Tonight, we had something a bit different, Geddy Lee in conversation to promote his autobiography, ‘My Effin’ Life’, which has just been released. With Rush in hiatus following the sad passing of Neil Peart, for fans of the band this was as close as we were going to get to a live Rush experience, and there was a healthy crowd in for the evening’s entertainment.

Each night of the tour featured a different guest interviewer for the first half of the show and there have been some big names filling the slot so far. In Glasgow the seat was filled by comedian, music fan and long time resident of Fife, Phil Jupitus.

Phil came on and did a quick and highly amusing warm up slot where he discussed amongst other things disruptive seals and what Fife actually stands for, something that can’t be repeated on GRTR! , but very accurate!

However, we were all here to welcome Geddy and as he came on stage a huge cheer went up and the crowd took to their feet. As the sustained applause started to wane, someone shouted ‘1,2,3,4’ and the crowd burst into the opening verse of ‘Closer To The Heart’ recreating the Glasgow choir that featured on ‘Exit Stage Left’ album from the legendary Glasgow Apollo. Geddy looked genuinely touched by this and it set the tone for the evening.

The first hour was taken up with a cosy chat with Geddy and Phil in a living room type setting. Phil joked that the set was created by Canadian beavers especially for the tour! The conversation covered many things from Geddy’s mother and her time in a concentration camp during the second world war to his father’s passing and the tragedy of losing Neil Peart. All these topics could have been a bit heavy and maudlin, however Geddy’s retelling of these stories was laced with love, stories of resilience and a great determination to battle on through adversity.

The laughs were plentiful throughout, especially when the tales featured the exploits of the band joker, Alex Lifeson. Geddy and Alex met when they were 13 and have been a partnership for the last 57 years and judging by the stories told, there was never a dull moment!

One tale recounted was the infamous speech given by Alex at the band’s Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame induction. On this special occasion all band members had a chance at the mic to express their delight at finally making it into the Hall Of Fame. However, when Alex took to the mic, he abandoned the set speech running in the autocue and instead babbled ‘Blah, blah, blah’ for two minutes. Geddy and Neil were taken aback by this and were busy working out how to knock him out and drag him off stage as they thought he had finally flipped!

The first half was rounded off with Geddy taking to a lectern at the front of the stage to read a passage from the book. The chosen passage started in the Glasgow Apollo in 1977 and went on to describe the bouncing balcony that the old lady was famous for. Many bands became very concerned when the Apollo balcony started to move, and the band had been pre-warned that, although this was a feature, the building was (mostly) sound.

The tale then moved to Manchester for a two night stint that included a Cognac drink contest on the first night, which led to a nearly nude Alex running through the hotel corridors. He personally went and apologised to all the hotel staff the following day for the trouble caused and all was well.

Following a quick interval, Geddy took to the lectern once more to read another passage, this time concerning comments on his vocals from the early days of the band. Reviewers can be a fickle lot and some of the comments made were less than complimentary, just goes to show how much they knew…

The last part of the evening was a Q&A session hosted by Phil Wilding. The questions had been submitted by the crowd in the most part, but the first was from a Mr A Lifeson from Canada, which led to explanation of why the phrase ‘It’s not a f**kin’ football’ features in the crowd noise intro to the song ‘Witch Hunt’!

Other questions included ‘who would be Geddy’s ideal dinner guests?’ and ‘what song would he point someone to as an introduction to Rush?’ Don’t think anybody in the crowd would have had their money on him saying ‘Dreamline’ and for what it’s worth I would have suggested ‘Natural Science’ myself!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from tonight, but this proved to be a highly entertaining evening with tales that brought a tear to your eye, either with laughter or sadness. Geddy hinted that he and Alex may not be quite finished yet and are meeting regularly to discuss the future. Fingers crossed, there may be a few more chapters to add in the coming years.

Review by Dave Wilson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)