''Free'' is

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song " Ne ...

's third studio album, released on 12 March 1991 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. It was his first album not to be produced by the noted production team of

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

. It gave Astley another hit single in the ballad "

Cry for Help "Cry for Help" is a song by British dance-pop singer Rick Astley, released as the first single from his third studio album, '' Free'' (1991). It was written by Astley and Rob Fisher, formerly one half of the 1980s pop outfits Naked Eyes and ...

", which became a Top 10 in both the UK and US. Further singles "Move Right Out" and "Never Knew Love" were less successful. ''Free'' reached the UK Top 10 and the US Top 40 and marked the end of a successful four-year period for Astley.

Track listing

#"In the Name of Love" - 4:27 ( Michael McDonald) #"

" - 4:54 (Rick Astley, Rob Fisher) #"

Move Right Out "Move Right Out" is a pop soul song performed by English singer Rick Astley and written by Astley and Rob Fisher. It was produced by Gary Stevenson and Astley. The song was recorded for Astley's third album, '' Free'', his first album without ...

" - 3:50 (Rick Astley, Rob Fisher) #"Be with You" - 4:07 (Rick Astley, Mark King) #"Really Got a Problem" - 4:15 (Rick Astley, Mark King) #"Is This Really Love"† - 3:26 (Rick Astley) #"This Must Be Heaven" - 4:42 (Nicky Brown, Jeffrey Cohen,

Jon Lind Jonathan Gus Lind (April 14, 1948 – January 15, 2022), professionally known as Jon Lind, was an American songwriter, performer and A&R Executive Biography Lind was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 14, 1948, and raised in New York City. H ...

) #" Never Knew Love" - 3:07 (Derek Bordeaux, John Paul) #"The Bottom Line" - 5:13 (Rick Astley) #"Some Kinda Love" (Japan bonus track) - 4:30 (Rick Astley) #" Wonderful You" - 5:08 (Rick Astley) #"Behind the Smile" - 4:33 (Rick Astley) Note *† Not on LP PL74896

2010 re-issue

On 3 May 2010 an expanded edition of ''Free'' was released in a package containing both newly expanded and remastered editions of ''Free'' and ''Body and Soul''. # "In the Name of Love" – 4:27 # "

" – 4:54 # "

" – 3:50 # "Be With You" – 4:07 # "Really Got a Problem" – 4:15 # "Is This Really Love" – 3:26 # "This Must Be Heaven" – 4:42 # " Never Knew Love" – 3:07 # "The Bottom Line" – 5:13 # "Wonderful You" – 5:08 # "Behind the Smile" – 4:33 # "Some Kinda Love" – 4:26 # "So Glad" – 3:23 # "Cry for Help" (Single Edit) – 4:19 # "Move Right Out" (7" Version) – 3:53 # "Never Knew Love" (7" Remix) – 3:08 # "Cry for Help" (12" Version) – 6:27 # "Move Right Out" (Vox/Strings/Piano Version) – 3:35

Personnel

Musicians

* Rick Astley – lead and backing vocals * Dave West – synthesizers (1-8), drum programming (1, 4, 5, 7, 8), acoustic piano (2, 5, 6, 8), organ (2, 3, 7), Fender Rhodes (2, 8, 9) * Rob Fisher – acoustic piano (3) * Nichlas Medin – acoustic piano (4, 7, 9) * Henrik Nilson – organ (4, 9) * Elton John – acoustic piano (10, 11) * Paul Halberg – guitars (1) * Hywel Maggs – guitars (2-5, 7, 8) * Robert Ahwai – guitars (3, 9, 10) * Gene Black – guitars (6) * Lars Danielsson – bass guitar (3, 8) * Mark King – bass guitar (4) * Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar (5) *

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

(9, 10) * Jacob Andersen –

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

percussion (1-3, 5-8) *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums (2, 6) * Per Lindval – drums (3, 9, 10), drum overdubs (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) *

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genr ...

– string arrangements and conductor (1-3, 8, 10, 11) *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

– brass arrangements (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) * Larry Williams – saxophone (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) *

Dan Higgins Dan Higgins (born January 28, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggin ...

– saxophone solo (5, 8, 10) * Bill Reichenbach, Jr. – trombone (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) * Larry Hall – trumpet (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) * Kevin Dorsey – backing vocals (1, 8, 10) * Michael McDonald – backing vocals (1) *

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, '' Goof ...

– backing vocals (1, 8, 10) * The Andraé Crouch Choir – backing vocals (2) * Carol Kenyon – backing vocals (3, 6-9) * Dee Lewis – backing vocals (3, 5-9)

Production

* Producers – Rick Astley and Gary Stevenson * Engineers – Gary Stevenson and Henrik Nilson * Assistant Engineers – Andy Baker, Allan Krohn and Craig Portells. * Mixing – Ren Swan * Art Direction – Rick Astley * Sleeve Design – Mike Orr and the Broughton Design Group. * Photography – Paul Cox * Management – Tony Henderson

Track listing

2010 re-issue

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References