Alex Lifeson says “there’s no way Rush will ever exist again”

Alex Lifeson has quashed any possibility for a potential Rush reunion in the future, revealing that the iconic rock band “will never exist again because Neil [Peart]’s not here to be a part of it”.

The electric guitar god made the comments while in conversation with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM, stating that, though he and the band’s bass guitar player/vocalist Geddy Lee may strike up a new collaborative project in the future, no new music or live performances will occur under the Rush name.

“I talk to Ged every couple of days or so. We try to get together for dinner. That’s been a more challenging thing lately,” he said. “If there’s something that comes up in the future, an opportunity for us to do something, we’ll decide over a cup of coffee what that’ll be.

“There’s no urgency and there’s no preplanned thing now,” Lifeson continued while discussing a potential musical partnership for the pair. “He’s doing whatever he’s doing, I’m doing whatever I’m doing, and we keep each other informed and stuff like that.

“We had such a great history and did so much great stuff together, it’s not really a big deal if, for the rest of our lives, we’re just best friends.”

Despite the possibility that the pair might join forces for a new musical venture, Lifeson made it clear that any resulting material would in no way be related to Rush, with whom the pair performed until drummer Neil Peart’s retirement in 2015.

“Rush ended in 2015. There’s no way Rush will ever exist again because Neil’s not here to be a part of it,” he stated. “That’s not to say that we can’t do other things and we can’t do things that benefit our communities and all of that. I have lots of plans for that sort of thing that don’t necessarily include Geddy.”

Neil Peart retired from music in 2015, before being diagnosed with cancer in 2016. He passed away in January 2020 following a three-and-a-half-year battle with the illness.

Lifeson released his first new solo material since 2012’s Clockwork Angels last month in the form of two songs – Kabul Blues and Spy House – which coincided with the release of his $899 Epiphone Les Paul Axcess Standard signature model.

More recently, the Rush legend revealed he had finished recording a new album with Coney Hatch’s Andy Curran under the moniker Envy of None, which is set to be released “late summer, early fall” this year, as well as a mystery collaboration with Tom Morello and Kirk Hammett.