Despite his status as one of rock’s most celebrated musicians, Rush frontman Geddy Lee is still willing to admit when his creative instincts completely missed the mark.
In a recent interview with producer and music personality Rick Beato, the legendary bassist and vocalist opened up about the grueling process of recording what would ultimately become the band’s signature hit, “Tom Sawyer“. The track famously served as the third single from their quintuple-platinum 1981 masterpiece, Moving Pictures, but according to the frontman, he originally wanted to scrap it from the final sequence entirely.
When asked why the song resonated with millions of listeners, Geddy Lee confessed that he was far too frustrated with the turbulent recording process to see its potential.
“I can’t answer that. I don’t know. I’m the last guy to know because when we finished that song in the studio, we were so frustrated. It was a very difficult song to make, difficult song to mix. Every step of the recording was beset with problems,” Geddy said (via Loudwire).
He continued: “And at the end, I was so sick of that f**king song, I didn’t want to put it on the record. So, can you imagine how dumb that was? Like, let’s not put our most popular song on the record.”
Today, Geddy Lee views Moving Pictures as the absolute peak of the band’s creative chemistry.
He described the landmark release as: “the finest moment of our collaboration together … because our songwriting and [Terry Brown‘s] production melded perfectly. Again, that was the album we weren’t supposed to make.”
The album itself was a complete pivot from the band’s original timeline. Following the massive success of their 1980 studio release, Permanent Waves, Rush had firmly committed to recording a live album. That plan changed completely following a backstage intervention from their record label representation.
“And I remember sitting in the dressing room in New York City. And we got a visit from Cliff Burnstein, who worked for our record company then,” Geddy recalled. “And he just sat us down [and] he said, ‘I hear you’re doing a live album. And I’m here to ask you not to do a live album. Your previous record had so much new energy. I think you should keep writing.’ He said, ‘There’s just something about that record that works and I think you’re just onto something. So you can do a live album next time.'”
“And so we looked at each other — and we had already had plans to record and mix and do all this stuff — and we looked at each other and went, ‘Hey, that’s fun, let’s do that.’ So we were out of character and just said, ‘Yeah, okay.’ And we booked studio time and off we went,” he concluded.
Despite the initial frustration of tracking “Tom Sawyer“, the anthem is a guaranteed staple as the band prepares to launch their highly anticipated Fifty Something reunion tour next month. Marking a historic return to the stage, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be joined by acclaimed drummer Anika Nilles, who steps into the monumental role left by the late Neil Peart. Rounding out the lineup is touring keyboardist Loren Gold, officially expanding the group’s live configuration.
The massive North American arena run will dominate the rest of the year before the tour heads overseas for highly anticipated dates across South America and Europe in early 2027.
Rush “Fifty Something” 2026 Tour Dates:
- June 7, 9, 11, 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
- June 18 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
- June 20 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
- June 24, 26, 28, 30 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- July 16, 18, 20, 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center
- July 28, 30, Aug. 1, 3 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
- Aug. 7, 9, 11, 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- Aug. 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
- Aug. 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
- Aug. 26 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
- Aug. 28 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
- Sep. 2 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- Sep. 4 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- Sep. 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
- Sep. 14 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
- Sep. 17, 19 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena
- Sep. 23 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
- Sep. 25 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
- Oct. 5 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
- Oct. 7 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
- Oct. 10 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- Oct. 12 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- Oct. 15 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
- Oct. 17 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
- Oct. 25 – Washington D.C. – Capital One Arena
- Oct. 27 – Washington D.C. – Capital One Arena
- Oct. 30 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
- Nov. 1 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
- Nov. 5 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
- Nov. 7 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
- Nov. 9 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
- Nov. 11 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
- Nov. 20 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
- Nov. 22 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
- Nov. 25 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Nov. 27 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Dec. 1 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
- Dec. 3 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
- Dec. 10 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
- Dec. 12 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
- Dec. 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
- Dec. 17 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Rush “Fifty Something” 2027 UK And European Tour:
- February 19: Paris, FRA – La Défense Arena
- February 21: Berlin, GER – Uber Arena
- February 23: Amsterdam, NED – Ziggo Dome
- February 25: Munich, GER – Olympiahalle
- February 28: Cologne, GER – LANXESS Arena
- March 2: Hamburg, GER – Barclays Arena
- March 4: Stuttgart, GER – Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
- March 8: Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
- March 12: Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
- March 16: London, UK – The O2 Arena
- March 18: London, UK – The O2 Arena
- March 27: Kraków, POL – Arena Kraków
- March 30: Milan, ITA – Unipol Dome
- April 1: Basel, SWI – St. Jakobshalle
- April 4: Copenhagen, DEN – Royal Arena
- April 6: Oslo, NOR – Unity Arena
- April 8: Stockholm, SWE – Avicii Arena
- April 10: Helsinki, FIN – Veikkaus Arena
Rush “Fifty Something” 2027 South America Dates:
- January 15: Buenos Aires, AR
- January 17 – Santiago, CL
- January 19 – Santiago, CL
- January 22: Curitiba, BR
- January 24: São Paulo, BR
- January 30: Rio De Janeiro, BR
- February 01: Belo Horizonte, BR
- February 04: Brasília, BR
