Del.icio.usRush
Fact Sheet
| Occupation | Bassist, Singer, Keyboardist |
| Musical genre: | Rock |
| Country | Canada |
| Years active | 1969- |
Rush have been awarded the Juno Award (Canada's equivalent of the Grammy Award) on numerous occasions, and all three individuals are Members of the Order of Canada.
History
Rush's musical style has changed greatly over the lifetime of the group. Albums prior to 1980's Permanent Waves are a mix of heavy metal and progressive rock similar to Yes or Genesis. Demonstrating their birth within the short-lived era of glitter rock bands, such as Alice Cooper or Ziggy Stardust, Rush were known to have flashy costumes and stage shows. The lyrics of that time were heavily influenced by science fiction and, in a few cases, the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by 1976's 2112 and 1978's Hemispheres. Many of their early songs received limited airplay because of their extended length (in some cases exceeding ten minutes) which were deemed unprofitable by station managers.Permanent Waves changed things dramatically. Although the music was still based on heavy-metal style, more and more keyboards were introduced. The themes of the songs changed dramatically, and became far more in common with alternative rock than prog-rock. One song in particular, Spirit of Radio (named for the Toronto-local groundbreaking radio station, CFNY), went on to become a huge hit on the alternative circuit. Another favourite on American classic rock stations to this day is Tom Sawyer from 1981's Moving Pictures. From that point on, their albums of the 1980s tended to follow this lead, although recordings in the later 1980s and 1990s have sometimes been derided as being too mainstream.
Each of the three individual artists has produced and released work independent of the band's structure, to varying degrees of commercial and critical success.
After 1996's Test for Echo, the band entered a six-year hiatus due mainly to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in a car accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart embarked on a self-described "healing journey" by motorcycle in which he travelled thousands of miles across North America. He subsequently wrote about his travels in his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Rush later said that they came very close to disbanding during this period.
The band returned in 2002 with a surprisingly heavy and modern Vapor Trails album, their first without keyboards in over twenty years. The album contains the song "Ghost Rider", describing Peart's motorcycle journey. It debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil.
The band was one of a number of hometown favourites to play the SARS relief concert (dubbed SARStock) at Downsview Park in Toronto in August 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. Also in 2003, Alex Lifeson appeared in the highy successful Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys. Rush also played for CBC's 2004 tsunami relief telethon, along with Ed Robertson (of the Barenaked Ladies) and Mike Smith (Bubbles) from Trailer Park Boys.
A live album, Rush in Rio, was released in late October 2003. The companion DVD won the 2004 Juno for best music DVD. June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP featuring eight covers of such artists as Cream and The Who. It is rumored that the band is to go back into the studio to record a new album in early 2005.
Rush has been nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy Award for Neil Peart's drum solo, “O Baterista” from the album Rush in Rio.