Geddy Lee On Rush I miss being on stage with those guys because it was a singular honor to me. I’m sure I will play live again one day, but it will never replace that intensity of what a three-hour RUSH show was like to perform

RUSH closed out its 40th anniversary tour on August 1, 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles, marking the band’s 25th show at the venue and bringing its final tour to a triumphant end. Asked by The Guardian if he knew at the time that was it, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee said: “Not 100 percent. Neil [Peart, drums] was pretty adamant it was, and he played it like it was going to be the final show. And that’s why he actually left the drum throne and came out and gave us a hug on stage, which he swore he would never do. I guess I was a bit of an optimist. But nope. I think Alex [Lifeson, guitar] accepted it more as the end. I thought we really killed it that night, but it was hard to tell, because it got really emotional in the last 20 minutes. That’s the first time I ever got choked up at a microphone. So I guess a part of me knew.”

Lee went on to say that he misses playing with RUSH. “I don’t miss travelling with RUSH. I miss being on stage with those guys because it was a singular honor to me. I’m sure I will play live again one day, but it will never replace that intensity of what a three-hour RUSH show was like to perform: it challenged me to my max and that’s rare in this life.”

RUSH has been completely inactive since completing the “R40 Live” tour three years ago. Peart was battling enormous physical pain through much of the trek, including a foot infection that made it agonizing for him to even walk.

A few years ago, Lifeson told Rolling Stone that he receives injections for psoriatic arthritis. He was previously hospitalized for anemia from bleeding ulcers and suffered breathing problems.

Lifeson and Lee have repeatedly said that RUSH will never do a show unless all three musicians agree to take part. They haven’t performed as RUSH without Peart since he joined the band in 1974.

For first six years of RUSH‘s existence, John Rutsey was behind the kit and he played on the band’s self-titled debut LP.