Rush Biographies

RUSH
By Brian Harrigan
Omnibus Press, 1982
80 pages, color & b/w photos
ISBN 0.86001.934.9
out of print

"Rush, the Canadian heavy metal megastars. This is their complete story - from early days in the suburbs of Toronto to their present envied position as the number one hard rock band on earth. Brian Harrigan writes for Melody Maker and was previously press officer for Rush in the UK."

Sounds, Fan Library #6
By Steve Gett
Spotlight Publications Ltd, January 1983
48 pages, color and b/w photos
out of print

A special collectors magazine packed with photos, interviews and biographical information. An expanded version of the text would reappear a year later in Steve Gett's book, Success Under Pressure (see entry below).

Success Under Pressure
By Steve Gett
Cherry Lane Books, 1984
48 pages, b/w photos
ISBN 0.89524.230.3
out of print (buy used)

Visions - The Official Biography
By Bill Banasiewicz
Omnibus Press, 1988
96 pages, color & b/w photos
ISBN 0.7119.1162.2
out of print (buy used)

"This first and only official biography follows the career of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart from their earliest days as a Toronto bar band performing cover versions of sixties rock to their most recent LP 'Hold Your Fire'."

Rush: The Comic Book
Written by Jay Allen Sanford, Art by Terry Pallot
US: Rock & Roll comics, issue #49, July 1992
Canada: Revolutionary as Canadian Rock & Roll Special #1, July 1994

"The Canadian power trio Rush is profiled in a comic which details the formation of the band and their rise to platinum superstars. Meticulously researched, this comic provides a rare inner view of the makining of classic albums like Fly By Night, 2112, Permanent Waves and others. Art by Terry Pallot (Adventures Of Superman), cover by Scott Jackson (Heavy Metal Monsters)."

Rock & Roll Comics later included Rush as part of their "Sci-Fi Space Age Rockers" anthology, issue #65, with one page taken from the Rush comic concerning the making of 2112.

"In the Beginning...The Story of the Discovery of Rush"
By Donna Halper
Circa 1998

Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home & Away
By Martin Popoff
ECW Press, June 28, 2004
230 pages, full color, 270 photos throughout
ISBN 1.55022.678.9
Buy Online

"Contents Under Pressure celebrates the 30th anniversary of Canada's beloved Rush, the hard-hitting, progressive rock band known for such classics as "Working Man," "Closer to the Heart," "The Spirit of Radio," "Tom Sawyer," "New World Man," "Roll the Bones" and "Ghost Rider." In original interviews with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, author Martin Popoff considers each of Rush's albums and tours. He elicits fresh insights on the writing and recording process, as well as musings on the grinds and glories of touring. Along the way, Popoff examines, with the band, nearly every song in the band's vast catalogue. This book also features 270 photos by official band photographer Andrew MacNaughtan and others - candid, rare, and of utmost quality, they help make Contents Under Pressure an essential piece of Rush history."

Chemistry
By Jon Collins
Helter Skelter Books, First Edition Hardback, January 15, 2006; Paperback, November 1, 2010
272 pages, b/w photos
ISBN 1900924854
Buy Online

"Against a background of disinterest from the media and a refusal to compromise their music, Rush's success was by no means guaranteed. Since the beginning, only the determined efforts and downright stamina of the band members and those around them were sufficient to counter the wall of silence. Sharing a single-minded determination to take on the system and win, Geddy, Alex and Neil have never rested on their laurels. Pushing themselves to achieve technical excellence, never avoiding the challenge of taking on new musical influences, through huge changes of fashion and major personal tragedy, the entity we know as Rush has endured. Thirty years on, the band is still creating new music and packing arenas and stadiums around the globe. Meticulously researched over three years, Chemistry draws on over 50 new interviews with those closest to the band. As the most detailed biography of Rush ever written, this book pulls together the threads and investigates the reasons that have enabled this band to succeed against the odds."

Lyrical Analysis, Etcetera

Serious Rock. Bruce Springsteen / Rush / Pink Floyd By Deena Weinstein
Montreal Culture Texts, 1985

Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush
By Carol Selby Price, Robert M. Price
Borgo Books, 1997
ISBN 0809508001

"Carol Selby Price & Robert M. Price have selected for discussion many of the best-known songs of Rush, organizing them into seven chapters based around general themes. The pieces lend themselves to such treatment quite naturally, since there is a consistent development in Rush from the very beginning of the group to modern times. Rush's lyrics are complex, and the ideas in them not always easily understood. Mystic Rhythms will provide the key to these lyrical puzzles, provoking as much thought as the songs themselves."

