With each passing moment, it becomes ever more luxuriant and full of body. It was always a fantastic bar-net, ever since, as a fresh-faced wunderkind, he first appeared on Top Of The Pops in 1987 performing Never Gonna Give You Up. That song was his first number one hit and has become a bona fide pop phenomenon, its popularity spanning decades and generations, sustaining his fame and powering the Rickroll prank – one of the biggest internet memes of all time.
Now, in his fifties and riding a wave of renewed professional respect and creative energy, he looks as if he has barely aged since those heady days of the mid-’80s. As we chat over the highlights of 2023 on a Zoom call, I find myself hypnotised by the majesty of his auburn mane. Yes, I am 10 years his junior and completely bald, so my preoccupation with his hair is fuelled by
