Rick Astley

"I had my 15 minutes of being the new boy of pop, like lots of people before and after me. Overnight, everyone starts treating you differently, and perceives you differently."

"I didnt like the music business and I didnt like me. Theres an element of falseness about the whole thing. Even things like doing an interview. Its not as though we just met in the pub and are having a chat — its part of a process. If you do it all day, every day for years, you end up thinking: Who the hell am I? I was lucky enough to make some money, enough to let me kick back. It was a great experience and it was nice to have a couple of No.1s but the best thing about it was that the money I made allowed me to have freedom and choice in my life."

"I did enjoy it," he says. "But it was very, very weird. You can blab on about seeing the other side of fame, but it doesnt mean shit until it happens to you. It wasnt so much the going on TV, or going to award ceremonies, or having a camera focused on your face. It was being famous in the supermarket, being famous in a restaurant. Fame is not just about being able to get out of a limo in Leicester Square, its about trying to get into your house when there are eight photographers outside. When you think about being famous, you dont think about all that stuff. You think about the glamour. I wanted to turn the tap off when Id done my job. But you cant."

"Rick walked away right at the height. People look at other artists like Simply Red and say they were big, but he out-sold them two to one."

"I took the first few years off and spent them recovering. I didnt even know what day it was or who I was anymore, so I made a conscious effort to end it all. I thought my days were numbered as a pop star anyway. My girlfriend and I had a daughter, I had some money, so I just took the time off to chill out."