There are many landmark tracks in Rush’s catalogue: Working Man, the first breakout song; By-Tor And The Snow Dog, the first epic; 2112, the conceptual masterpiece; The Spirit Of Radio and Tom Sawyer, the modernist anthems that connected with a vast global audience; and from the 1982 album Signals there is Subdivisions, a track that marked the beginning of a whole new phase in the band’s career.
As the opening track on the album, Subdivisions made a powerful statement. With synthesiser as the lead instrument, it was the sound of a band in transition. As multi-tasking bassist, vocalist and keyboard player Geddy Lee told Classic Rock: “Signals was a turning point for the band. It was the beginning of our ‘keyboard era’. We had used synthesisers since way back, but on Signals that really came to the forefront.”
