rick astley blossoms smiths tour

Rick Astley performs a full set of The Smiths’ greatest hits at Glastonbury — setlist + video

Rick Astley followed up his officially announced Glastonbury festival performance Saturday with a “secret” second set, teaming up with the U.K. band Blossoms to perform 16 of The Smiths’ best-loved songs for an adoring crowd under the tented Woodsies Stage.

It’s not the first time Smiths superfan Astley and the Blossoms have done this; after teaming up on a couple songs together they played two full shows of Smiths covers in Manchester and London in 2021.

Their reprise on Saturday included performances of “What Difference Does It Make?,” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “Barbarism Begins at Home,” “How Soon Is Now?” and more. See the full setlist below.

The previous Astley/Blossoms team-ups drew a mixed reaction from Morrissey and Johnny Marr , with the former more supportive (Moz: “Anything that generates interest in that tired old Smiths warhorse is testimony to the wallop it packed. THANK YOU”), but the latter apparently having gotten over some initial criticism (“This is both funny and horrible at the same time,” Marr initially said).

Morrissey and Astley have some history, with Morrissey having put an old late-’80s photo of himself and Astley on the sleeve of the reissued “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” single.

Below, check out the setlist and selected video of the Glastonbury set — we’ll add more as it surfaces.

Setlist: Ricky Astley with Blossoms, Glastonbury, UK — 6/24/23

1. “This Charming Man” 2. “What Difference Does It Make?” 3. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” 4. “Cemetry Gates” 5. “Ask” 6. “Hand in Glove” 7. “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” 8. “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” 9. “Girlfriend in a Coma” 10. “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” 11. “Panic” 12. “William, It Was Really Nothing” 13. “Barbarism Begins at Home” 14. “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” 15. “How Soon Is Now?” 16. “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”

Rick Astley & Blossoms covering ‘Panic’ by The Smiths (Glastonbury 2023) What a showman 🕺🏻 pic.twitter.com/6s6Qn8lJFH — The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley and The Blossoms absolutely nailing The Smiths at #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/9LmG55epiV — 4K ᑕOᒪᒪEᑕTIᐯE (@the4kCollectivE) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley and Blossoms covering The Smiths’ 'This Charming Man' 💐 #RickAstley #Blossoms #Glastonbury #Glastonbury23 pic.twitter.com/rTkgdxPY2p — Far Out Magazine (@FarOutMag) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley and Blossoms covering The Smiths’ 'Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now' 💐 #RickAstley #Blossoms #Glastonbury #Glastonbury23 pic.twitter.com/HeWn2ERGoo — Far Out Magazine (@FarOutMag) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley x Blossoms covering The Smiths… chefs kiss pic.twitter.com/ZHR4ptVSWS — Jack (@JaackB95) June 24, 2023

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• Spurned by David Bowie, Morrissey turns to Rick Astley for sleeve of new reissue single
• Photo: Morrissey and Rick Astley backstage at the BBC’s ‘Top of the Pops’ in 1989
• Andy Rourke, the “supremely gifted” bassist for The Smiths, dies of pancreatic cancer
• Morrissey to Marr: “It was YOU who played guitar on ‘Golden Lights’ — not me.”
• The Smiths’ Mike Joyce is here to teach you how to make sourdough bread

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Would love for them to go on tour with this set list. I would so be there if they came state side

Fantastic! Come to Canada and me and my friends are all there. Amazing.

Rick sounds as good as Morrissey, will actually show up to a concert, and doesn’t have all his racist baggage. Nice!

Rick’s Morrissey is better than Steven’s Morrissey. Sorry Steve.

Rick Astley has a decade or so where he can do whatever he wants, however he wants to do it and he will be beloved for it. Go for it.

Rick still looks like Jim Kerr but simply can’t sing nearly as well as Mozzer. Meanwhile, these songs are far more delicate and intricate than this cover band can contemplate. RIP Andy.

No Frankly Mr. Shankly?

Thank you for posting this. It is AMAZING! One of those rare live performances that wows you so much, you watch it over and over. I hope he tours the US and does this set list. He could even mix in his 80s stuff and a couple of new songs. I would be one of the first people to buy tickets.

