Massachusetts Institute of Technology rickrolled

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the leading US science university, has been rickrolled on a grand scale.

The 'hack' was carried out by students at MIT Photo: Greg Steinbrecher: The Tech

Students have plastered the first eight notes of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up on scaffolding surrounding the Boston research centre's Great Dome.

The pranksters dreamed up the sophisticated stunt after noticing that the horizontal lines of the scaffolding cover resembled unfilled sheet music, according to MIT's student newspaper The Tech.

Rickrolling began as an online trend which involved tricking people into watching YouTube videos of Astley's 1987 hit, but quickly entered the "real" world.

Never Gonna Give You Up was selected as the new anthem for the New York Mets baseball team, and Astley was named best act ever at last year's MTV Europe Music Awards after fans of the crooner hijacked online votes.

Astley himself made a surprise appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York in 2008, emerging from the back of a float to perform his most well-known song.

MIT students - who include some of the most promising young minds in the world - have developed a reputation for carrying out clever and ambitious pranks, known as "hacks".

On Sept 11 2006, professors and college officials woke up to find that a 25ft long fire engine had been placed on top of the Great Dome, apparently to mark five years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The rickroll stunt was carried out under the cover of darkness in the early hours of Wednesday morning last week.

Rick Astley writing movie musical

The Rick-rolling legend and Best Act Ever is writing a rags-to-riches musical for the screen – so not autobiographical then

• Sean Michaels
• guardian.co.uk,

Rick-rolling Rick Astley ... never giving up. Photograph: Mauro Carraro/Rex Features

Rick Astley's career revival may be based on people being tricked into seeing him, but the 80s pop star is now counting on fans buying actual tickets. Not only is Astley again headlining the Here and Now nostalgia tour, but the man who promised to never give you up, let you down, run around and desert you ... is writing a movie musical.

New York Cowboy will tell the story of a small-town boy who moves to New York City in the 80s. It is not, in other words, an autobiography.

"My wife's now a movie producer so I read a lot of scripts and I'm really passionate about films," Astley said in a recent interview. "One day I thought, 'Well, why don't I write one?' And it turned into a musical – but not for the stage."

Astley "hooked up with a guy in California", he told the Times, and after writing a script the two are now seeking an agent. "I'm not fooling myself – nothing may come of it and I totally understand that, but as a process I have loved it. When you're writing frothy pop songs the lyrics can be a bit 'whatever', they are hooky and you just sing them because they work. But writing these songs ... Do they call that a libretto?"

Astley's appearance on the Here and Now tour is unexpected. Despite headlining the show last year, he hadn't intended to participate in 2009 – until Boy George was sent to jail. "Poor George," Astley said now. "I don't know him but it seems such a waste, somebody as sharp and intelligent as that being sent to prison."

Though Astley's a fitting billing along with Kim Wilde, Howard Jones and Brother Beyond, these days he's most keen on the Luddites – a covers band he plays in with his mates. "I play drums and sing with my two friends Graham and Simon and we play East Molesey Cricket Club every now and again," he said. "We were going to call ourselves Mid-Life Crisis because that's what it is."

Rick Astley Wins Best Act Ever!

The fans show they’re ‘Never Gonna Give (Him) Up’…

The ultimate power of the audience vote was underlined when Rick Astley scooped Best Act Ever.

Rick was not available to attend the Awards.

In his absence the Award was picked up by Katy Perry and Perez Hilton who charmed the audience with a quick dance routine to his famous track Never Going To Give You Up.

In a statement Astley said: "I am honoured that my fans worked so hard to help me win Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards.

This is the first time I have been nominated for the EMAs and I would like to thank everyone who voted for me."