Whenever You Need Somebody
Rick Astley
1987
Annual listening list: initial release cycle, with recent carryovers; not an original-release-date field. Release chronology remains partly unverified.
Release year not established
Release year not establishedDate review open
A first-release date was not established in the available metadata.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
About Rick Astley
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Rick Astley moved from singing in the local band FBI into a recording career with Stock Aitken Waterman. Never Gonna Give You Up, Together Forever and the album Whenever You Need Somebody established his late-1980s pop repertoire. Later projects included Keep It Turned On and Portrait. A new phase arrived with 50 in 2016, an album he wrote, recorded and produced himself, emphasizing his work as a musician beyond the early singles.
Artist background sources
Rick Astley - Sony Music Japan artist biography
FBI/Stock Aitken Waterman development, early singles and debut album, Keep It Turned On and Portrait. Exact chart timing and promotional figures are omitted. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Rick Astley and 50 - BMG anniversary account
2016 album and Astley's writing/recording/production roles. The erroneous claim that 50 was his first UK number-one album and current audience totals are not used. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
Whenever You Need Somebody by Rick Astley is included for 1987 on the basis of the cited chart-associated source. This establishes the annual connection, not the circumstances in which the song was written. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
UK top-ten singles in 1987 (Wikipedia chart transcription)
Secondary chart transcription reviewed: title, artist and presence in the UK top ten during this year. Supplemental annual selection, not an original release date or a U.S. year-end rank.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Textual identity reconciliation, not audio-fingerprint or exact-pressing verification. Version labels are catalog safeguards.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
UK top-ten singles in 1987 (Wikipedia chart transcription)
Secondary chart transcription reviewed: title, artist and presence in the UK top ten during this year. Supplemental annual selection, not an original release date or a U.S. year-end rank.
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