I do not think this is bad but rather strange. I would have guessed Rick’s fans were not likely to be Smiths fans. Certainly not in 1985. I guess the Smiths are now that popular.

never liked rick astley, but absolutely love this. i’d be there in a heartbeat. maybe the hollywood bowl????

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11 October 2021 3:56 PM

Blossoms & Rick Astley Live in London: Unlikely combo deliver sublime tribute to The Smiths

Naysayers be silenced, this unlikely tribute to salford's finest was brilliant - five stars.

By Ali Shutler

When Blossoms and Rick Astley announced last month that they were joining forces to cover the iconic back catalogue of The Smiths at two one-off shows, it proved to be the most divisive and perplexing of prospects.

Endless hours of YouTube footage were scrutinised, fans were firmly divided and Johnny Marr – the very architect of those iconic Smiths guitar riffs – denounced the idea as “funny and horrible at the same time”.

But it was the ticket sales that ultimately spoke loudest, with two shows at Manchester’s Albert Hall and London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town selling out within minutes of going on sale.

Tonight (October 9) sees the northern supergroup return to the stage of the O2 Forum, where they first debuted the idea during a Blossoms show last month, for a mammoth nineteen song set.

Despite frequent requests from the crowd, it’s a show that sees neither act air any of their own material. Instead, this is an evening that Astley describes as “surreal and it’s only going to get surreal-er.”

It’s understandable, then, that the whole room takes the entirety of opening number ‘What Difference Does It Make’ to fully warm up to the concept. But by the time the six-piece launch into the jangly pop of ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’, the crowd is fully onside.

And why wouldn’t they be. Astley, showing off a surprisingly versatile and rich voice, does a great job of fronting the group. He attempts Morrissey’s signature microphone spin but there’s no risk of hearing the hateful comments that have sullied the singer’s reputation in recent years.

Instead, we get the occasional self-deprecating comment (“someone said I was dressed like MC Hammer going golfing”) and praise for Blossoms , “a beautiful talented band who worked their fingers to the bone to make these shows happen”.

As for Blossoms, the Stockport retro-poppers really bring out the dynamic side of The Smiths’ music.

Big hitters like ‘Panic’, ‘This Charming Man’ and ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ have never sounded so joyful, ‘How Soon Is Now’ is as moody as ever while “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ serves up big, beautiful emotion to the capacity crowd. 

The Smiths built their legacy on offering a sense of belonging to the misunderstood and tonight is a warm, jubilant celebration of that togetherness. It’s an altogether experience different to seeing the band back in their heyday but this was never about recreating the past.

Instead, Blossoms and Astley really care about the source material, and tonight’s show champions how exactly The Smiths’ music has endured in 2021 – the answer resoundingly arriving in the thunderous singalongs that erupt throughout. As Blossoms guitarist Tom Ogden says, “it’s strange, but in a good way”.

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Blossoms and Rick Astley announce pair of shows celebrating the songs of The Smiths

The gigs - billed as 'The Sound Of The Smiths' - will take place next month

Blossoms and Rick Astley have announced they’ll be teaming up for a pair of shows that will celebrate the songs of The Smiths .

• READ MORE: Blossoms talk ’70s-inspired new single ‘Care For’ and tease their next album

It comes after Blossoms surprised fans during the first of three nights at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum last night (September 13) by inviting Astley on stage to run through a selection of Smiths covers.

Taking place at Manchester’s Albert Hall on October 8 and London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on October 9, the shows will see Blossoms become Astley’s backing band for a full set of theirs and fans’ most-loved Smiths songs.

“The Smiths have always meant so much to Blossoms, with even their rainiest songs complete with wry humour and soul-reaching musicianship and melody,” Blossoms said in a statement. “Their poppier moments are pure, joyful, danceable poetry.

“Imagine backing Rick Astley to play the songs of The Smiths? We’ve had wilder dreams, but not many. We’ll barely be able to believe it until it happens, but the dates are set, we’re studying every note, line and beat to say ‘thank you’ to The Smiths alongside Rick and do both of them proud.”

WTF. @rickastley // @BlossomsBand // The Smiths – This Charming Man. The crossover no one asked for but everyone needed. pic.twitter.com/zJrKLR1wJU — At Most One Tour (@atmostonetour) September 13, 2021

Astley added: “From the moment The Smiths emerged in 1983 I was hooked and it’s as a fan, with deep respect as a musician for Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce, that I’ll be joining the endlessly enthusiastic and talented Blossoms on stage to sing their songs.”

