Geddy Lee's Trick to Playing and Singing the Hardest Rush Song
Rush is touring again in 2026, and that means a lot of rehearsal. Bassist and frontman Geddy Lee said in a recent interview that he had to relearn the rock band's catalogue once they narrowed down the set list. He has a trick to performing his two roles on the hardest song for him.
Geddy Lee Finds 'Anarchist' the Hardest to Perform
Lee, 72, said it's hard to play "YYZ" well and the quality is based on "consistency" in an interview with Rick Beato. But there is another song he named as hard for him.
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"There's complexity in performance due to the fact that I'm very rarely just the bass player," he said. "So, a song like 'Anarchist,' for example, playing the chorus of that song and singing it is one of the most difficult things I do because they're in two different worlds."
Lee has to play the song repeatedly until he's not thinking about it anymore. Drummer Neil Peart wrote the Clockwork Angels single. The album follows a man who faces an anarchist during his quest in an alternative world.
Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent inspired the character. The novel's main character, Verloc, is part of an anarchistic political revolution plot. Michael Ondaatje'sIn The Skin Of A Lion is another inspiration.
"He has a central character who's a committed terrorist/anarchist. Anarchy is an innocent Utopian thing for him, an ideal," Pert told Louder Sound. Lee wanted to compile their instrumentals, which led to Clockwork Angels. Pert wanted a steampunk vibe to the album.
Of course, Lee is partially responsible for the challenging song. He wrote the bass part first, then added vocals according to Song Facts.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 1:03 PM.