While speaking to Louder Sound in a recent interview, singer and bassist Geddy Lee revealed that Beatles legend Paul McCartney tried to convince Rush to reunite after the band briefly got back together to perform in honor of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins at two tribute concerts in 2022 – one at Wembley Stadium in London, and the other at The Forum in LA.
Since drummer Neil Peart’s death in 2020, Rush have said that they will never reunite and tour again – But, that hasn’t stopped McCartney from trying to get them to change their mind.
“Even he was trying to get the band back together after Wembley,” the interviewer said, to which Lee responded:
“He was! He was so enthusiastic after our show. He was like our biggest promoter. He was trying to convince Al to go back on the road.”
Recalling how they came to play at the two tribute shows and meet Paul McCarntey, Lee said:
“Dave [Grohl] just called me out of the blue and said, look, we’re going to put together a tribute, two shows and Taylor would have loved you and Alex to be part of it. I said, well, you had me at hello. But he’s very wise and he’s a very smart guy, Dave. He said, look, one thing we have to do is make sure it’s not just one drummer, because you don’t want people thinking this is Rush 2.0. And he brought Omar Hakim on board and they both flew up to Toronto to rehearse with me and Al. They made everything so easy for us. Al and I were pretty nervous about doing that show, about being Rush again, and he did everything he could to put us at ease.
“And, of course, Dave introduced us to Paul [McCartney]. We were at rehearsals at a recording studio here in London. Dave came up to me and goes, have you ever met Paul? And then he went outside, and Paul said to him, I’ve never met the boys in Rush before and he just brought him in. He was, of course, completely charming. Just talking about the forthcoming gig, just musician to musician. Every bit a gentleman.”
Lee’s bandmate Alex Lifeson then chimed in, revealing that those two performances made him reconsider reuniting Rush – though it still seems incredibly unlikely to happen.
“The energy was fantastic around that show, I know, and some days I wake up wanting to go out and tour again and some days I don’t,” Lifeson admitted. “For forty years Rush included Neil, and I don’t think putting some new version together would have the same magic. It was an incredible experience working together and making so much music. It was beautiful how much we loved and respected each other, and how much we laughed but everything, amazing or not, dies eventually and we are left with the memories.
“After those two gigs and the months of prep Ged and I went through, I was excited by the response and to be in the dressing room again with so many fellow artists in Wembley and LA I respected and felt a kinship towards. But after a few weeks that wore off and it occurred to me that despite all the pain of loss, Rush went out on a high note playing as well as ever with one of our best stage shows on R40. I guess I’d rather be remembered for that legacy than returning as the top Rush tribute band.”
