Rush’s Geddy Lee announces December 2023 UK tour
In support of his memoir 'My Effin' Life'
Last updated 22nd Sep 2023
Rush singer, bassist and keyboardist Geddy Lee is coming to the UK this December for a five-date spoken word tour.
The Canadian progressive rock legend’s ‘Geddy Lee In Conversation’ tour follows the 14th November release of his eagerly awaited autobiography ‘My Effin’ Life’ via HarperCollins.
Geddy Lee’s tour will kick off at Wolverhampton The Civic at The Halls on Sunday 10th December and it visits Sheffield, Glasgow and Portsmouth before culminating at London Barbican on Monday 18th December.
Tickets go on sale from Rush’s official website at 10am on Friday 29th September. Each UK ticket purchased will include a copy of the book via the tour partners Waterstones.
A description of the Geddy Lee book tour reads: ‘The evening promises to be an extraordinary experience, a once-in-a-life-time event. After the curtain rises, Geddy Lee will give his fans a peek into the very fabric of his life: from a deep reflection into his family and childhood, to a steep dive into the history of Rush; from the determined pursuit of music, to the personal memories of his life-long friends and band-mates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
‘Joined on stage by a special guest interviewer, Geddy Lee will be reading key passages from his forthcoming book My Effin’ Life; he will then share thoughts and stories taken from his experience. Furthermore, fans will then have the chance to participate in a special Q&A, with Geddy Lee answering their questions directly.’
Commenting on his memoir, Geddy Lee says: “Writing this book has meant spending so much time living in the past.
“I’ve never lived my life looking anywhere but forward, which is why I resisted doing this kind of thing for so long. Being in a band all those years was reassuring because it was an ongoing thing. It felt like it was forever.
“There was always unfinished business: the next record, the next set design, the next tour. It’s been the theme of my life. But you need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates, and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best.”
More Geddy Lee book tour dates will be announced for North America in due course.
Geddy Lee’s UK tour dates:
DECEMBER 2023
Wolverhampton The Civic at The Halls – Sun 10th
Sheffield City Hall – Wed 13th
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall – Thu 14th
Portsmouth Guildhall – Sun 17th
London Barbican – Mon 18th
The greatest rock song intros of all time, including Rush:
50) The Rolling Stones – ‘Gimme Shelter’ (1969)
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49) Budgie – ‘Breadfan’ (1973)
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48) The Cult – ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ (1985)
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47) Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)
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46) Deep Purple – ‘Highway Star’ (1972)
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45) Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ (1974)
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44) Rush – ‘2112’ (1976)
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43) Eagles – ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
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42) Pink Floyd – ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I–V’ (1975)
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41) Sex Pistols – ‘Pretty Vacant’ (1977)
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40) Judas Priest – ‘Painkiller’ (1990)
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39) Status Quo – ‘Caroline’ (1973)
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38) Status Quo – ‘Whatever You Want’ (1979)
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37) Pink Floyd – ‘Time’ (1973)
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36) Motörhead – ‘Ace of Spades’ (1980)
35) Black Sabbath – ‘War Pigs’ (1970)
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34) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Paradise City’ (1987)
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33) Dire Straits – ‘Money for Nothing’ (1985)
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32) Led Zeppelin – ‘Kashmir’ (1975)
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31) Lynyrd Skynyrd – ‘Free Bird’ (1974)
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30) T. Rex – ‘20th Century Boy’ (1973)
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29) Nirvana – ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (1991)
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28) The Who – ‘Baba O'Riley’ (1971)
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27) Motörhead – ‘Overkill’ (1979)
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26) Derek and the Dominos – ‘Layla’ (1970)
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25) Led Zeppelin – ‘When the Levee Breaks’ (1971)
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24) AC/DC – ‘Highway to Hell’ (1979)
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23) Rainbow – ‘Tarot Woman’ (1976)
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22) UFO – ‘Doctor Doctor’ (1974)
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21) Iron Maiden – ‘Phantom of the Opera’ (1980)
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20) Meat Loaf - ‘Bat Out of Hell’ (1977)
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19) Iron Maiden – ‘The Trooper’ (1983)
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18) Metallica - ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ (1984)
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17) Deep Purple – ‘Speed King’ (1970)
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16) Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’ (1970)
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15) Guns N’ Roses - ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ (1987)
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14) Van Halen – ‘Hot for Teacher’ (1984)
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13) AC/DC – ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ (1977)
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12) Iron Maiden – ‘The Number of the Beast’ (1982)
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11) Led Zeppelin ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (1969)
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10) Led Zeppelin – ‘Rock and Roll’ (1971)
Technically, this intro should be part credited to Little Richard; John Bonham was playing the drum beat from the intro to 'Keep A-Knockin' during Zep's sessions in Headley Grange for their fourth album when Jimmy Page joined in. The tapes happened to be rolling and 15 minutes later the basis of the song was finished!
