“He was like an alien. He could talk about anything. That’s when we said, ‘Let’s make him do lyrics!’”: Rush’s Neil Peart, an exploding golf ball and two career-changing conversations

Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush pose backstage in Springfield, Massachusetts, 9th December 1976 during their All The World's a Stage tour. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns).

One of Neil Peart’s most moving lyrics appears on Rush’s 10th album, Grace Under Pressure. The song Afterimage deals with the mark people leave when they’re gone, and the memories and emotions their absence stirs.

It was a tribute to Robbie Whelan, an assistant engineer at Le Studio in Quebec, where Rush had recorded several of their recent albums. Whelan had been killed in a car accident while driving to the studio. ‘Suddenly you were gone,’ sings Lee, vocalising the drummer’s words. ‘From all the lives you left your mark upon.’