Mereley Players
By Robert Telleria
Quarry Music Books, 2001

A Simple Kind Mirror : The Lyrical Vision of Rush
By Len Roberto, Jr.
Published by Len Roberto, Jr., June 2000, Second edition published by Writers Club Press, January 2002
80 pages
ISBN#: 0-595-21362-6

"In the world of popular music, the Canadian trio RUSH occupies a unique yet often overlooked niche. For more than 25 years, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart have produced over 20 albums and have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. This work explores the band's vision lyrically and musically from 1980's Permanent Waves to 1996's Test for Echo. It is a fan's exploration only and does not attempt to be the definitive explanation of the band's vision. It will appeal to the core fan base of the band as well as the Rush newbie."

Rhythm And Light
By Carrie Nuttall
Rounder Books, January 2005
80 pages
ISBN: 1-57940-093-0
Buy Online

"This photo book features intimate portraits of legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart at work in a Toronto recording studio, as captured by photographer Carrie Nuttall. A must have for Rush’s extensive fan base, as well as enthusiasts of both drumming and photography. Carrie Nuttall is a professional photographer who has worked extensively in both the music and fashion industries. She lives in Los Angeles, CA." - RounderBooks.com

Music In Review 1974-1981
Music Reviews LTD, Janurary 10, 2005
2DVDs plus book

This product claims to be the "ultimate critical review" of Rush; the UK company behind this project has previously released similar packages featuring other bands, which led many UK Rush fans to be skeptical from the start. The commentary on the DVD's is provided by various radio DJ's and/or music critics who are filmed on camera as they provide their 'opinion' of Rush's work, and the content flows in a biographical nature. The criticism is mixed, although for the most part the reviews are mostly good. However, for fans with more than a basic knowledge of Rush, erroneous comments such as Peart having a degree in percussion, that Red Barchetta is semi-autobiographical about Neil and his uncle[!], or the simple yet inexcusable mispronunciation of "Peart" throughout, become very tiresome.

Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown
By Chris McDonald
Indiana University Press, October 28, 2009
272 pages
ISBN 0253221498
Buy Online

"Canadian progressive rock band Rush was the voice of the suburban middle class. In this book, Chris McDonald assesses the band's impact on popular music and its legacy for legions of fans. McDonald explores the ways in which Rush's critique of suburban life -- and its strategies for escape -- reflected middle-class aspirations and anxieties, while its performances manifested the dialectic in prog rock between discipline and austerity, and the desire for spectacle and excess. The band's reception reflected the internal struggles of the middle class over cultural status. Critics cavalierly dismissed, or apologetically praised, Rush's music for its middlebrow leanings. McDonald's wide-ranging musical and cultural analysis sheds light on one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s."
Also by Chris McDonald

Rush And Philosophy
Edited By Jim Berti & Durell Bowman
Open Court Publishing, May 2011
288 pages
ISBN 0812697162
Buy Online

"Rush and Philosophy is a fascinating look at the music and lyrics of the band, setting out to address thought-provoking questions. For example, elements of philosophical thinking from the likes of Jean Paul-Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Plato can be found in Peart's lyrics; does this make Peart a disciple of philosophy? In what ways has technology influenced the band through the decades? Can there be too much technology for a power-trio? Can listening to Rush's music and lyrics lead listeners to think more clearly, responsibly, and happily? Is the band's music a 'pleasant distraction' from the singing of Geddy Lee? In what ways is Rush Canadian? How can a band that has been referred to as 'right-wing' also criticize big government, religion, and imperialism? Rush and Philosop>hy is written by an assortment of philosophers and scholars with eclectic and diverse backgrounds who love Rush's music and who 'get' the meaning and importance of it. They discuss Rush with the enthusiasm of fans and the seriousness of college professors. The book will be a must-read for the many fans who have long known that Rush deserves as much respect as the ideas, concepts, and puzzles about human existence they write and compose music about."
Also by Durrell Bowman