Neil Peart, the iconic drummer and lyricist of Rush, passed away in January 2020 following a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67. The band waited three days before publicly announcing Peart‘s death, a decision that sparked a wave of shock and grief among fans and fellow musicians around the world.
Since his passing, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have not performed or recorded under the Rush name. However, both have acknowledged that several drummers reached out to them in the aftermath, expressing interest in stepping in for Peart.
In a recent interview with Meltdown on Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson opened up about his time working alongside his bandmate Neil Peart, sharing personal insights into both their musical partnership and Peart’s lasting impact on the band’s legacy.
“Neil was amazing to work with,” Alex said. “He was very, very bright, very, very intelligent. He was a great observer of things, and he had that skill or that ability, or whatever you wanna call it, talent to put things in words that everyone can relate to. He was very descriptive in a certain way that you could immediately relate to what it is that he’s talking about. And it was always multi-purpose; there were other layers to his observations.”
Lifeson also reflected on Peart’s unmatched abilities behind the drum kit: “As a drummer, obviously, [Neil] was amazing. I mean, I was lucky to stand in front of him for 40 years, and I can tell you that that guy could play like no one else could.”
When asked about Rush’s final concert, held in August 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles, Lifeson confirmed that the band knew it would be their last time on stage together.
“Yeah… Well, when we played the last show, Neil was done with touring. He just didn’t wanna tour anymore. He felt like he was not able to play a hundred percent. It was getting more difficult. Playing a three-hour set the way he played, yeah, I get it, for sure. And he was just tired of it. And in his mind, that was it. So we did that last show and Ged [Geddy Lee] and I felt probably like it wasn’t quite over for us. We still had gas in the tank, but what are you gonna do? We fully understood what Neil was on about. If he couldn’t play a hundred percent, it just wasn’t worth it to him to play. So that was it. And I remember the gig and I remember the Forum and looking at the wall at the clock on the back wall that I saw 23 other times that we played there and I looked at faces that I knew I wouldn’t see again that followed us for decades. It was a very, very powerful moment. Yeah, it was quite sad, really.”
During the conversation, Lifeson also touched on his long-standing friendship with bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee. When asked if they had known each other since 1968, he replied:
“Yeah, a little earlier than that, ’cause we were in high school, we were in junior high school together. So I think we’ve known each other since 1965, in fact. So we’ve been best friends for all those years. I had dinner with him the other night. We had some friends in town that were touring with another band, tech guys. We had a lovely dinner together, all three of us. I’m gonna go over to his place today. We’re gonna drink coffee and talk and shoot the crap.”
“He’s my best bud,” Lifeson added. “And we all have best buds that you like to hang around with and do stuff with. And I just happened to be playing in a band with my best bud for 40 years. So, it’s a little outside, I guess. But yeah, we’re just very, very good friends.”
Alex Lifeson first made his impact on the music world over five decades ago, helping to redefine the boundaries of progressive rock guitar. Known for his signature riffs, extensive use of effects, and unconventional chord structures, Lifeson earned the nickname “The Musical Scientist” from his Rush bandmates.
While his most celebrated work remains with Rush, Lifeson has also built a diverse portfolio outside the band—as a guitarist, producer, and solo artist, notably with the release of his 1996 album Victor. His influence is widely recognized: he ranked third in Guitar World’s readers’ poll of the “100 Greatest Guitarists” and was also named in Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
