# Rush drummer Neil Peart tells magazine he's retired



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

*Rush drummer Neil Peart tells magazine he's retired*
*Canadian rock icon cites age, health issues for ending music career spanning 40 years*
By Jessica Wong, CBC News Posted: Dec 07, 2015 5:48 PM ET Last Updated: Dec 07, 2015 6:59 PM ET









Neil Peart of the band Rush performs at a concert during the trio's R40 Live: 40th Anniversary Tour 2015 on June 25 in Philadelphia. The drummer announced Monday he is retiring from music. (Owen Sweeney/Associated Press)


Rush fans who caught the iconic Canadian band's 40th anniversary tour this past summer may likely have seen the trio's final concerts, with drummer Neil Peart telling a music magazine that he has retired.

Discussing his lengthy career with Drumhead Magazine, the Hamilton-born Peart mentioned that his young daughter Olivia, born in 2009, "has been introducing me to new friends at school as 'My dad — he's a retired drummer.' True to say — funny to hear. And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to ... take yourself out of the game."

*Health an issue*
Peart, who according to a 2012 Maclean's article currently lives in Santa Monica, Calif., hasn't been the only band member to muse about slowing down.

In April, Alex Lifeson, who struggles with psoriatic arthritis and has had other health issues, admitted to having mixed feelings about continuing the rock star life, saying that while he loved playing, family time and health concerns are increasingly a consideration for the trio.

"I think 40 years is a long time to be touring the way we tour. I really like being home with my grandkids. At 61, I don't feel there's anything we need to prove," he told The Canadian Press.

He also noted the difficulty for Peart, whose extremely physical performance as one of the rock's world's most accomplished drummers, is aggravated by chronic tendonitis and shoulder problems.









Canadian rock trio Rush wound up a tour this summer and now drummer Neil Peart has confirmed he is retiring from music. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

"It's just getting to the point, no matter how much we love doing it, that it's much more demanding and much more difficult.... I've always hated the idea of being one of those guys who's just up there, old and barely able to move — just doing it for fear of not doing it, or not making an extra buck or whatever."

However, ending large-scale tours doesn't mean no more Rush, according to Geddy Lee.

"It doesn't mean we don't want to work together still, it doesn't mean we won't do another creative project, and I've got ideas for shows we could do that don't involve a tour," he told Rolling Stone, which featured the band on its cover in June.

*Spirit ever lingers*
When announcing the dates for its most recent North American tour in January, Rush described the slate as "not-to-be-missed concerts" and added that the 34-city jaunt would "most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude."

Though the progressive rock trio formed in the mid 1970s, sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, earned widespread respect and influenced scores of musicians, it was only recently that the band earned much recognition from the industry.

Rush was only inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — after being eligible since the 1990s and following years of petitions and protests by devotees — in 2013, almost a decade after the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.









Alex Lifeson, center, Neil Peart, left, and Geddy Lee, right, of Rush accept their band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Nokia Theatre on Thursday, Apr. 18, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP/Canadian Press)

*Family tragedy and recovery*
On Aug. 10, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident while driving to university in Toronto. Just months later, Peart's common-law wife, Jackie, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and later died.

Peart told his fellow Rush bandmates on the day of his daughter's funeral they should "consider me retired."

He would later go on a 14-month motorcycle trip across North America, through Mexico to Belize and back, chronicling the journey in his book,_Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road_, before rejoining the band.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

One of my work-mates, a big guy who served as a bouncer, a sniper in the CF and did several tours "over there" before going to work for CBSA, and finally us, is a bike afficionado; mostly café racing. He was telling me that he was on a cross-country ride and was in one of the northern states - I forget which, and he's gone off on language training, so I can't ask him - but Montana or Wyoming seems like pretty safe bets. He was in a store or tourist place, and it became apparent via his conversation with staff that he was Canadian. Guy comes over, introduces himself, comments on the bike outside, and they start chatting. Turns out it's Peart, who is also on a cross-continent ride to clear his head. Peart says there's this place he passed and he's just _gotta_ show my colleague. So off he goes riding with Peart, who shows him the spot, and they part ways.

Now if that ain't the most Canadian dream-come-true, I don't know what is: heading down an open interstate on your bike, towards some huge western rock formation, side by side with Neil Peart. I have a copy of Peart's "Ghost Rider" book. Now I'm going to have to see if there's any mention of the incident.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

He wrote a couple of others as well.

As much as many want their favorite musicians & bands to keep going & going, the reality is they won't.
It always works that way.
Maybe they'll do some one offs, maybe not.
But if Peart is looking to retire. it's not because he's lazy.


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## bluesician (Mar 14, 2007)

deleted


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

One of the truly great rock drummers, and in my opinion he furthered the groundbreaking work of Keith Moon, John Bonham, Ginger Baker, and a few others, while making it all his own. That aside, everything I've seen indicates he's a good guy too.

If he wants to retire, good for him, he's earned anything he wants.

Peace, Mooh.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A bus-buddy and I were chatting about Peart this morning, and we both noted the toll that impact is likely to take on one's joints as a drummer; especially if you're not the sort who simply works the brushes and tinkles the little splash cymbals. If you're surrounded by large percussion tools that need to be struck hard to do what they do, your shoulders are going to hurt more at the end of a tour than the guitarist and bassist's will.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

bluesician said:


> I'm glad that Neil is able to retire with dignity. Like Neil said, Rush certainly does not have to prove anything and they will be recognized as one of the greats in all Music History!


One little snip and replace. Hope you don't mind - I like it like this.


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## bluesician (Mar 14, 2007)

deleted


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

One of the best of all time for sure.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

According to Geddy Peart just doesn't want to do extended tours anymore.

http://jam.canoe.com/Music/2015/12/08/22581197.html


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

http://www.thebeaverton.com/culture...-months-after-completion-of-current-drum-solo


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