Watch a drummer pay tribute to Neil Peart by covering every single Rush song

Drummer Brandon Toews has paid tribute to Rush’s Neil Peart by releasing a video which sees him drum along to every song the progressive rock band ever released.

• READ MORE: Neil Peart obituary, 1952-2020: The Professor of drums who weaved fantasy into rock

A huge Peart fan, Toews rehearsed for several weeks before filming the one-take video, which features a few seconds of all 175 songs Rush released during their 50-year career. The video starts with tracks from Rush’s self-titled 1974 album and works chronologically through the band’s career, ending with material from 2012’s ‘Clockwork Angels’.

The tribute was released to commemorate the anniversary of Peart’s death, who passed away in 2020 after suffering from brain cancer.

“It’s hard to imagine that the world lost Neil Peart two years ago,” the video’s description reads. “We’re grateful that his legacy will live on through his incredible work with Rush. So today – in the span of just 25 minutes – you’re going to hear the best parts of every single Rush song ever.”

Watch the video below:

Peart had announced his retirement from Rush in 2015. Following the announcement, Dave Grohl was asked in an interview if he would tour with Rush if Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson asked him to fill in for Peart. He replied: “I’d say ‘I’m not physically or musically capable, but thanks for the offer.’ Neil Peart, that’s a whole other animal, another species of drummer.”

Last year, Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and Peart’s wife Carrie Nuttall spoke about Peart’s decision to keep his cancer diagnosis a secret.

“He just wanted to be in control of it. The last thing in the world he would want is people sitting on his sidewalk or driveway singing ‘Closer To The Heart’ or something. That was a great fear of his. He didn’t want that attention at all,” said Lifeson.

“He didn’t want to waste his remaining time talking about shit like that,” Lee added. “He wanted to have fun with us. And he wanted to talk about real things right up to the very end.”

Meanwhile, a Rush pinball machine based on the Canadian prog-rock heroes has been announced.

Released in conjunction with Stern Pinball, it’s the latest in a series of rock n roll pinball machines from the manufacturer, including games based on AC/DC, KISS, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

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