Not everyone knows that Geddy Lee has not been part of Rush since the now legendary Canadian band was founded in Toronto, in August 1968. Alex Lifeson was already there taking care of the guitars, and John Rutsey – who would later give way to Neil Peart – was the drummer. But the bass and vocals were handled by Jeff Jones, who ultimately wouldn’t last long in the position, being soon replaced by Geddy, Lifeson’s schoolmate.
In the first few months, Rush would go through some lineup changes. And in early May 1969, Lee was fired from Rush – yes, that happened! – by then manager Ray Danniels, who replaced him on bass and vocals with Joe Perna, with the band changing its name to Hadrian, with a fourth member, keyboardist Lindy Young, Geddy’s future brother-in-law.
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And it was at this point that a story happened that Geddy told Jonathan Clarke, from New York radio station Q104.3: although he was frustrated, he quickly started putting together a new band, which would dedicate itself to playing blues covers, but he still He was interested in Hadrian, who included his best friend, guitarist Alex Lifeson.
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Apparently, Hadrian had a show scheduled for the night of May 3, 1969, when another show would be held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, and Geddy made the choice to go and see how Hadrian was sounding. “It’s a terrible confession, but the band I didn’t go to see was the Jimi Hendrix Experience”admitted Geddy, between laughs. “I thought, ‘Someday he’ll come back and I’ll go and see’. But unfortunately for the world, he passed away shortly afterwards and never returned.”.
Jimi Hendrix, who was playing with the power-trio Experience, didn’t have a good experience there in Geddy’s city. Below is the entry on the official website, Jimi-Hendrix.com, in the section that portrays the guitarist’s day-to-day life: “Experience flew to Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, arriving at 9:30 am. While passing through Canadian Customs, one of Hendrix’s suitcases is searched containing what is believed to be an illicit substance. Hendrix is arrested and taken to the Police Station Police station in downtown Toronto. He is later released on $10,000 cash bail and ordered to appear at a court appearance on May 5. After his release, Experience makes a reservation at the Four Seasons Hotel and then heads directly to the Maple. Leaf Gardens, where they prepare for an evening performance. Jimi opened his show with a greeting: ‘We want you to forget today, yesterday and tomorrow.’.
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But Geddy Lee had an even worse experience, as in addition to missing out on seeing a legendary artist that he would never have the opportunity to see again, he also came across a band that he made clear was horrible: “I went to see this bad version of Rush that Rutsey and Lifeson had put together called Hadrian. It was painful to watch because they weren’t very good. It didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel worse that they had me replaced by someone who couldn’t really handle a show. It didn’t take long for them to fall apart. I guess that’s called karma.”.
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In practice, it only took two public performances for Rutsey and Lifeson to come to their senses, with Lee being called in some time later to resurrect Rush. Of course I said yes because I really missed Alex, I missed playing with Alex. He’s been my best friend since I was 16. It was a good decision”. It certainly was a good decision, Geddy, and we deeply appreciate you making this choice!
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