diff --git a/lib/workers/pr/changelog/source-github.js b/lib/workers/pr/changelog/source-github.js
index fd8bb8b4f58e8168a316d891fecef746fac2474a..7ff9f7404f404d4466339add67dd9c913b21e17f 100644
--- a/lib/workers/pr/changelog/source-github.js
+++ b/lib/workers/pr/changelog/source-github.js
@@ -95,9 +95,12 @@ async function getChangeLogJSON({
     return null;
   }
 
-  const tags = await getTags(config.endpoint, versionScheme, repository);
+  let tags;
 
-  function getRef(release) {
+  async function getRef(release) {
+    if (!tags) {
+      tags = await getTags(config.endpoint, versionScheme, repository);
+    }
     const tagName = tags.find(tag => equals(tag, release.version));
     if (tagName) {
       return tagName;