Geddy Lee Reveals the Intense Pressure Behind Rush’s Return: ‘I Didn’t Smile for a Year and a Half’

For fans, Rush’s return to the stage marked a long-awaited celebration. For Geddy Lee, however, the months leading up to the band’s Fifty Something reunion tour were dominated by something very different: relentless preparation and the fear of returning as anything less than their best.

The singer and bassist revealed that he became so consumed with getting ready for Rush’s first performances in 11 years that, according to his daughter, he barely smiled for a year and a half.

Lee insists it wasn’t unhappiness. Instead, he describes it as the result of going into “tunnel vision” to make sure Rush could still deliver the kind of performance audiences expected.

‘You Have to Give Them the Best You Got’

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Lee acknowledged just how demanding the shows have become.

“It’s a tough show,” he said. “Each night has its own difficulties. But we’re all professionals, and that’s why you do all the work.”

That work extends far beyond the hours spent onstage.

Lee said both show days and days off are built around maintaining his ability to perform. His routine includes seeing a physiotherapist, completing a physical workout and working with his vocal coach.

There is barely enough downtime for one of his favorite distractions.

“I have a half an hour to catch my baseball scores,” he said, before getting back to preparing his voice.

Lee expects that routine to continue throughout the tour because, in his view, professionalism means accepting the work required to meet the expectations of people who have paid to see Rush.

“When they paid good money to come see you play, you have to give them the best you got,” he explained.

A fear of becoming ‘a compromised version’ of Rush

Behind that preparation was a concern Lee said he shared with guitarist Alex Lifeson: What if they simply couldn’t perform at the level they once had?

“You can’t do it anymore, and you’re going to be a compromised version of yourself,” Lee said of the fear surrounding their comeback.

“And I don’t want that.”

For Lee, the issue inevitably brought back memories of late Rush drummer Neil Peart and the standards he maintained throughout his career.

“That’s why Neil retired,” Lee said. “He retired because he refused to show anything but his very best in public.”

That same standard remained in Lee’s mind while preparing for Rush’s return, pushing him and Lifeson through the lengthy process of getting themselves stage-ready again.

The intensity apparently became obvious to Lee’s family.

According to his daughter, he “didn’t smile for a year and a half before appearing onstage.”

Everything changed once Rush finally returned

The pressure began to lift once the tour was actually underway.

Lee recalled his daughter approaching him after the band returned to the stage and telling him how happy she was to see a change in him.

“I haven’t seen you smile like that in a year and a half,” she told him.

Lee initially wondered whether he had simply become a “grump,” but ultimately saw it differently.

“It’s not grump,” he explained. “It’s that I had to go into tunnel vision to prepare myself for this job.”

His motivation was straightforward: he didn’t want to disappoint himself, and he certainly didn’t want to disappoint the audience.

Lee added that Lifeson went through much the same experience.

Anika Nilles faced the scale of Rush’s challenge

The workload wasn’t limited to Rush’s two returning members.

Drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold also faced an enormous amount of preparation after joining the touring lineup.

Lee described Nilles agreeing to become part of Rush as a particularly significant commitment.

“When she said ‘yes’ to joining our band, that was a big ‘yes,’” he said.

Lee suspects Nilles may not initially have understood just how much work would come with that decision.

“I don’t think she fully understood the magnitude of that ‘yes’ and the amount of work,” he admitted.

But Nilles, Gold, Lifeson and Lee all approached the challenge seriously, putting in the preparation required to bring Rush back after more than a decade away.

For Lee, the exhausting buildup ultimately produced the result he had spent so long worrying about.

“All of us, Loren included, worked as hard as we could, took it very seriously,” he said, “and touch wood, we had a good first week.”