In 1987,
Rick Astley covered the song, as SAW rushed to gather strong follow up material in the wake of the unexpected global mega-success of "
Never Gonna Give You Up". The song would become the title track and second single from Astley's multi-million selling debut album
Whenever You Need Somebody, also written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was a successful European hit for Astley, reaching No. 1 in seven countries, continuing the success of his previous smash single. Though not released as a single in the U.S., it was released as the 4th single in Canada. The girl part of the music video was shot at
Las Canteras beach and at the adjacent Hotel Reina Isabel in
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In 2019, Astley recorded and released a 'Reimagined' version of the song for his album
The Best of Me, which features a new piano arrangement.
Critical reception Richard James and Jenny Jay of
Number One praised "Whenever You Need Somebody" as being "a very good song", stating that "it's very commercial and [Astley's] voice is just brillant", and considered SAW "a right set of genuises". In a review published in
Smash Hits,
Robert Smith of
the Cure stated he did not really like Astley's "weird" voice, unfavourably comparing him to
Mel and Kim, who he said were "a million times more attractive and funny", and considered the song "incredibly bland", after having underlined the song's making process by SAW which he found "surreal". Retrospectively, in 2025, Thomas Edward of
Smooth Radio ranked the song number four in his list of "Rick Astley's 10 greatest songs, ever". Discussing Astley's success with the track she'd originated, Brown complimented the singer on his voice and praised the chart performance of his cover, but noted, "I like mine better, what can I tell you? Rick's got a great voice, but I just felt that the song suited a woman, and I felt it suited my voice. I'm not going to say mine was better, but I liked mine more."
Chart performance Astley's version of "Whenever You Need Somebody" was a major hit on the charts, being a top five hit in almost all the countries where it was released. In the UK, it started at number 11 on 31 October 1987, then climbed to number three, a position it hold for non consecutive three weeks, and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks. It topped the charts in seven European countries, including the Walloon region of Belgium, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. In the latter country, it charted for 16 weeks, with four of them spent at number one. It also peaked at number two in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain, number three in Australia and Ireland, number four in Austria, number nine in New Zealand, and number seven in South Africa. It barely failed to reach the top ten in France and Iceland, where it peaked at number 11 and 17 respectively. On the overall
Eurochart Hot 100 singles chart established by the
Music & Media magazine, it started at number 53 on 7 November 1987, peaked at number four for three weeks, behind Astley's previous single "
Never Gonna Give You Up", and spent 33 weeks on the chart. It also peaked at number two on the European Airplay Top 50 and totalled 14 weeks on the chart.
Track listing •
7" single • "Whenever You Need Somebody" – 3:26 • "Just Good Friends" – 3:45 •
7" single – picture disc • "Whenever You Need Somebody" – 3:26 • "Just Good Friends" – 3:45 •
12" maxi • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (Lonely Hearts mix) – 7:34 • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (instrumental) – 3:50 • "Just Good Friends" – 3:45 •
12" / cassette single • "Whenever You Need Somebody" – 7:52 • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (instrumental) – 4:38 • "Just Good Friends" – 3:40 •
12" promo • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (Lonely Hearts mix) – 7:34 • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (7" version) – 3:27 • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (remix) – 7:57 • "Whenever You Need Somebody" (remix dub) – 4:39
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts ==References==