Written by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released as the fifth single from Astley's debut album Whenever You Need Somebody.

It was mainly intended for the American market where it was a top ten hit, and was not released in the United Kingdom and most of Europe.

The B-side "You Move Me" written by Rick Astley was featured in the movie Cocktail.

Waterman neglected to tell Astley that it was only in the trailer and not the movie.

[1] "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" reached number one in Canada, number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one for one week on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.