This comes hot on the heels of last October’s announcement that the band was reforming, albeit with German YouTube drum sensation Anika Nilles filling in for the deceased Neal Peart on the skins alongside Geddy Lee on bass/vocals and Alex Lifeson on guitarist. At the time, the band announced only the American dates for the ‘Fifty Something’ reunion tour, having been inactive since 2015. Peart’s death came in 2020 at the age of 67 and, until last year, it looked unlikely that the band would reform. 

The announcement came on Monday via an Instagram video in which the band show the trademark humour that they were known for in the Peart years, laughing and joking with one another while earnestly describing their tour plans. The band are “ecstatic” according to the press release, with the tour being “the first time the band has played in Europe since 2013 and 17 years since visiting South America”. 

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The tour announcement came with another lineup change, with the band stating that they will be joined for the tour by Loren Gold, keyboardist for fellow stadium rock gods The Who since 2012, with more than enough experience in playing arenas internationally. That arena experience will come in handy because on this tour Rush’s booking team have set the bar high. The LA show will be at the Forum, the London gig will be held at the O2 Arena and Manchester’s visit will be witnessed at Co-Op Live.   

What ups the stakes even further for the band is that they have announced they will be learning thirty five songs for the tour, with Monday’s press release (semi-jokingly) hinting at forty of their progressive classics, with the setlist varying nightly. Rush are bringing no new music to the table, focusing on their Peart-era output, although Geddy has hinted at the possibility of a more creative collaboration with Nilles.   

Rush, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters in 2013, made a name playing a hard-driving but sophisticated style of rock in the ‘70s, producing such classic albums as ‘Moving Pictures’ and ‘2112’. A lot of what makes their post-Peart collaboration so ambitious is that much of what made their music so unique was his singular drum style, playing huge fills on an elaborate kit, often in odd time signatures. This was coupled with deep, searching and often intergalactic lyrics and big riffs to gift them their signature sound. They are also credited as one of the only truly major rock acts to hail from Canada, for which all three members were awarded the Order of Canada.   

 

 

 

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Biffy Clyro will play @DreamlandMarg on Wednesday 25th August 2021.

Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday 13th August at 9am, there will be a Team Biffy presale from 9am Wednesday 11th August – sign up for access by 5pm BST tomorrow at: https://t.co/L9J2XExfWC pic.twitter.com/H7pwa1ZGkz

— Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) August 9, 2021

The band was formed in 1995 with lead vocalists and guitarist Simon Neil and twin brothers James Johnston (Bass and vocals) and Ben Johnston (Drums and vocals), making up the band’s lineup. The band released an independent single “Iname” in June 1999 and released “thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow” in June 2000 following their signing to independent record label Beggars Banquet Record. The band site band’s Metallica and Rush as their musical influences.

The band are now signed to “14th Floor Records” and have released eight studio albums to date. Five of the band’s albums “Puzzle”, “Only Revolutions”, “Opposites”, “Ellipsis” and “A Celebration of Endings” reached the top five of the UK album charts. Albums “Opposites”, “Ellipsis” and “A Celebration of Endings” all reached number one in the UK official albums charts.

The band have also rescheduled their UK tour dates for their postponed “The Fingers Crossed Tour” and their previously postponed European tour dates are to commence in February 2022. The band are also still in the process of releasing their new album written during the Covid 19 lockdown.

In respect of the new album frontman, Neil stated “It’s about that thinking about how you can experience the same thing but react in a completely different way,” Neil further stated “We’ve all had this huge global experience, but we haven’t had the same experience for so many, many reasons – and I think that’s what the record is about”

The band previously expressed that they were delighted to reschedule their UK tour dates in October and November 21

Biffy Clyro’s Tour dates are below. Tickets are available here

25/08/21 Dreamland- Margate
27/08  Bramham Park- Leeds
29/08  Richfield Avenue- Reading
09/09  Glasgow Green- Glasgow
16/09  Alexandra Head- Cardiff-
29/10  Mountford Hall- Liverpool
30/10  Corn Exchange- Cambridge
31/10  Sheffield O2 Academy- Sheffield
02/11 O2 Forum- London
03/11 O2 Guildhall- Southampton
04/11 O2 Academy- Bristol

“Lately Olivia [Louise, Neil’s daughter] has been introducing me to new friends at school as ‘My dad – he’s a retired drummer.’ True to say, funny to hear.

“And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to… take yourself out of the game. I would rather set it aside then face the predicament described in our song ‘Losing It’ [‘Sadder still to watch it die, than never to have known it’].”

With Peart often being regarded as one of the most influential percussionists in the music industry it would definitely be a big loss to music if he has chosen to retire; albeit not altogether shocking as Rush have been touring since 1974!

However fear not Rush fans, Geddy Lee has been speaking to the BBC and says that he is still optimistic that Rush will continue to do what they do best:

“I’m one of three members and everybody has a kind of different idea about what they’d like to do with the rest of their lives.

“So I’m not really sure at this point whether there will be more tours or not. But I remain optimistic.”

continuing to say that:

“As you get older and as the prospect of the end of your touring life becomes an option, you try not to take your shows and your gigs for granted,” he said.

“On this tour in particular it was a little more emotional than others because you’re never quite sure if you are going to get around to do this again.”

Rush have been on the music scene for a phenomenal amount of time, as mentioned previous, they have been touring since 1974 and have in that time released 20 albums! They have also been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

Enjoy my personal favourite Rush album below: