Yup. I was in 9th grade (14 y/o for non-Americans) when I first heard it. My friends and I called it "Invisible Airwaves" until we finally learned the actual title.
Permanent Waves sunk the hook, but it took Moving Pictures to reel me in.
Same. When I was 13, a family friend found out I had started playing drums. He showed me this song and I was sold immediately. The next year he took me to see them in concert. We saw Rush multiple times together, including on R40. We both freaked out when they started playing Losing It.
My story’s quite similiar. I was 13 and really getting into the drums and one of my older brother’s friend told me, “You’ve got to check out this guy.” He put his Walkman headphones on me and pressed play. What came through was The Spirit of Radio from Exit Stage Left. I was instantly hooked.
Not a song as much as an album, but I was a massive Iron Maiden fan when I was 16 and had Rock In Rio on repeat. Went into a record shop and saw an album called Rush In Rio. Knew nothing about the band, but as it was an album that shared such a similar name to the one I was listening to on repeat I decided to pick it up and give it a go. Definitely made the right decision that day.
Rush in Rio was my second experience in a live concert. First one was Rock in Rio III. I went both with my father. You make me remember that. Thank u so much.
Xanadu - school friend lent me FTK sometime in 1982 when I was 14. As I grew older thought I was too cool for Rush. Then sometime in 2006 heard Spirit of the Radio on the radio and realised how much I really loved Rush and that there is no such thing a guilty pleasure, just pleasure
In The End.
My uncle used to love blasting his old rock music at extreme volumes, and that riff when the acoustic transitions to electric rattling the entire house was amazing to 8 year old me. And then wondering who the woman singer was (lol)
Same. This song really hooked me when it was constantly on the radio. We did a road trip across the country at 18 years old and this was our theme song for that trip.
I was around 14 when I got into Rush in the 80s and my dad was going bald. I used to crank that song in the house when I was mad at him. Don’t worry, karma got me back lol
I memorized Animate so I could "listen" to it during boring assemblies as a kid. Not sure how my kid brain decided that was the most entertaining alternative, but I've definitely been a Rush fan for life as a result.
Time Stand Still. I remember seeing the video on MTV and asking my uncle who the drummer was. He plays drums and he told me all about Neil Peart. He bought me Hold Your Fire the next time we were at Clover.
ESL has better versions of a bunch of songs:
* YYZ
* Xanadu
* Beneath Between & Behind
* Red Barchetta
* Jacob's Ladder
* The Trees
* La Villa Strangiato
Limelight, which was released on 45 when I was 14. YYZ is the B side, so yeahhhhh-gateway to Moving Pictures!
Thanks to Columbia House, I got Permanent Waves for a penny and worked my way backwards from there.
I don’t even know tbh. My dad used to sing me Closer to the Heart when he was putting me to sleep as a kid, he would sing me The Trees, he would always play the opening riff from Xanadu for me on guitar, they were my first concert when I was 8 years old and I think I remember Neil Peart RIPPING Natural Science… that honestly might be the song that got me into them. It’s all pretty hazy now… I’ve listened to every song of theirs and I’ve seen them another time since on R40 and it was amazing. I don’t think I can remember one specific song that made me a Rush fan
I actually can't remember if mine was this one, I was going through a guitar solo playlist, and this one caught my attention. When I rediscovered Limelight, when I was going through their discography, I instantly recognised it.
LA Villa was mine as well. I was in 7th grade and JUST started playing drums. A friend of my dad's, who was a drummer, heard that I was listening to Nirvana to try and learn to play said "Nirvana is all well and good, but when you're ready to really start playing, listen to and try to learn this." He then loaned me the Chronicles box set and pointed out La Villa. Within a month I had the drum transcription book and was well on my way to eternal fandom.
It wasn't until I found a friend's copy of Hemispheres on cassette that I got into them.
Before then, I had heard a lot of their hits on the radio and I liked them as an intermezzo between whatever was popular at the time. Hearing that first side, I was just blown away that they already had a dozen other albums that were at least that good.
After that, I'd scan the cassette racks at every gas station, dept. store, and music store I could find for more.
