Alex Lifeson On Likelihood Of Rush Reunion

Keavin Wiggins | 05-11-2024

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has addressed the idea of reuniting with Geddy Lee and recruiting a drummer to replace the late Neil Peart for a Rush reunion in a new interview, calling the idea a "money ploy".

Lifeson was asked about a possible reunion by ClassicRockHistory.com and he responded, "There's so many people that ask about us getting back together, if we'll find a new drummer, or continue with Rush, and honestly, I'm proud of the fact that we haven't, and that it was over when it was over.

"We toured for 41 years, and Neil was done. He couldn't play like he did ten years earlier, and it was very difficult; he did not want to play even one percentage less than perfect. That was understandable. And it was sad when it was over, and all of that, but in retrospect, we went out on a high note, and that's the legacy of Rush.

He then explained why a reunion is unlikely, "So many people remember us, and there's sadness amongst our fans that it ended, and they want more, but you can't go back. We can't just go and get another drummer, and go out and play concerts, and make new material. It just would not be the same. It would just be a money ploy."

Alex recently revealed that he and Geddy Lee got together to jam some of the band's classic track. He shared, "We decided that we would play some Rush songs. Because, you know, we haven't played these songs in 10 years," Lifeson told UCR. "We started that a couple of weeks ago. We get together one day a week over at his place. We just picked some Rush songs and we started playing them and we sound like a really, really bad Rush tribute band."

Alex cautioned that this does not mean that the two longtime bandmates will be performing together in public anytime soon. He explained, "I'm 70. It's not as easy to get my fingers to do what my brain tells me to do. They're much lazier than they used to be and they have a poor memory. Doing this really helps a lot, and it's fun. That's it. The whole thing was that in the beginning, it was just fun. We're having a riot together doing that. There's no rhyme or reason. We're not planning on going back on the road, finding a new drummer or anything like that. It's just fun to do it."