Brit Award winner Rick Astley is the first act to be announced for Forest Live, a series of summer concerts which sees top artists performing in woodlands around the country.
The global star will arrive in Bedgebury Pinetum on Friday June 16 for two nights of live music.
The announcement continues the high profile headliners of the concerts. Tom Jones and the Kaiser Chiefs hit the stage last year and Paloma Faith and Tom Odell have entertained previously.
Astley, a star of the 1980s pop scene, has stumbled upon a resurgence of popularity after becoming an internet phenomenon in 2007, when one of his videos went viral as a meme (which can often be a humourous poke at celebrities).
His 1987 song Never Gonna Give You Up charted at No 1 in 25 countries. Thirty years later, the video for the song became part of an online prank called ‘rickrolling’ making him a so-called meme. The prank, designed to infuriate or irritate, involved disguising a link to the video as important information.
Astley has used the joke to relaunch his career, with his most recent album, titled 50, debuting at No 1 in June.
Income from the concerts, which have spanned 16 years, is spent by the Forestry Commission on expanding England’s woodlands and introducing improvements for both people and wildlife.