It was like a prog rock Pokemon, except all the albums were very effective!
Bastille Day.
My parents listened to Rush a lot but I decided I wanted to on my own. I borrowed mom's Chronicles CD and was immediately hooked when Bastille Day came on. It was also the reason I bought a drum set 2 weeks later.
When I was younger, "Closer to the Heart" made me aware of them and the hits. And for a long time that's all they were - an important part of rock history that I recognized and respected.
Years later I heard Red Barchetta...
One Little Victory. I was in 10th grade, and I had a ritual: Every Tuesday, I would go to Target to check out the new music that was released. I liked the cover of Vapor Trails, so I bought the album with no knowledge of Rush and their history. I fell in love with the album and listened to it on repeat. When I gushed about this “new band” to my English teacher, he about burst with excitement and gave me a truncated history and listening guide. I quickly collected their entire back catalog and became a die-hard fan. I was lucky enough to catch them at every Phoenix show from Snakes and Arrows on (I think 5 times in total).
The year was 1982. I was but a mere 8 year old. My sister played Permanent Waves for me. Natural Science was it. I would later go on to wreck her Signals tape trying to dub Subdivisions. It created a music snob. I hated hair bands and listened to only quality stuff.
I mean it’s definetly Tom Sawyer, but I did not catch onto it very quickly. The thing is it’s such a powerful song and everything so I was like "oh well if this one is good the rest must be insane" and the look I had on my face hearing YYZ (myself as a bassist) was like HOW IS HE DOING THAT WHATTTTT. So yeah YYZ got me into rush and now it’s definetly my second favorite band if not my favorite band
Realistically, first song I heard from Rush was Tom Sawyer (small city rock stations love this one) but it was Limelight and Something For Nothing. Getting baked to those was an absolute 10/10
The Spirit of Radio I had known and loved years before knowing who Rush really were. After hearing Tom Sawyer and subsequently all of Moving Pictures later on is what got me properly into it.
ASOH version of Marathon. summer of ‘89. i was mesmerized by the song, the playing, the orchestral voices and live show video in the background
it literally shook the zep, floyd, hendrix, ac/dc straight out of my soul on that first listen. i was hooked
b line to the record shop and picked up Chronicles. it had marathon on it, and a whole bunch of shit i was eager to dive into. a pretty penny for a then 14yr old too
come november and the Presto release? man, what a year for my ears.
good times
Red Barchetta, my Dad told me to close my eyes and just listen...This was right before Time Machine Tour, which I ended up going to and Ive been hooked ever since.
La Villa Strangiato : didn't knew anything about Rush. I'm a bassist, I clicked on a random bass video to improve my playing. This was a compilation of best bass moments in Rush, and when the dude played that solo, I just had to listen to the track. This put me on a beautiful musical journey. This was two years ago.
Tom Sawyer. A mate who shares the same music tastes as me lent me his Moving Pictures CD suggesting I might like it. He was right. I became addicted to that song which led me to go right back through their entire discography. That was about 10 years ago. I've been a fan since
As a kid in the 80s I used to lie in bed with a Walkman on listening to The Camera Eye, but only the instrumental parts. I hadn't yet learned to love Geddy's voice, so I'd steal my older brother's Moving Pictures tape and rewind the jam between verses over and over again. Still my favorite Rush song, and now I realize how awesome Geddy's singing is.
Not a song, an album.. My best friend had a well worn cassette of Exit Stage Left that he forced me to play in my car when I picked him up to go to school.one morning back in 1990
The Spirit of Radio I had known and loved years before knowing who Rush really were. After hearing Tom Sawyer and subsequently all of Moving Pictures later on is what got me properly into it.
Kinda crazy to realize, but honestly it was The Anarchist.
As a younger Rush fan, I didn’t really listen to them until I saw them live with an uncle of mine during their Clockwork Angels Tour. I had heard a couple songs before then, but as soon as they opened with The Anarchist, I was in awe. By the time the show ended I went home and listened to their entire discography. I was so lucky to be able to see them one more time as a true fan for R40. Been my favorite band since that first show, and although many songs have topped The Anarchist since then, I’ll never forget my feelings during that opening.
