Out the Window When Rick met Dick A funny thing happened on the way to the Coliseum By Tals Diaz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 18:14:00 08/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines—The 80’s have about the same effect as a drive-by shooting—instant paralysis, endless questions of “who would do such a thing?!” and finally, a lingering, morbid fascination for the victims.
For some reason that only a shoulder-padded patron saint knows the answers to, Manila continues to be the capital of the 80s drive-by effect. I truly believe that it’s the only part of the world that embraces bands that have long been relegated to has-beendom by the rest of the human race.
Filipinos may suffer from short term memory when it comes to dictators and corrupt government officials, but we are blessed with long-term recollection and undying sentimentality for one-hit wonder bands and singers that got people once upon a time to “ledge dance” at Faces.
And so, the city keeps bringing out the welcome mat to acts such as the Flock of Seagulls, When in Rome, Fra Lippo Lippi, Real Life, Gene Loves Jezebel, and coming soon, one of the two members of the old Spandau Ballet.
Last weekend, however, turned out to be something of a strange cosmic collision that brought together two legendary 80s icons—Rick Astley and Roderick Paulate. And just when life couldn’t get any weirder, I actually had a bit of a hand in setting those wheels in motion. Allow me to indulge with this true story.
A pact is made
It all started one night about four months ago at Magnet High Street café. My two friends, Magnet co-owners Gabe Mercado and JC Medina, were passionately telling me about their recent, cathartic experience at the Flock of Seagulls/ When in Rome concert at the Araneta Coliseum. (By the way, if you were hit by any pang of recognition at the mention any of these bands, you are most likely part of the discerning age group that once considered shoulder pads and Top Siders as raging fashion statements.)
Anyway, during the Flock of Seagulls concert, there was a glorious announcement that the whole country had been waiting for two decades to hear: Rick Astley is coming to Manila! Be still your Heartbeat Megadisco!
There and then, we made a pact that we’d watch the concert in August. And for the heck of it, we’d start an “elite” group in Facebook (with an open invitation) entitled, “Screw what you think, I’m watching Rick Astley in August.”
Of course, one cannot reminisce about Rick Astley’s astronomical fame in the 80s without remembering his local counterpart—comedian Roderick Paulate, who sang most of Rick Astley’s hits back then because it was within his baritone vocal range.
And so, again for the heck of it, we added our petition to the group name which eventually became “I’m Watching Rick Astley and I Want Roderick Paulate to be the Opening Act.” It was pure brilliance. I wagered we’d have at most seven members.
Lo and behold, a few weeks later, I was informed that our humble little group had swelled to about 70 people. Closet fans of Rick (and Kuya Dick) were coming out online!
A few more weeks later, we had surpassed the 100-person mark. Soon, we even had more members than one of the Michel Gondry fans club. (JC mentioned this wonderful factoid at Mag:net one night while hosting Rockeoke, and then realized when the crickets started chirping that no one knew who the hell Michel Gondry was.)
Rickrolling
The long-awaited night finally arrived. Along with a few more friends that were part of the “I’m watching Rick … ” group, we trooped to the Coliseum early so as not to miss the opening act. Rumors were already flying that Roderick was going to perform the opening number, but at that point, it was still unfounded gossip. Apparently, the producers had gotten wind of an “online petition” that clamored for Roderick to get on stage. It was affirmed by a text that Gabe received earlier, from Kuya Dick himself that went:
“Gabe! Ü Nerbyos ako. Ü D naman ako singer. Ü Wala nga ako ticket pero invited ako ng produ. Ü Kausap ko nga ngayn!”
Our hopes were dashed as it turned out that the opening act was some band with a lead singer in a white suit, whose repertoire included Wang Chung and Van Halen’s “Jump.” He had a co-singer, too, a girl dressed in a leopard print body suit, who gyrated more than she sang.
No Roderick Paulate in sight. Sigh. We were losing hope. We almost let out a Cry (For Help.) Oh well, on with the concert then.
Finally, Rick Astley came up on stage to the deafening welcome of screaming fans of all ages. Dressed in a suit, skinny tie and sneakers, this hip-dated Rick Astley looked like he hadn’t aged a bit! In his adorable English drawl, he told the crowd: “I am so sorry you had to wait for this for 15 to 20 … years.” Crowd went ecstatic. (I thought he was going to say “20 minutes” since it took a while for the stage to set up.)
Turned out that Rick would win as The Artist With Most Audience Interaction in History as he really talked to the crowd, like, A LOT, that night. I mean, he even told us about his 16-year-old daughter and wife, and what hotel he was staying in, including the room number. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he told us about his childhood, or what his favorite liqueur was. Among the other things he said:
“It’s been a long trip here, I had to canoe all the way. But it’s worth it. You are so beautiful. So many beautiful ladies in the audience.”
“Manila, you are all so beautiful. What do you do all the time to be all so beautiful? Reproduce?” (or something like that, he basically said that we must be reproducing all the time. Very astute of you, pareng Rick!)
(and what has got to be my favorite line everrr—)
“Oh my, I forgot my own lyrics! I’m sorry, I haven’t sung that song in 20 years!”
It was like watching a live version of the movie, “Music and Lyrics.” His voice was still as chocolate-smooth as I remembered it. He even had a songbook—yes, a songbook with him by the drum set. He even got a girl to get up on stage to help him sing because he kept forgetting the lyrics. He turned the whole Araneta Coliseum into the “world’s biggest Karaoke.”
It was all so endearing. I felt like I went back to my grade school self, when “Strong” was first released and I had finally understood what it meant to be kilig. My reverie was affirmed when I received a text at that moment from a longtime pal, who was also in the concert that night. Her text: “I’m back to being hopelessly in love. I love you Rick, pota.” I mean, this guy was so genuinely nice he even THANKED the sponsors of the concert (Mossimo, Taco Bell, etc) by reading them aloud from a piece of paper. Of course, he had to put his reading glasses on to do that.
And then, something happened.
Rick Astley said the words, “I have been told … ”
OMG! He mentioned that he had heard about “Roderick,” and that he invited him to come up on stage and perform with him at the end of the show. He even said it had to be towards the end of the show because he was sure people would leave after they saw Roderick perform.
I couldn’t believe it. I nearly jumped off the balcony at Upper B.
Finally, it happened. Chants of “Ku-ya Dick! Ku-ya Dick!” thundered the Big Dome. Rick Astley grabbed a guitar and motioned to his stage left. And up the stage came Roderick Paulate. They did an acoustic duet of “Never Gonna Give you Up.” Kuya Dick even did his signature gyrating dance moves! The crowd went absolutely freaking nuts. To quote Kung Fu Panda, it was pure awesomeness.
We actually did it. We somehow helped shape obscure Pinoy pop culture history! Facebook IS more powerful than prayer rallies! And it IS true that Rick Astley is never gonna let you down!
Later that night, still dazed by what happened, we milled around at the foot of the stage and got to meet Kuya Dick! He was so happy (albeit really in a quandary about what the hell just happened). Later on, we managed to get us backstage, where we needled through a crowd flanking a smiling Rick Astley for his autograph.
That weekend, a hot new viral called “Roderickrolling"* was burning the YouTube network. It was—yup, you guessed it—the live video of “Tonight with Rick and Dick.”
Only here, only here.
“Rickrolling”—slang for a current online viral that tricks the user into clicking a hyperlink that leads to a Rick Astley video. “You got Rickrolled!”
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