Rush fans may have a reason to hope for seeing their favorite band on stage again, at least partially. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, the singer-bassist and guitarist of the legendary Canadian rock trio, have revealed that they are not ruling out the idea of performing Rush songs together in the future.
The band officially retired from touring in 2015, after their final show in Los Angeles on August 1st. The main reason for their decision was the health issues of their drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, who suffered from chronic tendinitis and shoulder problems. Peart sadly passed away on January 7th, 2020, after a three-year battle with brain cancer.
Following Peart's death, Lee and Lifeson expressed their reluctance to continue as Rush without him. Lee said in an interview, "Carrying on without him just felt uncomfortable. It just felt wrong."
However, things changed when they were invited by Dave Grohl to play at two tribute shows for Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins, who is a close friend of Grohl and a huge Rush fan. The shows took place in September of last year, and Lee and Lifeson performed some Rush classics with different drummers, including Grohl himself.
Lee said that the experience was "very healing" for him and Lifeson, and that it opened up the possibility of doing more shows in the future. He said, "Playing those two shows and playing Rush songs with a couple of different drummers, it felt really good, and it was something that was very healing for us, and it was, in a way, our tribute to Neil. So, for the first time, it opened up the possibility that, 'Yeah, maybe one day we could do a few shows here and there if we chose to. But, as of yet that hasn't materialized, but you never know.'"
Lee is currently working on his memoir which will be released on November 14th.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]