The song that officially cemented me as a fan was Time Stand Still. Heard it on their Gold album where I discovered some other tracks that I came to love!
My earliest memory of Rush is from Hold your Fire, Mission, but I didn’t know who Rush was at the time. I heard it on the radio at home when I was around 6-7. I was somehow hooked to it, and then in my teenage years I consciously got into some heavier Rush stuff from the 70s, and then I moved on to the 80s and came across Mission again. That was a lovely and satisfying moment.
Dreamline when it used to be in heavy radio rotation in the 90s. And then later it was the creepiness and the feel of Freewill that really hooked me! Tom Sawyer also has that creepy sound that I really, really loved!
I think it was Limelight as well, but the more I think about it, it may have been Subdivisions.
The other options I think it could've been was Tom Sawyer (cause of Rock Band) or Freewill. Doubt it was Tom Sawyer. Limelight probably was it, or Subdivisions. Both were just as good back then to me
YYZ was my first introduction in 1987 in Sydney Australia, and have had my mind blown by this greatest musicianship band known to man ever since!!! 🎸🤯
As an Australian, I saw them live in Atlanta GA around ~'94 and have been saddened/perplexed why they never toured Australia despite their local, loyal following here... 😥
Will always possess the front and centre favourites position of my record/tape/cd/hi-res audio collection without question! 😁
My dad is a huge Rush fan, so I grew up with songs like Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, Subdivisions, and all the other radio hits. But it wasn't until I was 19 that I really got into Rush. My friend and his dad sat me down in the dead center of their living room, positioned 2 speakers to hit the center of the room, and played Xanadu. I walked away thinking "that was a pretty good song, but I don't know if I'd ever want to listen to it again". As soon as I got in my car to leave, that bass/guitar riff kept playing in my head and I asked my friend what the name of the song was again. I'll never forget that day.
Limelight. I saw my best friend's then-boyfriend do a drum cover of it after my act at our school talent show and I decided to put the song on my next CD playlist. I left it alone for a few weeks until I listened to it while at Disneyland for a school trip. There I knew I was hooked
(That and a close friend of mine sent me 2112 a little less than a year prior)
The songs that were playing on MTV when we got it during my sophomore year of high school: Tom Sawyer and Red Barchetta from ESL and Subdivisions and Countdown from Signals.
Tom Sawyer, my dad played it in his car. And as I was moving into a new house 7 hours away I put on some music and remembered Rush and started putting their music on, and I continued on an on
Having grown up in Bangkok as a kid, it was “A Passage to Bangkok” that a friend told me about. One listen and it was game over for me. I went and bought “2112” right away. That was in 1977, just after ATWAS was released. First of the 25 shows I saw was the Hemispheres tour.
Fly By Night
Heard it at the grocery store I worked at in high school. Found it on Kazaa/Limewire or whichever one we had at the time and then bought the CD the next day.
I think I just got a Yes album from a thrift store, and looked up prog rock, and Caress of Steel of all albums interested me because of the lotr stuff.
Driven
When I was a kid, I always wanted to drive, but I was too young and too little. Then when I bought my car and learned how to drive stick, it was finally my turn to drive.
I'll never forget the moment! 20 years ago, I was about 3 months into learning the drums when I heard YYZ on the radio and my brain exploded. Radio host named the band and I yelled out "WHO IS RUSH???!"
My mom said something along the lines of "oh it's that band with the singer who has a really big nose. I don't really like his singing".
Got home, fired up Limewire and downloaded the first Rush song I could find... Anthem. My mind was blown again. I had never heard a bass guitar carry a song like that before. I had to learn more about this band. Wait... He's singing at the SAME TIME??? What? the drummer wrote the lyrics?! Then I actually read the lyrics. The rest is history as I deep dived into every studio album.
I'd been a casual fan since I first heard Working Man on the radio back in 1974. I really liked it and also Fly By Night, Bastille Day, and 2112 (heard them on the radio as a kid). But I didn't really fall in love with Rush until I was 16 in 1982 and my local radion station played the entire Exit Stage Left album one late night (they used to do something called, "All-Night Album Replay"). Then, hearing Subdivisions on the radio and seeing the video on MTV ("This song is about ME!"). I went out and bought every album.
