January 7th 2025.
In a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee opened up about their last tour in 2015. As the surviving members of the hitmaking-band from the 1980s, they revealed their regret about the tour being too short. It's been almost a decade since the progressive rock group played their last gigs, but the now 71-year-old Lifeson and Lee expressed their disappointment in not pushing harder to take the R40 Live gigs outside of North America.
Unfortunately, late drummer Neil Peart had been opposed to more shows and only wanted a limited run. Geddy shared, "I'd pushed really hard to get more gigs so that we could do those extra shows and I was unsuccessful." He also opened up about the emotional impact of not being able to fulfill their fans' expectations. "It felt to me incorrect that we didn't do it, but Neil was adamant that he would only do 30 shows and that was it," he added.
Despite Peart's restrictions on the tour and his health issues, Lifeson admitted that a "dozen or so" extra dates may have made the band "a bit more accepting." Looking back, both Lifeson and Lee wished they had fought harder to play gigs for their European fans when Peart initially said no. The rock group formed back in 1968, but it wasn't until 1974 that they became known as a trio consisting of Lifeson, Peart, and Lee.
Lifeson recalled, "There was a point where I think Neil was open to maybe extending the run and adding in a few more shows, but then he got this painful infection in one of his feet." He continued, "And he played a three-hour show, at the intensity he played every single show. That was amazing, but I think that was the point where he decided that the tour was only going to go on until that final show in LA."
Peart's health issues played a major role in his reluctance to play more gigs. The tour kicked off in Tulka, Oklahoma, in May 2015 and ran for 35 dates across the US and Canada until August of that year. It wasn't until Peart's death in 2020 that the group officially confirmed their separation. In his 2023 book, My Effin' Life, Lee reflected on their final tour and admitted it was a "complicated" time for all of them.
He shared, "This is how complicated the whole world of Rush became since August 1 of 2015 until January 7 of 2020 when Neil passed." Lee felt a responsibility to provide an explanation to their audience, which is why he went into detail about Peart's death in his book. "It wasn't a straight line," he explained, referring to the band's journey after their final tour. "These were very unusual, complicated, emotional times," he added.
The band knew that many of their fans had invested their whole being into their music, and Lee felt obliged to provide a "somewhat straight answer about what happened and how their favorite band came to an end." Peart passed away at the age of 67 in January 2020 from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The announcement was made on January 10, and the band asked for privacy and respect during such a painful and difficult time.
The group formed in Toronto in 1968, with various line-up changes over the years before settling into the classic power trio of Lifeson, Geddy, and Peart in 1974. Their biggest run of successful albums came in the 80s and 90s, with hits like Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, and Grace Under Pressure, all charting in the UK's top five. As they continue to reflect on their journey, Lifeson, Lee, and Peart's legacy continues to live on through their music.
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