Alex Lifeson Talks About Rush's First Single

Rush: You Can't Fight It Rush: Not Fade Away
A short article appeared on MusicRadar today where Alex Lifeson looks back in time and discusses Rush's first release 45rpm single - Not Fade Away with the B-side original You Can't Fight It

From the article:
"...we decided it was the perfect time to speak with guitarist Alex Lifeson about Rush's first recorded work...some 38 years ago.

Back in 1973, way before they were full-time, totally awesome stadium and arena-fillers, Rush, then comprised of Lifeson, Geddy Lee and the band's original drummer, John Rutsey (Neil Peart joined in 1974), issued a single on their own Moon Records label. The A side was a cover of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away and the B side was a Lee/Rutsey original called You Can't Fight It.

As you might expect, the 45 was raw, loose, rocking and bursting with youthful charm. Alex Lifeson picks up the story:

Not Fade Away
"Man, we were very young when we did this! We were playing the clubs and didn't know better. Because we were having such a hard time getting a deal, our management thought that maybe something a little more accessible, possibly something already known, would be the way to go.

"Not Fade Away is something we'd been playing live, but we did it really heavy. We rocked it out, sort of the way Led Zeppelin might have. It was powerful and very full. We had a good time with it.

"By the time we recorded it, though, we lightened it up a little to make it more palatable for radio. This is the version that was to be our debut album, but we ended up dropping it and it rerecorded some of the other songs.

"Everything was done so quickly, and it didn't really come out the way we wanted it to. But you know, we were 18, 19 years old. In our minds, we'd arrived. We'd made a record, which meant...we were recording artists."
To read the entire article, including what Alex had to say about You Can't Fight It, click HERE.

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.

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