Rick Astley has called Glastonbury revellers the “loveliest crowd” he has ever played in front of, but joked even his debut performance at the festival could not make him “cool”.

The singer opened Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage on Saturday, proving to be one of the highlights, as belted out his own classic hits, performed a Harry Styles cover, and took to the drums to play AC/DC’s Highway To Hell.

Astley also later joined Indie band Blossoms on the newly-named Woodsies stage to play a back catalogue of songs by The Smiths, with fans heralding the set on social media as a “genuinely magic experience”.

Glastonbury Festival 2023
Rick Astley playing with Blossoms on the Woodsies stage at the Glastonbury Festival (Ben Birchall/PA)

Astley told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that performing at Glastonbury was “absolutely amazing” and he was left moved by the crowd’s response.

“That is possibly the loveliest crowd I’ve ever played in front of in my life. It was so generous, so loving,” he said.

“If you go in front of a festival crowd, and they’re up for it in the way that they were, that’s pretty special man.

“That’s what everybody wants at a festival is a bit of a hug from each other, and that’s what I’ve just got – a massive hug.”

Glastonbury Festival 2023
Rick Astley performs on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival (Ben Birchall/PA)

Kuenssberg quizzed Astley, who has gained a legion of new fans in recent years thanks to the Rickrolling phenomenon, on whether he had become cool at last after he previously said the status had always eluded him.

But the Never Gonna Give You Up hitmaker said: “As big and as amazing as Glastonbury is, it still ain’t gonna make me cool.

“That ain’t happening.

“I don’t mind not being cool. I’m loving every minute right now. I always wanted to be cool.

“Never was, never will be. That’s okay. I’ve got a lot of other things in my life other than being cool.”

He described playing the festival as a “definite highlight”, adding: “There is the legend that is Glastonbury and I’m living the legend right now so it’s pretty amazing.”

He recounted how he had never been to Glastonbury before, other than to drop his daughter off, but is planning to return next year as a festival-goer.

“I’ve never actually been in through the gates and I’ll definitely be here next year, that’s for sure,” he said.

“I don’t need to play. I’ll just come and hang out.”