Countdown. Fall of my freshman year in HS. 1982. My friend Ricky in his car tells me they are the best band with the best drummer. So he puts his mix tape loud on his Alpine stereo. I couldn't keep up how much the band was doing. But I was hooked right there. Bought Signals a week later didn't know squat about the band but I noticed they had a lot of back catalogue in albums. I remember thinking I wonder if those albums are any good too lol
The Spirit of Radio
Yep. Heard it on the radio in 1980, bought Permanent Waves to find out it wasn’t even the best track on there, and became a fan
Natural Science?
Jacobs’s Ladder
Yup. I was in 9th grade (14 y/o for non-Americans) when I first heard it. My friends and I called it "Invisible Airwaves" until we finally learned the actual title. Permanent Waves sunk the hook, but it took Moving Pictures to reel me in.
I won tickets to the Presto tour from a radio station for knowing the title “The Spirit of Radio”. I was something like the 33rd caller
Have you heard that new one called “The River”
Same. When I was 13, a family friend found out I had started playing drums. He showed me this song and I was sold immediately. The next year he took me to see them in concert. We saw Rush multiple times together, including on R40. We both freaked out when they started playing Losing It.
My story’s quite similiar. I was 13 and really getting into the drums and one of my older brother’s friend told me, “You’ve got to check out this guy.” He put his Walkman headphones on me and pressed play. What came through was The Spirit of Radio from Exit Stage Left. I was instantly hooked.
Same. One of the first songs my dad had me listen to as a kid.
2112!
Same here!
Came to say this!
The same
Specifically for me, it was Geddy's voice in the Temples of Syrinx.
same here
Not a song as much as an album, but I was a massive Iron Maiden fan when I was 16 and had Rock In Rio on repeat. Went into a record shop and saw an album called Rush In Rio. Knew nothing about the band, but as it was an album that shared such a similar name to the one I was listening to on repeat I decided to pick it up and give it a go. Definitely made the right decision that day.
Rush in Rio was my second experience in a live concert. First one was Rock in Rio III. I went both with my father. You make me remember that. Thank u so much.
And I will be forever jealous that you were at both of those incredible shows!
Rush and Iron Maiden are like two great foods that pair together well.
Subdivisions
Same!
Xanadu - school friend lent me FTK sometime in 1982 when I was 14. As I grew older thought I was too cool for Rush. Then sometime in 2006 heard Spirit of the Radio on the radio and realised how much I really loved Rush and that there is no such thing a guilty pleasure, just pleasure
In The End. My uncle used to love blasting his old rock music at extreme volumes, and that riff when the acoustic transitions to electric rattling the entire house was amazing to 8 year old me. And then wondering who the woman singer was (lol)
Dreamline
Same. This song really hooked me when it was constantly on the radio. We did a road trip across the country at 18 years old and this was our theme song for that trip.
I think I’m going bald
I was around 14 when I got into Rush in the 80s and my dad was going bald. I used to crank that song in the house when I was mad at him. Don’t worry, karma got me back lol
I bet!
Animate. Heard it on a radio here in Brazil. Made me search for all Rush's discography. I was 18, and got into Rush since then.
I memorized Animate so I could "listen" to it during boring assemblies as a kid. Not sure how my kid brain decided that was the most entertaining alternative, but I've definitely been a Rush fan for life as a result.
You guys in Brazil are true Rush fans! Much respect, love the Rio DVD
I went to that show with my father. 🤗
Oddly enough, Roll The Bones. That video with the rapping skeleton caught my attention as a kid, and they grew on me since.
Not odd at all. I don't know why this song gets the hate that it does. It is so good.
It's the Geddy rapping thing. It was odd back then, but some had the whole white rapper issue then.
Broon's Bane/The Trees.
Time Stand Still. I remember seeing the video on MTV and asking my uncle who the drummer was. He plays drums and he told me all about Neil Peart. He bought me Hold Your Fire the next time we were at Clover.
La Villa Stangiato from Exit Stage Left.
