A SEVENTIES rock band has revealed their shock comeback five years after the tragic death of a founding member.
The band, which is ranked third behind The Beatles and the Rolling Stones for most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a group, disbanded back in 2018.
A Canadian rock band are making their comeback five years after the death of a founding member[/caption]
Rush are best known for hit track Tom Sawyer[/caption]
It comes after drummer Neil Peart sadly passed from cancer in 2020[/caption]
In 2020, we sadly reported how Rush guitarist Neil Peart had passed away aged 67 from a rare form of brain cancer.
Yet now the Canadian rockers, best known for their hit Tom Sawyer, will again take to the stage.
Original bass player Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson let slip the Rush revival at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
A statement then confirmed a second stint for the Subdivisions hitmakers and Geddy said: “It’s been over 10 years since Alex and I have performed the music of Rush alongside our fallen bandmate and friend Neil.
“A lifetime’s worth of songs that we had put our cumulative hearts and souls into writing, recording and playing together onstage.
“And so, after all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we f**king miss it, and that it’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of RUSH music.”
He added: “So in 2026 my BFF Lerxst (aka Alex Lifeson) and I are going to hit the road once again to pay tribute to our past and to Neil by performing a vast selection of RUSH songs in a handful of cities.
“No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable.”
He then revealed the band’s next iteration and “chapter” would feature the inclusion of German drummer Anika Nilles, 42.
The statement added: “Yet life is full of surprises and we have been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey.
‘Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated RUSH fanbase, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role.”
He added: “Lerxst, Anika and myself, along with many of our longstanding crew members, have been hard at work rehearsing and designing the kind of Rush show you’ve grown accustomed to expect from us.
“We dearly hope you will come along and help us celebrate our history together.”
Drummer and composer Anika first launched her career on YouTube in 2010.
She has released two albums to date.
SAD STATEMENT
Following Neil’s passing, the hitmakers released a sad statement to fans.
“It is with broken hearts and the deepest sadness that we must share the terrible news that on Tuesday our friend, soul brother and band mate of over 45 years, Neil, has lost his incredibly brave three and a half year battle with brain cancer,” a statement from the band read.
The statement ended: “Rest in peace brother.”
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons paid tribute on Twitter saying: My prayers and condolences to the Peart Family, Fans and Friends. Neil was a kind soul. R.I.P.”
Megadeath’s David Ellefson tweeted: “What an incredibly sad moment. Neil, Geddy & Alex changed my life as a young aspiring musician.”
Neil was also the band’s primary songwriter and the author of numerous books.
He first picked up a pair of drumsticks aged 13 and in 1983 he became the youngest Modern Drummer Hall of Fame inductee.
The former Police drummer Stewart Copeland called him “the most air-drummed-to drummer of all time”.
He retired from the band in 2015 and the band declared itself finished in 2018.
The musician’s 19-year-old daughter Selena died in a car crash in 1997 Toronto and his common law wife of 23 years Jackie Taylor also died of cancer.
He embarked on a solitary motorcycle trip across the United States in 2000.
He got re-married, to Carrie Nuttal, in 2000 and the couple had a daughter Olivia.
Bass player Geddy Lee told how the band’s second stint had taken ‘serious soul searching’[/caption]
The band told how the new tour will ‘pay tribute to our past and to Neil’ , centre[/caption]
German drummer Anika Nilles has been brought on board[/caption]
