It’s not easy to sell millions of records and still exist on the fringes but as Doug Johnstone found out, RUSH have made a career out of it.
espect is due. ll' you're neyer in fashion you
can‘t he out of l'ashion. and Rash hayc
plottghed the lonelicst ol l'urroyy's for .‘w() years with no support from the mainstream media. yet they'ye now sold tens ol‘ millions ol‘ records and regularly play to ten thousand people a night. liat that. the l.ihertines.
liyer since they emerged from Toronto in l‘l7-l. the threesome ol' (ieddy Lee. Alex Lil'eson and Neil Peart ha\'e heen unashamedly progressiye. undeniahly intelligent and \yilt'ully' uncommercial (one surprise hit single in [980. ‘Spirit of Radio‘. aside). and it has stood them in good stead.
These days the hand members are all in their Slls hut they are currently in the middle ol‘ a massiye world tour to celehrate three decades in the business. performing a gargantuan three-and-a-hall' hour .set to massiy'e sold out audiences every night. This tour sees them Visiting Scottish shores tor the first time in II years. So does it seem like 30 years since they lirst picked tip instruments and kicked out the jams'.’
‘No. it t‘eels more like 50f laughs guitarist .-\|e.\ l.it'eson. ‘I don’t think a night goes hy that we don't look at each other. smile and shake our heads. we can‘t helieye that we‘re still doing the same thing that we were doing when we were 15 years old. In so many ways we‘re at the peak of our career. The hand is
‘WE'VE SET OURSELVES APART FROM THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY'
playing really well. theres a conl‘idencc in him \ye present ourselycs. and there's a good deal ol~ humour in this .shoyy. We do laugh a lot at oursclyes.‘
Rush haye ney'er he giyen the credit they deserye for influencing other hands and hranches ol inusic. There haye heen a numher ol- trihute alhums trom their musical peers including. hi/arrely. a death metal el'l'ort and a string quartet joh. and eyerything Trim] the homhast ol’ Muse to the complex post-rock ol' Mars Volta owes a hig deht to the hand \\ ho hayc spent a lil’etime as outsiders.
‘\\'e‘\e set ourselyes apart iron] the rest ol the industry] says |.il‘eson. '\\'e \yeren't particularly \y ell receiyed critically in our early years htit “eye dcyeloped a lolloyying that is really dedicated and loyal. I see it in the audience eyery night. and now all those people are hringing their kids. It's something that's heen passed on not only one generation hut a couple ol‘ generations in some circumstances. It‘s scary. hut it's also a really incredihle compliment to haye done something that's touched so many people.‘
So they ‘\e no plans to quit just yet'.’
'The Stones haye proy ed that you can keep touring right into your 80s] laughs l.il‘eson again. 'So we still haye a ten years lel‘t in us. I think.'
SECC, Glasgow, Tue 14 Sep.
musicGlistco.uk
All the books. hooks and and Pop Idol mooks in the wonderful world of music
GIRLS ALOUD, GARETH GATES, Michelle McManus . . . the list of celebrated talent to come from the Idol that is Pop is more likely to fill the checkouts ol Lidl than the concert halls of our fine land. Rock Idol - a notion dreamt up by the Cathouse and Jack Daniels — intends to actually find some talented people instead and runs every Tuesday night at the Glasgow venue from now until the end of October. The winners will get a support slot with a headline band in the autumn, as well as studio time, drum kits. guitars, amps and plenty of JD to complete the R’n'R picture. Bands interested in taking part should send a demo and bio to Manager, Rock Idol, c/o the Cathouse, 15 Union Street, Glasgow, G1 3R8. The closing date is 30 September. For those more interested in spectating, tickets are a princely £2.
ll. llKl U8. YOU ARE, MOHl ll lAN happy to read about rnus:<: as wet: as :rsten tort then there's a glut oi new books that might appeal, l rrst oft is the Beatles Yellow .‘Suhrnanne. OK. so it's a kids' hook out it's a must for the Beatles tan lli your life. so see page 8 for more details. lhen there's Graeme il‘romson's Complicated Shadows: llre life and Mr 1:;/(,‘ of [/Vl‘; Costello. an exhaustive detailing of a still ‘.’li£li songwriter. published by Canongate. See our allrurn ((3‘~.’|(:‘.‘,' on page 10-1 it you aren’t oonrnnced h,’ EEC’s genius. Far less talented a Stli)j€}<li. but no less a sornating is Sid Vicious. In The Art of [lung Young published by Sanctuary, Mark Pa,tress attempts to sift through the bullshit to make sense of Sufi; legend. Also recommended is Beautiful Chaos. the upcoming book '0‘, Dave Thompson on the Psychedelic Furs. published in Helter Skelter Lastl/. there's an officiall/ endorsed biog of the Sensational Alex Haney Band by Martin Krelty called The SAHB Story: ‘.‘.’iilCii is out now. See ivy-xxx,shabstory.corn for more into.
Elill‘i lHE"SE"i
4 .7- ’;-’::, THE LIST 49