Rick Astley fact file:

Name: Rick Astley

Occupation: Eighties' crooning pop star with retro quiff from Stock, Aitken & Waterman stable

Age: 38

Why in the news: After 14 years away from pop scene, former delivery boy from Newton-le-Willows is to tour intimate venues between September 5 and 20

Where is he playing? Not York, but Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on September 15 is nearest venue. Also playing Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Ronnie Scott's and Criterion Theatre in London

Will he be dusting off the old hits? No, he appears to have given up on Never Gonna Give You Up, number one for five weeks in 1987 in UK; and on Whenever You Need Somebody, When I Fall In Love, My Arms keep Missing You, Together Forever, She Wants To Dance With Me, Take Me To Your Heart, Hold Me In Your Arms and Cry For Help

Come again? In a nostalgia enterprise called An Evening Of Timeless Classics From Across The Decades, Astley will instead perform songs by artists he discovered through his mum and dad's record collection

Why? "At the age of 22, I would never have dreamed to go on stage and perform a Frank Sinatra or Burt Bacharach track. But I'm 38 now and I like this sort of music. I'm treating it all as a bit of fun and really looking forward to touring to see what it's like out there again."

Will he definitely not be doing any Astley oldies? Tour press release suggests not, but the official Rick Astley website offers glimmer of hope. "This isn't a greatest hits concert but he may sing a few of his old songs, though they will be in a completely different style," it says

His peak: Selling 20 million records 1987-1989

When did he last have a hit? Hopelessly, no 33, November 1993

Albums: Whenever You Need Somebody, number one in UK, November 1987, number ten in USA, 1988; Hold Me In Your Arms, number eight in UK,1988; Free, number nine in UK, 1991; Body & Soul, did not chart in UK, number 28 in Italy, number 185 in USA, 1993

Last studio album: Keep It Turned On, December 2001, featuring Sleeping, first single for eight years

Compilations: Greatest Hits, August 2002; The Best Of Rick Astley, Never Gonna Give You Up, September 2003; Love Songs, February 2004; Platinum & Gold Collection, March 2004

Tickets for September 15: £19.50 0n 0113 243 0808

Updated: 16:14 Thursday, August 05, 2004