However, things are not the same when it comes to his famous, laughably awkward dance moves.

He quipped: 'Oh, I do it very little now (on stage). It depends on how excited the ladies get, so we'll see. I'm old now, so I'd probably need a vitamin shake before I go on.'

This article was first published in the The New Paper on June 19, 2008.