The two gigs – billed as ‘The Songs Of The Smiths’ – make good on a suggestion Astley made in a 2016 Rolling Stone interview that he’d one day perform an entire set of Smiths songs.

“It’s no secret that it’s been an ambition of mine to turn an idea that first sounded crazy,” Astley said, “making more sense as Blossoms and I talked about it and then rehearsed it, into a reality. These shows will be nights that I’ll never forget.”

Tickets for the two shows go on sale on Friday (September 17) at 9:30am – you can get them here . See the dates for ‘The Songs Of The Smiths’ shows below.

OCTOBER 2021

8 – Albert Hall, Manchester 9 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Blossoms’ UK tour continues with another gig at The Forum tonight (September 14) and Wednesday (September 25) before they perform at Newcastle’s This Is Tomorrow Festival and at Manchester’s AO Arena, as well as supporting Courteeners with Johnny Marr and Old Trafford .

More headline shows in Europe and the UK will follow in 2022. Visit here for tickets and more information.

News is expected soon of Blossoms’ new album after they teased details of it in a recent interview with NME .

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Rick Astley 'wins' Glastonbury as he performs 'awesome' collaboration with Blossoms

The set was hailed 'pure magic' by one stunned fan

• 20:58, 24 JUN 2023

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Glastonbury viewers reckon Rick Astley has 'won' the festival after he performed an unusual collaboration with Stockport's very own Blossoms.

The singer, 57, already wowed fans with his own set on Saturday afternoon - which saw him cover Harry Styles hit As It Was, and AC/DC's Highway To Hell. But Rick wasn't stopping there; later on, he joined Blossoms for a special set.

The musicians joined forces on the newly named Woodsies stage to cover a string of hits by The Smiths, including Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, Panic and What Difference Does It Make? It's not the first time Rick and Blossoms have covered The Smiths together, either.

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link

In 2021, they played a two special gigs with the same premise. One performance was at Manchester's Albert Hall, while the other was at London's O2 Forum Kentish Town.

Viewers were pleasantly surprised by their collaboration and their versions of The Smiths' classic. Many took to social media to share their thoughts, with one fan calling the set 'pure magic.'

@musher999 wrote: "Think Rick Astley and Blossoms doing the Smiths just won #Glasto. Fantastic," while @philstwit68 echoed: "Sir Rick Astley and The Blossoms have won #glastonbury2023". @MishMarshall68 said: "Rick Astley has just won Glastonbury .. that is all" and @JW197two added: "Rick Astley and Blossoms have won Glastonbury."

Others were surprised by how much they enjoyed the collaboration - despite how random it seemed. @NathP_Russell enthused: "Rick Astley and Blossoms covering The Smiths is something I had no idea was possible and no clue I needed in my life, but I feel a much better person for it. That was awesome #Glastonbury23".

@formidblecool tweeted: "something about rick astley and blossoms forming a supergroup to purely cover the smiths songs scratches an itch in my brain" and @olimccoole said: "Rick Astley & Blossoms doing the songs of The Smiths at Glasto, f****** incredible, what a matchup they are".

@alex_brotherton wanted more, tweeting: "Saw Rick Astley & Blossoms covering The Smiths at Albert Hall a couple of years ago and it's genuinely up there with one of the best gigs I've been too. Hope they do another mini tour after the reception their Glastonbury set received".

@he4vensent1 added: "Rick Astley and Blossoms on the Woodsies Stage performing The Smiths - the act that I never knew that I needed to see. Pure magic."

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Rick Astley Performed a Full Set of The Smiths’ Songs At Glastonbury: Watch

Teaming with UK indie rockers Blossoms

Rick Astley teamed up with UK indie rock band Blossoms to perform a full set of The Smiths covers at Glastonbury on Saturday.

The 16-song set featured greatest hits like “This Charming Man,” “Big Mouth Strikes Again,” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “How Soon Is Now?” Watch fan captured footage and see the full setlist below.

Astley and Blossoms previously teamed up to cover The Smiths for a pair of shows in 2021. At the time, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr described the tribute shows as “both funny and horrible at the same time.” (Incidentally, Marr was on site at Glastonbury on Saturday as a guest of Pretenders . It’s unclear if he caught any of Astley and Blossoms’ performance.)

