“I was so sick of that fucking song”

Rush’s Geddy Lee has said he did not want ‘Tom Sawyer’ to be included on the ‘Moving Pictures’ album as he was so “sick” of it.

The song ended up on the 1981 record and it went on to become one of the defining songs of the band’s career, receiving heavy radio and MTV airplay, and eventually being inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

But in a new interview, bassist and singer Lee has said that the recording process for the track was such a challenge that he didn’t even want to follow it through to completion.

Speaking with Rick Beato on YouTube, he was asked why the song resonated with audiences. “I’m the last guy to know because when we finished that song in the studio, we were so frustrated,” he replied.

“It was a very difficult song to make [and] difficult song to mix. Every step of the recording was beset with problems. And at the end, I was so sick of that fucking song, I didn’t want to put it on the record.”

“So, can you imagine how dumb that was?” he added. “Like, let’s not put our most popular song on the record.”

Rush played their first show together since 2015 in March, alongside their new drummer Anika Nilles. She has been drafted in to replace the legendary Neil Peart, who died from brain cancer in early 2020.

The band played vintage footage from Peart on big screens behind them during the show at the Juno Awards in their native Canada.

Rush have also announced that they will be touring across the UK, Europe and South America in 2027. 24 shows in 13 countries have been confirmed, marking the first time they will have played in Europe since 2013, and their first visit to South America in 17 years.

UK shows include a stop at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on March 8, a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester on March 12, and two gigs at The O2 in London on March 16 and 18. Check out a full list of dates here, and visit here for UK tickets, and here for international tickets.

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