Rush’s Geddy Lee recently revealed on NPR’s World Cafe a backstory about his past dismissal from the band, including a confrontation with bandmate Alex Lifeson. Contrary to popular belief, Rush, whose lineup remained unchanged from the mid-1970s until their disbandment in 2015, went through multiple lineup changes in their early years. In May 1969, the lineup of Lee, Lifeson, John Rutsey and Lindy Young underwent a change. Lee said that Young, who would later become his brother-in-law, told him that the group had broken up. However, this was not entirely true. It was Lee who was kicked out of the band.
Apparently years after these events, Lee invited Lifeson to his home under the pretext of interviewing him for his book. In the midst of their usual friendly banter, Lee asked Lifeson directly about his role in Lee’s firing from Rush by saying:
“I asked (Lifeson) to come over to my house because I wanted to interview him for my book. And so, we’re having our usual laughs and kidding with each other, we have that kind of friendship. So I just put it to him. ‘So Al, when I got kicked out of the band, who really was the motivating factor here? Was it the new manager, Ray? Was it John? And where did you stand on all of this? Did you defend me?’”
Geddy Lee continued, stating that he did not get a strong answer:
“He was looking at the ground a little bit. ‘Well, you know me back then, Ged. I was just the guy who sort of went along with things. And John was such a dominant personality,’ which he was. I just think that Al just went with the flow. And he didn’t really have an excuse or a strong reason.”
Lee Called Those Who Played A Role In His Firing ‘Chickenshit’
Geddy Lee fired back at those involved in his firing from Rush. He spoke in more detail about his dismissal from his band on the Rolling Music Now podcast in November. In 1969, the as-yet unsigned Rush included Alex Lifeson, keyboardist Lindy Young, drummer John Rutsey and Lee himself, until Lee was unexpectedly dismissed from the band.
Having written about this in his memoir, ‘My Effin’ Life,’ Lee explained in the podcast:
“Whoever’s idea it was, the way they all went about it was deceitful and frankly chickenshit, and I was shocked and hurt. Still, I didn’t want to sit around and feel sorry for myself, so I said to myself, Fuck them, and resolved to start a band of my own. I’ve always pictured myself as a mousy kid, blowing with the wind and following the crowd, but the mysteries revealed when going back in time to write this book are, well, revelatory!”
He went on to describe his approach after his dismissal, seeing his success as revenge. He continued:
“I couldn’t have been entirely a will-o’-the-wisp or I would not have had the chutzpah to keep on keeping on. Clearly, music meant everything to me, and despite my supposed lack of confidence I instinctively knew that I had to take control of my own destiny, if only hoping that success would be a kind of revenge.”
Rush’s Comeback
It turns out that Geddy Lee formed another band after he was fired and was invited back later. He also knew who got him fired. In 2012, Lee actually targeted someone who played a role in his firing to Classic Rock’s Rush Fan Pack. The decision to fire Lee was reportedly driven by the band’s new manager at the time, Ray Danniels. Here’s how Lee explained it:
“So he(Ray Danniels) started directing the band and he just thought I wasn’t suitable, for whatever reasons he had. I don’t know whether it was the way I looked, or my religious background – who the fuck knew? Anyway, he influenced them and they went along with it, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, and I was out. They kicked me out.”
After being dismissed from the band, Lee formed a new group and they played small venues. He continued to explain:But then he got the invitation that would later form Rush. He continued
“I started a blues band and I was, frankly speaking, doing better than they were. Then I got a call from John and he said, ‘Can we get together?’ Basically, ‘Can you come back? We’re sorry.’ They had to go through whatever they went through. We tried it again and that’s really when the band started. We became this three-piece and we were really going in the same direction.”
And that’s how Rush was founded.