9) Metallica – ‘Enter Sandman’ (1991)
One of the most famous riffs of all time, its genesis came from Kirk Hammett who was inspired by the menacing sound of Soundgarden's second LP. "It was about two or three o'clock in the morning," explained Hammett "I had just been listening to Louder Than Love… And I heard that album, I was inspired, I picked up my guitar, and out came that riff." Add the ominous "war drum" toms of Lars Ulrich, and the recipe was complete for a classic intro.
8) Rush – ‘The Spirit of Radio’ (1980)
The iconic opening riff on Rush's commercial smash 'The Spirit of Radio' showcases Alex Lifeson's guitar playing prowess. Commenting on the introductory guitar riff, Lifeson told Classic Rock in 2006: "I just wanted to give it something that gave it a sense of static – radio waves bouncing around, very electric. We had that sequence going underneath, and it was just really to try and get something that was sitting on top of it, that gave it that movement."
7) AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’ (1980)
Easily one of the most memorable intros in the history of popular music, 'Back in Black' opens with a gloriously simple yet brain-gnawingly infectious riff from Angus Young. A musical tribute to the late-great Bon Scott, new vocalist Brian Johnson was tasked with concocting the lyrics that would sit on the bedrock of the explosive riff. "I just wrote what came into my head, which at the time seemed like mumbo, jumbo," Johnson later remarked. "'Nine lives. Cats eyes. Abusing every one of them and running wild.' The boys got it though. They saw Bon's life in that lyric."
6) Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
The opening title track on Black Sabbath's self-titled debut studio album, 'Black Sabbath' is very music the sound of the birth of the heavy metal genre. The song opens with the sound of heavy rain and ominous thunder claps with the clanging of a church bell, before Tony Iommi's delightfully evil riffs confront the listener and Ozzy Osbourne cries, "what is this that stands before me? / Figure in black which points at me" – seemingly referencing the mysterious witch-like woman on the famous album sleeve. A truly seminal moment.
5) Rainbow – ‘Stargazer’ (1976)
Flaunting the late-great Cozy Powell's heroic musical prowess behind the drum kit, the eight-minute musical opus that is 'Stargazer' kicks off with a pummelling drum solo before Ritchie Blackmore's trademark riffs enter the fore. Powell's monumental and muscular rhythms perfectly tee up the epic track that captures all five members of Rainbow at the peak of their musical powers.
4) AC/DC – ‘Hells Bells’ (1980)
Echoing the ominous start of Black Sabbath's 'Black Sabbath' a year earlier, AC/DC's 'Back in Black' opener 'Hells Bells' begins with the slow, funereal tolling of a 900 kg bronze bell. Made by John Taylor & Co Bellfounders in Loughborough, the sound of the bell was recorded by assistant engineer Tony Platt using Ronnie Lane's mobile studio inside Taylor's Bell Foundry. It was recorded after AC/DC had finishing laying down 'Back in Black' in the Bahamas.
3) AC/DC – ‘Thunderstruck’ (1990)
The fifth and highest ranking AC/DC song intro on our list is their rip-roaring 1990 track 'Thunderstruck'. Angus Young reportedly created the searing opening guitar parts by playing with all the strings taped up, except the B. It was a studio trick he learned from his older brother and former AC/DC producer George Young.
2) Guns N’ Roses - ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’ (1987)
Guns N' Roses' monumental song 'Sweet Child O' Mine' opens with one of Slash's standout riffs. Dispelling the widespread belief that the riff was born from a practise exercise, Slash told Eddie Trunk in 2022: "I was sitting around the house where Guns used to live at one point, in '86 I guess it was, and I just came up with this riff. It was just me messing around and putting notes together like any riff you do. You're like, 'This is cool,' and then you put the third note and find a melody like that. So it was a real riff; it wasn't a warm-up exercise." He added: "Initially it was just a cool, neat little riff that I'd come up with. It was an interesting pattern and it was really melodic, but I don't think I would have presented it to the band and said, 'Hey, I've got this idea!' because I just happened to come up with it while we were all hanging around together. Izzy (Stradlin)was the first one to start playing behind it, and once that happened Axl started making up words, and it took off that way."
1) Deep Purple – ‘Smoke on the Water’ (1972)
Firmly entrenched in rock and roll folklore, the legendary and instantly recognisable opening riff on Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' was played by Ritchie Blackmore on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Years later, Blackmore noted that he took direct inspiration from Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, joking "I owe him a lot of money." 'Smoke on the Water' was also voted the Greatest Rock Riff of All Time by Planet Rock listeners in 2017.