Alex Lifeson: Rush are basically done

Rush
Rush

Alex Lifeson has confirmed that Rush have no plans to tour or record together in the future.

The future of the band was thrown into doubt when drummer Neil Peart described himself as “retired” in 2015 following Rush’s North American R40 tour.

Guitarist Lifeson and vocalist and bassist Geddy appeared to accept another large scale tour wouldn’t happen, with Lifeson’s new comments confirming that nothing new will come from the trio going forward.

He tells The Globe And Mail: “It’s been a little over two years since Rush last toured. We have no plans to tour or record any more. We’re basically done. After 41 years, we felt it was enough.

“But I’ve actually been busier lately than I have been in a while. I’m writing a lot. I’m writing on four or five different little projects. I get these requests to do guitar work with other people.

“It’s really a lot of fun for me. It’s low pressure: I get to be as creative as I want to be and I can work a little outside of the box, which is really attractive to me.”

Lifeson also reveals he’s writing a column for new Toronto newspaper the West End Phoenix and adds: “It’s fun to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. If you have a little bit of confidence and you just get out of your own way, these things can happen.

“The same thing happened when I got asked to do a small role in a TV show, Crawford, a new comedy on CBC from Mike Clattenburg, who created Trailer Park Boys.

“I thought I couldn’t do it – that it was something for real actors. But I ended up doing a few episodes. It definitely was not in my comfort zone. But if you throw a challenge at yourself and dive into it, it can be really gratifying.

Rush released the movie Time Stand Still in December 2016, and last year celebrated the 40th anniversary of A Farewell To Kings with a lavish deluxe box set.

The real story behind how Rush made A Farewell To Kings

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.