In a pre-show interview with NME , Astley said, “If we burn in hell for doing it, then we’ll have to live with that. The audiences that we’ve done it for in the past have always got it, got involved and loved it. You’re either a Smiths fan or you’re not, and if you are then it’s very hallowed ground. Learning the songs reaffirms how great but individual they were as a band.”

Astley also performed a set earlier in the day, which featured a mix of his own songs and covers of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” (with Astley on drums).

Rick Astley & Blossoms covering ‘Panic’ by The Smiths (Glastonbury 2023) What a showman 🕺🏻 pic.twitter.com/6s6Qn8lJFH — The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley on drum duty covering AC/DC #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/O0JI7zdSot — Jay J (@JibbaJabb) June 24, 2023

Rick Astley and Blossoms’ The Smiths Covers Glastonbury Setlist:

This Charming Man What Difference Does It Make? Bigmouth Strikes Again Cemetry Gates Ask Hand in Glove Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others The Boy With the Thorn in His Side Girlfriend in a Coma Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now Panic William, It Was Really Nothing Barbarism Begins at Home Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want How Soon Is Now? There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

Listen to Astley discuss “Never Gonna Give Up” on a past episode of The Story Behind the Song…

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Rick Astley and Blossoms team up for surprise Smiths Glastonbury set

Rick Astley reunited with Blossoms for a surprise Glastonbury set of covers from The Smiths’ catalogue. 

The Never Gonna Give You Up star and the Manchester pop group played an hour-long set on the Woodsies Stage on Saturday, paying tribute to the Morrissey-fronted band. 

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Opening with This Charming Man , they performed a total of 16 tracks, including Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now , Panic and How Soon Is Now? .

Fans at the event and watching from home soon took to social media to react to their performance, calling the show “masterful” and writing: “Phenomenal performance and the #Glastonbury crowd at Woodsies Stage are loving it”.

It comes after Rick delivered a lunchtime set of his biggest hits on the Pyramid Stage, including classics like Together Forever and Never Gonna Give You Up , along with his new single, Dippin My Feet .

The track is lifted from the star’s first album in five years, ‘Are We There Yet?’ , which builds upon the experiences he’s gone through since the release of 2018’s ‘Beautiful Life’ and was born in 2020, taking shape over the years that followed. 

With a multitude of inspirations – from his experience in lockdown to celebrating the music of The Smiths during life-affirming shows with Blossoms and his huge sold-out North American arena tour with New Kids On The Block, Salt ‘N’ Pepa and En Vogue – ‘Are We There Yet?’ reflects the mindset of a musician 35+ years into his career.

“Now, that phrase has multiple meanings,” says Rick of the album title. “Are we there yet in my musical ambitions? Am I done with my career? Have we arrived? Or are we still travelling?”

Entirely written, recorded and produced by Rick at his home studio in southwest London, the LP proves the eighties icon is still pushing to reach even greater musical heights, with plans to bring the new tracks to life with an arena tour early next year, following a pair of gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall in November. 

He’ll be joined by The Go-Go’s legend Belinda Carlisle for the shows, aside from his dates in the Autumn, which will feature The Feeling as special guests. 

‘Are We There Yet?’ is out October 6 and  available to pre-order now . Tickets for Rick’s UK tour are  on sale  now. 

The full list of dates is as follows. 

NOVEMBER 2023

1 – Royal Albert Hall, London

2 – Royal Albert Hall, London

FEBRUARY 2024

22 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham 

23 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle  

24 – First Direct Arena, Leeds 

26 – International Arena, Cardiff

27 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow                                                     

29 – International Centre, Bournemouth

1 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

2 – AO Arena, Manchester   

Connor Gotto

Founder and editor of RETROPOP. Self-proclaimed pop aficionado. Like to make my life look super cool and exciting online, but usually found at home, with my dogs, sipping wine and listening to Nicki French!

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Blossoms and Rick Astley for The Smiths covers gigs

15 September 2021, 11:34 | Updated: 15 September 2021, 11:54

The gigs, which are billed as The Sound Of The Smiths, will take place in October this year.

Now here's something we thought we'd never write: Blossoms are teaming up with Rick Astley to celebrate The Smiths on live dates.

