"We can’t avoid it": Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson reveals drummers tried to replace Neil Peart just minutes after his death

During an interview with Q104.3 New York, Alex Lifeson, the guitarist for the rock band Rush, revealed that drummers reached out to replace Neil soon after his death. When Alex was asked about reforming the band with Lee, he said:

''After Neil passed, it didn’t take more than a few minutes before we started getting e-mails from all kinds of drummers who wanted to audition for the band, thinking that we were just gonna replace somebody that we played with for 40 years who wrote all the lyrics for our music.

Lifeson continued:

''I don’t know what some of these people were thinking. So, yeah, we’ve had the conversation, because we can’t avoid it.”

The band consisted of Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, and Geddy Lee. Geddy was the keyboardist, bassist, and lead vocalist for the band.

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Rush’s Alex Lifeson reveals musicians rushed to fill Neil Peart’s spot after his death

Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the rock band died on January 7, 2020. He has been suffering from an aggressive kind of cancer called glioblastoma. Since Neil's demise, the band hasn't released any new tracks or performances.

Neil joined Rush in 1974 and his first album with the band, Fly by Night, was highly successful and won the Juno Award.

Alex has always said that he and Lee as Rush band would never reunite with a new drummer. Lee, however, has not completely rejected the idea and is more open to bringing the band together in some form. The last tour the three of them, Neil, Lee, and Alex Lifeson did together was the R40 Live Tour in 2015.

This tour celebrated 40 years of the band and was the final tour before Neil retired due to his health issues. Regarding their last show, Alex said:

''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.''

He continued:

“For forty years Rush included Neil, and I don’t think putting some new version together would have the same magic.”

During the interview, Alex Lifeson was also asked about his relationship with Geddy Lee. He said that Geddy is his best friend and they talk regularly. He also mentioned that they play tennis together and connect over charity work. He said:

''Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar – keep my fingers moving, play Rush stuff, new jams. We do record it, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it’ll go.”

The band is known for famous tracks like Closer to the Heart, Limelight, and Freewill. Working Man, one of their early classics was the last song they performed live together.