How Paul McCartney Tried to Convince Rush to Tour Again: ‘You Have to Get Back Out There, Man’

Rush bandleader Geddy Lee opened up about how the Beatles musician provided the band with a little encouragement

Paul McCartney; Geddy Lee. 

If Rush tours again, fans might need to thank Paul McCartney for it.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published Sunday, Geddy Lee, 70, opened up about how The Beatles musician, 81, tried to convince Rush — who completed their final tour in 2015 — to tour again.

The Rush bassist and bandleader revealed in the conversation that it was Dave Grohl, whom he calls “a very lovely man,” that initially introduced them at one of Taylor Hawkins’ tribute concerts.

“Dave [Grohl] was so sweet.

He comes up to us at rehearsal and he goes, ‘Paul McCartney’s up next to rehearse, and he’s outside, and he said to me, ‘Dave, I’ve never met anyone from Rush before.’.

And I said, ‘I’ve never met him! Bring him in, please.’.

And he came in,” Lee told the outlet.

Although it seemed like the “Let It Be” performer wasn’t exactly familiar with Rush’s music, Lee “got the sense he knew who we were and had heard about us.” That didn’t stop him from encouraging Rush to get back on the road.

“He had never listened to us.

So at the show, he was there.

He watched the set.

I think he was really curious because people probably had mentioned us to him,” Lee said.

The “Limelight” artist said that after the show, McCartney “was so warm and embracing and positive.”

“We all got plastered together.

And he was very emphatic, talking about, ‘You know what Ringo [Starr] always says: ‘It’s what we do.’ And I said, “Talk to Al [Lifeson], because he’s the stubborn one,’” Lee said of their conversation about touring.

He continued: “And so he was lecturing Al about how great it is to tour.

‘You have to do it, man.

You have to get back out there, man.’ And Alex [Lifeson] said something like, ‘I’ll do it, if you’ll be our manager.’ ‘I’ll manage you, mate!’”.

Lee thinks McCartney “had a point.”.

“That’s the way he looks at life. He’s ageless because he really, truly believes he was born to do this. That’s what you do. And you just do it. You don’t question it. And I think we all sometimes forget that,” Lee said of his outlook.

Lee released his memoir My Effin’ Life on Nov. 14 via Harper Collins.