The Stockport five-piece and the 80s icon are joining forces to celebrate the music of the Manchester band in two live shows.

The Sound Of The Smiths will see the Lancashire-born artists play a homecoming set at Manchester's Albert Hall on 8 October, followed by a gig the next day in London at the O2 Forum Kentish Town.

"The Smiths have always meant so much to Blossoms, with even their rainiest songs complete with wry humour and soul-reaching musicianship and melody," Blossoms said in a statement.

"Their poppier moments are pure, joyful, danceable poetry.

"Imagine backing Rick Astley to play the songs of The Smiths? We’ve had wilder dreams, but not many. We’ll barely be able to believe it until it happens, but the dates are set, we’re studying every note, line and beat to say ‘thank you’ to The Smiths alongside Rick and do both of them proud."

READ MORE - Tom from Blossoms: Noel Gallagher jokingly warned me off marriage

Never Gonna Give You Up star, Astley a dded: "From the moment The Smiths emerged in 1983 I was hooked and it’s as a fan, with deep respect as a musician for Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce, that I’ll be joining the endlessly enthusiastic and talented Blossoms on stage to sing their songs."

Tickets go on sale on Friday 17 September 17 from 9:30am at seetickets.com.

Fans of the band won't be too surprised to hear the news, as Rick Astley joined the rockers on stage earlier this week for a rendition of This Charming Man.

WTF. @rickastley // @BlossomsBand // The Smiths - This Charming Man. The crossover no one asked for but everyone needed. pic.twitter.com/zJrKLR1wJU — At Most One Tour (@atmostonetour) September 13, 2021

See Blossoms and Rick Astley's The Sound of The Smiths dates:

• 8 October 2021 - Albert Hall, Manchester
• 9 October 2021 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Blossoms will continue their live dates, supporting Courteeners alongside The Smiths legend Johnny Marr at their homecoming gig at Manchester's Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground.

READ MORE: Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up reaches one billion YouTube views

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Rick Astley on his Smiths covers gigs: ‘I’ll use a karaoke machine if I have to’

Ahead of his two Morrissey-channelling gigs with Blossoms, the singer talks Twitter, his London pub and how he once followed Andy Rourke around the Arndale centre

L ast Monday, Rick Astley (as in 80s, bequiffed, Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley) made a surprise guest appearance at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town, with Blossoms, to sing Panic and This Charming Man by the Smiths. This was to announce two proper October tour dates – Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform Songs of the Smiths. With footage immediately doing the rounds, people quickly went bonkers.

“I’m not a slave to Twitter,” says Astley three days later, supping on an afternoon beer outside the Mikkeller Brewpub in London’s Exmouth Market. (“I’ve had a pint already, and some are quite strong,” he warns.) He’s co-owned the pub since 2019 (“Working in a pub is hard, I don’t work here!”). And he’s playing a gig here tonight with his house band (“No Smiths, we’re just going to jam”).

“But” – back to Twitter – “some of the responses have been hilarious. I was in bed with my wife this morning …”

Celebrating? “We’ll leave that where it is … and I was killing myself laughing.”

Turns out we’ve both read the same thread, so we pull out our phones to compare favourite tweets.

“Has someone been stealing ideas from Alan Partridge?”

“What’s next? Marti Pellow and McFly perform the songs of NWA?”

“Shakin’ Stevens and the Charlatans perform the songs of the Fall?”

Even Johnny Marr has waded in. “This is both funny and horrible and at the same time,” the guitarist tweeted.

“Obviously, after the whole Rickrolling thing,” – the internet bait and switch prank that fooled you into landing on the Never Gonna Give You Up video – “people are going to see Rick Astley Sings the Smiths and think: yeah, right? So this was our way of saying: this is actually happening.”

So, where did this unfathomably unlikely idea come from? “I performed with Noel Gallagher, the Courteeners and Blossoms at Manchester Arena in 2017,” he continues. “We were backstage, having a drink, which led to me appearing on Blossoms’ Pubcast podcast , chatting about the music we loved growing up.” (Blossoms are from Stockport, Astley from Lancashire.)

