Cry for Help

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

"Cry for Help"
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Single by Rick Astley
from the album Free
B-side"Behind the Smile"
Released14 January 1991 (1991-01-14)
Length
  • 4:51 (album version)
  • 4:17 (radio edit)
LabelRCA
Songwriters
Producers
  • 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 in February 1991.[1] "Cry for Help" was awarded one of BMI's Pop Awards in 1993, honoring the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the song.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4] On 18 July 2024, the original music video was upgraded again to 4K to celebrate the reissue of Free.[5]

Critical reception

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Dave Obee from Calgary Herald felt the "finest moments" on the song come from Andrae Crouch's choir arrangement, adding that it's what makes "Cry for Help" "worth hearing".[6] David Quantick from NME wrote, "Rick still sings like God, and 'Cry for Help' is pretty good in a Wet Wet Wet sort of way, especially when the Proper Choir comes in".[7] Eleanor Levy from Record Mirror described it as "a Michael McDonald style ballad that, rather than shocking the world, cuddles it instead."[8]

Track listing

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  • 12-inch single
  1. "Cry for Help" – 6:26
  2. "Behind the Smile" – 4:33
  3. "Cry for Help" (album version) – 4:50
  • CD single
  1. "Cry for Help" (7" version) – 4:20
  2. "Behind the Smile" – 4:37
  3. "Cry for Help" (12" version) – 6:27
  • 7-inch and cassette single
  1. "Cry for Help" (edit) – 4:03
  2. "Behind the Smile" – 4:33

Personnel

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Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 14 January 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 RCA [46]
Australia 21 January 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
 [47]
Japan 30 January 1991 Mini-CD [48]

References

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  6. ^ Obee, Dave (17 March 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
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  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1510." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1507." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  17. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Cry for Help". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Rick Astley".
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  22. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 9, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
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  27. ^ "Rick Astley – Cry for Help". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ "Rick Astley Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  31. ^ "Rick Astley Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
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