The Daily Swarm

It turns out even Rick Astley is never gonna give it up, despite the fact that his cloying 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” is the internet generation’s obnoxious equivalent of yelling “Freebird” at a concert. A few weeks after Astley “won” the Best Act Ever category at the European MTV Awards, the human punch line turned up at this year’s 82nd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Astley appeared on a float for the kids show “Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends” lip-synching the song that in the last year has reset the clock on his 15-minutes.

The ultimate Rickroll, or the death knell of a internet fad that has long ceased to amuse?

The Yorkshire singer’s most unlikely performance came more than an hour into the annual American institution, which has a television audience of millions.

His performance marks the pinnacle of Rickrolling, the internet meme which involves tricking people into watching clips of Never Gonna Give You Up by leading them to believe they are clicking on something more enticing.

The stunt has single-handedly revived the pop singer’s career – the video of his 1987 classic has been viewed more than 20 million times on YouTube – but Astley has until now been reluctant to exploit his unexpected popularity with a new generation.

He declined to collect his Best Act Ever gong at the MTV Europe Music Awards in person earlier this month, which he received after a groundswell of votes from his army of internet fans.