“My older brother Mike introduced me to the Smiths. We’d been busking in Manchester, saw [bass player] Andy Rourke with his girlfriend and I’m ashamed to say followed him, because it was an actual, live human, from Manchester – a stone’s throw from us – who made music we loved. We shouldn’t have followed him around the Arndale centre … Christ knows what would’ve happened if we’d seen Johnny Marr or Morrissey …

“So I confessed: one day, I just want to do a gig where I sing my favourite Smiths songs, walk off stage and go: ‘Ticked that box. Thank you very much.’ A few weeks later, they sent a message: ‘We can be the other part of that equation …’”

Covid has obviously delayed matters. But why are they only playing two smallish venues (one each in Manchester and London – which sell out in minutes later that week), when they could fill Wembley … or Knebworth?

“It just seems like the sort of thing you’d want to see in a small venue,” reasons Astley. “I do understand that the Smiths mean an awful lot to people, so I don’t want to tread on that history. I know the words to pretty much every Smiths song. I’ll sing them in the shower, but it’s another thing in front of 2,500 people … Plus, the arrangements don’t go: intro, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus. They’re unconventional. I’ll have the words on a monitor. I’ll have a karaoke machine if I have to …”

This isn’t Astley’s first side project. His band, the Luddites (Astley sings and plays drums) have been pleasing crowds for charity since 2008. “Yeah, my punk rock midlife crisis dad band. Our philosophy is: if we can’t learn it in the time it takes to listen to it, we’re not doing it. We do the Sex Pistols, bit of Clash, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon … and of course Radiohead, Creep.”

The thing with Rick Astley, I realise, is that his “tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be …” Stars in Their Eyes moment doesn’t take much effort …

“I’m 55, so wear glasses most of the time,” he says, fiddling with his pair on the table. “But, I’m sorry, Morrissey can’t claim the quiff.”

To compare – both quiffs stuck up to the left, as it happens – Astley appears on cover of Morrissey’s The Last of the Famous International Playboys 2013 rerelease. The photo was taken, Astley tells me, backstage on Top of the Pops in 1989, at Morrissey’s request. Apparently Mozzer (who’s smiling in the photo – smiling!) wanted to use an unseen photo of him and Bowie, Bowie said no, but Astley happily obliged.

“Plus we haven’t even discussed what I’m going to wear on stage yet …”

Gladioli, frilly shirt and a hearing aid, surely …?

“That won’t work, cos I’ll have monitors in my ears.”

So, before we go, back to those tweets: “Can we now elect Rick Astley to take over all of Morrissey’s duties?”

“No. I’m not going to rehearse things that he used to say on stage,” adding his views on the current Morrissey, which, although most will agree, we won’t go into here. “I’m just paying homage to some amazing music that still means so much to a generation that I could be their dad.”

And does that mean Morrissey is now legally entitled to perform Never Gonna Give You Up, I ask?

“He always was,” Astley smiles.

Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform Songs of the Smiths at Manchester Albert Hall, 8 October, and O2 Forum Kentish Town, 9 October. Astley tours solo in October and November.

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Red Square & Moscow City Tour

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Description

Highlights:.

• Experience medieval Kitay Gorod (China town).
• Wander picturesque Red Square and Alexander Garden.
• Explore grand Christ the Savior Cathedral on our Red Square tour.
• Breathtaking panoramic views from Patriarch bridge.
• Enjoy a hearty lunch on the large open verandah and marvel at the stunning views of the Kremlin.
• Learn about Russian culture from the local through relaxed cultural discussions.

Tour Itinerary:

Red square:.

Russia and Moscow are synonymous with Red Square and the Kremlin and that's hardly surprising as you'll find these places absolutely stunning!

• - Walk-through the Resurrection Gate and don’t forget to flip a coin so you’ll be sure to come back one day!
• - Visit the world's famous Kazan Cathedral .
• - See the State Department Store (GUM), once the Upper Trading Stalls, which were built over a century ago and still operating!
• - Admire the lovely St. Basil's Cathedral! The French diplomat Marquis de Custine commented that it combined "the scales of a golden fish, the enamelled skin of a serpent, the changeful hues of the lizard, the glossy rose and azure of the pigeon's neck" and wondered at "the men who go to worship God in this box of confectionery work".
• - Walk by Lobnoye Mesto (literally meaning "Execution Place", or "Place of Skulls"), once Ivan the Terrible's stage for religious ceremonies, speeches, and important events.
• - Entering the Alexander Garden , you’ll take in spectacular views of Russian architecture from ancient to Soviet times, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame. Watch Changing of the Guard Ceremony every hour in summer and every half an hour in winter.

