What's the deal with Nick Lowe and Rick Astley?

[mrpayday]

In the Nick Lowe song "All Men Are Liars" there are the following lines

Do you remember Rick Astley?
He had a big fat hit that was ghastly.
He said I’m never gonna give you up or let you down.
Well I’m here to tell ya that Dick’s a clown


What did Rick Astley do to cause this? Steal Nick Lowe's girlfriend? Say that he was moree talented than Nick Lowe? Or is it just a good rhyme?

[mobo85]

I believe this video explains things sufficiently.

(I'm sorry- what with the subject matter, I just couldn't help it.)

[Markxxx]

Nick Lowe's big hit was "Cruel To Be Kind." Tell you anything .. LOL

Rick (Richard or Dick in the lyrics) Astley was a product of Stock Aitken Waterman. Those producers also did Bananarama, Kylie Minogue, Samantha Fox, and other artists recorded their work. Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record). Laura Branigan's Shattered Glass, Donna Summer's comeback This Time I Know It's For Real.

You can see those song's all are somewhat similar

[Kal]

For all their chart success, Stock Aitken & Waterman were somewhat despised; as were the acts associated with them.

Popular with Smash Hits reading teenyboppers, not so much with the NME crowd.

[bienville]

The Astley bashing is punctuated by the fact that in a song with only two verses, one of those verses in its entirety is devoted to Astley bashing.
Lyrics

The chorus and second verse simply address the lying that men do in a general sense, calling out no man in particular. The Astley bashing would be less stinging were the song to give a long list of examples of lying men, with Astley being just one example in a list of many. Nope, not the case. He's the only one called out. An entire verse devoted to him in a song with only two verses total.

[Thudlow Boink]

Originally Posted by bienville

He's the only one called out. An entire verse devoted to him in a song with only two verses total.

So you're saying that's a Lowe blow?

[Ogre]

Pop Will Eat Itself expanded on the case a bit with these lyrics:

"Astley's in the noose, hang loose, kid.
Lift the lid on the crimes he did..."

Everybody hates Astley.

[Johnny Q]

There's always the fact that Rick Astley sucks donkey balls. That's always been reason enough.
Search your heart, you know it to be true.