Not a lot of details, but my god only 67! Such a legend of a drummer.
Aw, man. A legend. RIP, sir.
Brain cancer that he kept quiet for 3 years:
A lot of announcements here are for musicians I haven’t heard of.
But Peart? He was a titan. A genius that inspired many of my favorite bands and musicians. What a tragic and young ending.
Fuck cancer.
Aw, man, this is devastating. I’ve loved Rush for 30 years and got not one but two girlfriends way into them. My lady was just telling a friend this morning that she hopes to get to see them live someday. A Titan, indeed.
Twice?
I’ve had Working Man as my ringtone for years. :(
A God among rock drummers. RIP Neal.
Never saw them live, dammit.
But Rush was vital to me in the 70’s when I was a teen. I still have all of my Rush vinyl.
First time I heard Neil’s drums, all I could manage was “Who the hell is this guy?!?”
Choked me up when I found out after work, and I never even met the guy. But his words and drums spoke to me for decades.
RIP, Neal. Rush was the only band I saw live 3 times. It was awesome each time.
Yeah. I saw Counterparts, Test for Echo and R40. Such great shows, and I don’t even particularly love “live music”.
Peart wasn’t in the band then. I GET UP AT SEVEN, YEAH! AN I GOOO TO WORK AT NI INE
Yeah a local rock station was playing Working Man as a tribute and I was pretty disgusted. He didn’t play on that record. 😒
RIP to one of the greatest.
Honestly YYZ or go home.
“Disgusted” may be a little harsh. Yes, he wasn’t on the actual album, but he played it live at least 5000 times more than Rutsey ever did.
Think of all the heroes you’ve had in your life. You live long enough, eventually their flaws catch up with them, you outgrow them, they fall apart, some devastating reveal… The handful who somehow survive this culling are precious.
That’s why old people cry when their heroes pass away. By the time you hit a certain age, there’s just so few left.
Well put, Rimbo.
Peart wasn’t just an incredible percussionist, he was a fantastic writer and lyricist. He was universally respected as one of the very best at his craft. RIP Neil, you will be missed.
edit: I wanted to add. Rush was of a love them or hate them kind of group ( as progressive rock groups often are ) but regardless of which side of the divide you fall, its hard to deny the brilliance of Neil’s drum work. He was truly one of the greatest of all time.
I had a hard time even responding to this news. Rush was a huge part of my teen years. In fact, I can barely hear out of my right ear to this day because I was three rows back from the speaker tower at a Rush concert back in 77 or 78. Bad tinnitus and I can’t use the telephone on that side at all.
Good bye, Neil. You went too young.
Edit: looking at their tour history, it was probably 1979. Hemispheres tour.
I respected Rush more than I enjoyed it (King Crimson is more my flavor of prog) but there is no denying Peart was an absolute titan.