Alex Lifeson has revealed how Paul McCartney helped convince him and Geddy Lee to get Rush back on the road, following an encounter between the three musicians after the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at London’s O2 Arena in 2022.
Lifeson recalled that McCartney was surprisingly adamant that the members of Rush should keep performing. At the time, Lifeson was still unsure about returning to the road following the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart in 2020.
Speaking to Radio Futuro in a recent interview, Lifeson explained that he and Lee were having drinks with members of Foo Fighters and other guests after the tribute when McCartney stopped by. The former Beatle told them he had enjoyed their performance and asked whether they were touring.
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“Geddy said, ‘Well, no, we’re not on tour. We recently lost our drummer, and Alex is not really interested in going back on the road.’”
That brought an emphatic response from McCartney.
“And he said, ‘Oh, no, no, no! You must! This is what we do. This is who we are. Ringo says, “That’s in our blood. It’s in our DNA. We must get out and do it.” And he said, “Look at me. I’m in my 80s now, and I’m still touring and still working because that’s what I do, and that’s what you must do.”’”
Lifeson then tried to turn the conversation into a joke, telling the former Beatle that he would consider returning to the road if the Beatle managed Rush. McCartney didn’t miss a beat.
“And I said, ‘Well, okay. I’ll consider it if you manage us.’ And he laughed and said, ‘Okay, I’ll manage you.’ And then I said, ‘Okay, and also, you have to be our caterer.’ He said, ‘Okay, I’ll be your caterer.’ I regretted it immediately because he’s a vegan, so we all laughed about it, and it stuck with us.”
Even so, Lifeson took McCartney’s advice to heart.
“You know, you can’t argue with a Beatle if they tell you you should go back on the road. You better get ready to go back on the road.”
The conversation was one small moment in what would become a much longer journey back to the stage. Rush’s eventual Fifty Something reunion tour was hardly a foregone conclusion.
Lifeson and Lee spent years wrestling with whether they should continue as Rush at all. There was the question of whether it felt right to carry on without Peart, as well as the seemingly impossible task of finding a drummer who could help them recreate the chemistry of the classic lineup. Eventually, they found that drummer in Anika Nilles.
Lifeson’s comments in 2023 and 2024 only added to the uncertainty — and, as Lee recently admitted, sometimes got on the bass guitarist’s nerves. But the two musicians had already begun thinking seriously about doing something together again after their appearance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute.
McCartney’s intervention, Lifeson’s account suggests, gave them another nudge in that direction. And now, more than three years after that conversation at the O2, Lifeson and Lee have finally hoisted the Rush banner again.
