Cry for Help

This article is about a single by singer Rick Astley. For other uses, see Cry for Help (disambiguation).

"Cry for Help"
Single by Rick Astley
from the album Free
B-side"Behind the Smile"
Released14 January 1991 (1991-01-14)[1]
Length
  • 4:51 (album version)
  • 4:17 (radio edit)
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Gary Stevenson
  • Rick Astley
Rick Astley singles chronology
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
(1989) 		"Cry for Help"
(1991) 		"Move Right Out"
(1991)
Music video
"Cry for Help" on YouTube

"Cry for Help" is a song by English singer-songwriter 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 Climie Fisher. The Andraé Crouch Choir provided backing vocals. The song is a ballad, unlike Astley's earlier dance-oriented hit singles.

Released as a single on 14 January 1991 by RCA Records, "Cry for Help" reached number seven on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Astley's last top-10 hit in either country. It also reached number four in Canada and was a number-one hit on both the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Its accompanying music video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.[2] "Cry for Help" was awarded one of BMI's Pop Awards in 1993, honoring the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the song.[3]

The song has been sung by Rick Astley in duet with Søren Sko and covered by Thomas Anders (ex-Modern Talking). In 2019, Astley recorded and released a "reimagined" version of the song for his album The Best of Me.[4] On 27 April 2021, the original music video was upgraded to 1080p HD to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the song reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] On 18 July 2024, the original music video was upgraded again to 4K to celebrate the reissue of the album Free. [6]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 12 January 1991. p. vi. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Station Reports > TV > MTV/London" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 February 1991. p. 29. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  3. ^ "BMI Congratulates The PRS Writers and Publishers of BMI's Most Performed Works of 1992: Million Performance Songs" (PDF). Music Week. 20 November 1993. p. 2. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  4. ^ Brungardt, Leah (12 November 2019). "An Interview with 'Never Gonna Give You Up' Singer Rick Astley on His Iconic Hit Song, His Newest Album and Much More!". All Access Music. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  5. ^ "On this day in 1991 'Cry For Help' reached number 7 in the US Billboard Charts. To celebrate the song, the official music video has been upgraded to HD!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Cry For Help - Head over to my YouTube to watch the upgraded video in 4K 🙌". Facebook. Retrieved 3 November 2024.