Kitai-gorod:

Stroll along medieval Kitai-gorod with its strong ancient Russia feel, known for its bohemian lifestyle, markets and arts.

• - Nikolskaya Street. Here you will find the Russia's first publishing house, the second oldest monastery, and Ferryn Pharmacy, known as the number one pharmacy back in Soviet times and famous for its Empire-style architecture.
• - Ilinka Street. The financial street of the Kitaigorod (China Town) district, where you’ll find the Gostiny Dvor (Merchant’s Yard), which is now a showroom for Ferraris and Maseratis. The street was designed in the 1790s by Catherine the Great.
• - Varvarka street. The oldest street in Moscow, which dates back to the 14th century, and still has remnants of early Muscovite architecture, such as the Old English Court and the Palace of the Romanov’s.
• - Kamergersky Lane. Only a small road of about 250 meters, it is home to some of the oldest artifacts of the city, as each building holds a fascinating story. Some of Russia's most famous writers, poets, and composers from as far back as the Golden Age of Russian culture, have lived or worked on this lane.

Historic City Center

Walk the historical old center of Moscow with its cool local vibe, including the main Tverskaya street , and indulge in desserts in the first grocery “Eliseev's store” , housed in an 18th century neoclassical building, famous for its baroque interior and decoration.

From our tour. Impressions of our American tourist:

At 3:30, as energy flagged, lunch was on the agenda at a Ukrainian restaurant.  Just in time!  We asked our guide to order for us.  We all had the same thing....borscht (the Ukrainian version has beans and more tomatoes than the Russian version, which has more beets and includes beef). 

The special high bread served is called galushki.  Our main course was golubtsy...a dish of minced meat rolled in braised cabbage leaves.  Both dishes called for optional sour cream as a topping....of course, yes, please....I recommend it. 

Full, satisfied, and completely refreshed, it was off to Red Square and St. Basil's and GUM department store.  Red Square is not so named because of the color of the brick walls of the Kremlin.  Rather the word for 'red' and the word for 'beautiful' are similar in pronunciation....and, there you have it. 

As we made the turn by the National Museum in front of which is the mounted sculpture of the "Marshall of Victory," Giorgy Zhukov from WWII and caught our first view of St. Basil's, my friend and I simultaneously emitted "Oooohhhhh!"  There it was....the iconic onion domes of St. Basil's!  Hooray....it was open until 7....we had about 30 minutes and were allowed in, AND we could take photos with no flash. 

Now, I can give you a taste of what we saw in the other cathedrals in Cathedral Square.  What we learned is that St. Vasily and St. Basil are one in the same....Russian/English.  He was a common man who wandered Moscow unclothed and barefoot.  But, all, even Ivan the Terrible, heeded his opinions derived from his visions.  Ivan had this cathedral built over his tomb. 

As we exited and took photos up close of the onion domes, Inna presented us with chocolate (how did she know we were ready for another energy boost, and we each got a big piece of chocolate.  The baby's name pictured on the wrapper of this famous Russian chocolate is Alyonka....the Russian Gerber baby, don't you think? 

One could wear out the credit card in GUM's (capitalized because it is actually a government abbreviation), but the 'kitty' and my credit card stayed in my pocket as we strolled through the glass-topped arcade. 

We then strolled through some of Moscow's lovely pedestrian streets; paused to listen as a wonderful quartet performed Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in an underground passage to cross the busy street (hooray!....we DID have our 'classical concert' experience after all; a request Alina tried in vain to fill because none was scheduled those days), saw the Bolshoi, which means 'big' (my friend has yet to recover that their performance schedule did not coincide with our cruise), saw the Central Telegraph Building, dating from the 1930's, and made our way to the Ritz-Carlton to see the night view of Moscow from the rooftop bar, called O2. 

There were fleece blankets to wrap yourself in....yes, it got that cold when the sun set.  We each ordered something hot to drink...the ginger, mint, lemon tea served to me in a parfait glass (for 600 rubles...about $9....you pay for the view here!) was delightful and hit the spot perfectly.  It was time to call it a night....

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting city tour, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time.

*This Moscow city tour can be modified to meet your requirements.

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2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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