“I believed we would not get back together. I thought Rush was a place Neil was not going to be able to go back to emotionally”: How Rush survived the 1990s and early 2000s
Rush returned to the stage in June 2002 after more than five years away, opening a tour for their album Vapor Trails in Hartford, Connecticut. The comeback was emotionally significant because drummer Neil Peart had effectively left music after the deaths of his daughter and wife in successive years, leaving the band’s future deeply uncertain.
Peart’s daughter, Selena Taylor, died in a car crash in August 1997, and his wife Jackie died from cancer in June 1998. In the aftermath, he told bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to regard him as retired, then undertook a 14-month, 60,000-mile journey across North America; his eventual return enabled Rush to resume recording and touring.
- Rush reunited after Neil Peart’s devastating personal losses.
- Vapor Trails marked their first album since 1996.
- Their 2002 return ended a five-year live hiatus.