Rickrolling – the bait and switch meme in which you prank someone with an unexpected appearance by the 1987 Rick Astley smash hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” – might be nearly 10 years old, but it is far from dead. And Foo Fighters may have just perfected it.
At this year’s Summer Sonic music festival in Japan, The Dave Grohl-fronted Rock Band invited to the stage the man himself, Rick Astley, who joined them in a rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up.” And even better, they did it in the style of the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
In other words, Foo Fighters “rick rolled” its audience with the help of Rick himself.
Of course, this isn’t Rick’s first personally delivered rickroll – he famously showed up out of nowhere at the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – but it’s arguably the most triumphant. If only for giving the world its first taste of how Rick Astley says curse words. When he came out on stage to greet the surprised but enthusiastic crowd, Astley hyped them up by shouting, “Come on, you motherf—ers!” Thanks, Rick!
It’s a mashup for the ages that you’ll have to hear to believe, and you can do so above.
By the way, this isn’t the first time Foo Fighters have rickrolled an audience. Back in 2015, when members of the Westboro Baptist Church turned up to protest the band’s Kansas City concert, Grohl and company serenaded the angry church group with Astley’s song.