Last week saw the announcement that Rush fans have been waiting for for nearly a decade, that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were reuniting for a series of North American gigs, with Anika Nilles replacing the late Neil Peart on drums.
Now, Lifeson has spoken about how and why the reunion is happening. In an interview at the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, the guitarist explained that it was a very gradual process that presented more than a few challenges – not least playing the band’s old songs...
"I love playing so much,” Lifeson said. “And I've continued, over these last years, doing other projects. But when we sat down and started playing some of the Rush stuff, I realised how hard it was to play these songs. When you do it every day for 40 years, it's not a big deal, really. You're used to it."
"But when you're away from it, and you are a little more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the new nuances and all the things that go into making a Rush song and performance, to be challenged with that again was really, really exciting.
"And the more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again."
Lifeson also spoke about his and Lee's decision to seek a new drummer for a reunited Rush. He noted that the decision was "very difficult" on many different levels:
"First of all, because of what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired, you know. Losing a member like Neil is devastating. It was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate.
"This is a relatively recent decision, and I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances – and how do you replace someone who's irreplaceable?"
Lifeson revealed earlier this year in an interview with Canada’s CBC Radio One that he and Lee were hanging out and play music together. It seems that from these initial sessions, the idea sprang of reuniting Rush for one last tour.
"He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around, jam, and we would laugh. And then one day, I don't know why, we started playing some Rush songs for fun.
"God, we were laughing so hard, and we were enjoying it so much, and it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds."
The band are playing 23 dates next summer in the US, Canada and Mexico. As yet there’s no indication that the Rush Fifty Something tour, as they’re styling it, will be extended to Europe.
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