Rick Astley says that the main reason he had powerful Macs in the studio in the ‘90s was so that everyone could play Doom

One of the downsides of modern-day music-making is that your computer is capable of doing so much more than simply running your DAW. Playing games, for example, which, when you fire up your PC or Mac, can often seem preferable to staring at a blank arrange page.

Take heart, though, because it seems that even successful musicians have been known to get distracted. Rick Astley, for example.

In an interview with Metro, the star confessed that, back in the ‘90s, he became hooked on first-person shooter Doom, to the extent that it started to interfere with his work. 

“​​In the recording studio we had Mac computers that we could really power up to run audio gear. But the only real reason we all had one was so that we could play Doom,” he admits. 

To be fair, though, it does sound like playing id Software’s classic in the studio was quite an experience.

“We had some great speakers and monitors with the computer going through them,” Astley explains. “Sometimes I’d be in there late at night on my own with the lights down and then this monster would come out of nowhere and blast through the speakers. I’d be like, ‘Oh, shit!’”

It seems that the much-rolled Rick has learned his lesson, though. These days, he likes to keep the software installed on his studio computer to a minimum.

“I recently bought a new computer - a Mac Mini - and it wipes the floor with a lot of things I’ve used before,” he explains. “But I said to myself, ‘I’m going to put sod all on it and instead try to use it like a tape recorder.’”

Astley also revealed that his guitar collection includes a signed Gibson BB King Lucille and a Fender Strat, which he says is “funky as hell”.