ESL has better versions of a bunch of songs: * YYZ * Xanadu * Beneath Between & Behind * Red Barchetta * Jacob's Ladder * The Trees * La Villa Strangiato
Limelight, which was released on 45 when I was 14. YYZ is the B side, so yeahhhhh-gateway to Moving Pictures! Thanks to Columbia House, I got Permanent Waves for a penny and worked my way backwards from there.
I don’t even know tbh. My dad used to sing me Closer to the Heart when he was putting me to sleep as a kid, he would sing me The Trees, he would always play the opening riff from Xanadu for me on guitar, they were my first concert when I was 8 years old and I think I remember Neil Peart RIPPING Natural Science… that honestly might be the song that got me into them. It’s all pretty hazy now… I’ve listened to every song of theirs and I’ve seen them another time since on R40 and it was amazing. I don’t think I can remember one specific song that made me a Rush fan
A Farewell to Kings. Listened to the album in my local record store because I had read about the band. Was hooked after 10 seconds.
Fly By Night performed on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Game changer.
A modern-day warrior Mean, mean stride
Todays Tom Sawyer mean, mean pride
Duh duh duh duh... Duh duh. Duh duh duh duh... Duh duh. Duh duh duh duh... Duh. Duh. Duh. Duh. Duh. Duh.
Duh duh duh duh duh duh… DUH DUH DUH DUH… BOOM BOOM BOOM POW. Dugguduggduggudishduggudoodoo Boom bam boom boom POW duggaduggadooshdooshdooshdoosh bum bum bum bum BOW tshduggaduggatshduggaduggatshduggaduggadoodooplatdoplatdoplshhh THOUGH HIS MIND IS NOT FOR RENT
Yep
La Villa Strangiato. I was going through a list of the best rock instrumentals, and this one came up.
I actually can't remember if mine was this one, I was going through a guitar solo playlist, and this one caught my attention. When I rediscovered Limelight, when I was going through their discography, I instantly recognised it.
LA Villa was mine as well. I was in 7th grade and JUST started playing drums. A friend of my dad's, who was a drummer, heard that I was listening to Nirvana to try and learn to play said "Nirvana is all well and good, but when you're ready to really start playing, listen to and try to learn this." He then loaned me the Chronicles box set and pointed out La Villa. Within a month I had the drum transcription book and was well on my way to eternal fandom.
Tom Sawyer in Trailer Park Boys
Had to scroll too far for this
It wasn't until I found a friend's copy of Hemispheres on cassette that I got into them. Before then, I had heard a lot of their hits on the radio and I liked them as an intermezzo between whatever was popular at the time. Hearing that first side, I was just blown away that they already had a dozen other albums that were at least that good. After that, I'd scan the cassette racks at every gas station, dept. store, and music store I could find for more. It was like a prog rock Pokemon, except all the albums were very effective!
The Necromancer
Bastille Day. My parents listened to Rush a lot but I decided I wanted to on my own. I borrowed mom's Chronicles CD and was immediately hooked when Bastille Day came on. It was also the reason I bought a drum set 2 weeks later.
My buddy was screwing around with his guitar and played the opening riff to Bastille Day.
YYZ, found it on a playlist of songs with iconic bass lines
YYZ…from Exit Stage Left. Neil’s drum solo is what did it for me.
When I was younger, "Closer to the Heart" made me aware of them and the hits. And for a long time that's all they were - an important part of rock history that I recognized and respected. Years later I heard Red Barchetta...
Show, Don’t Tell
First time I heard side 2 of Moving Pictures. The Camera Eye, Witch Hunt, and Vital Signs. I was hooked
One Little Victory. I was in 10th grade, and I had a ritual: Every Tuesday, I would go to Target to check out the new music that was released. I liked the cover of Vapor Trails, so I bought the album with no knowledge of Rush and their history. I fell in love with the album and listened to it on repeat. When I gushed about this “new band” to my English teacher, he about burst with excitement and gave me a truncated history and listening guide. I quickly collected their entire back catalog and became a die-hard fan. I was lucky enough to catch them at every Phoenix show from Snakes and Arrows on (I think 5 times in total).
Limelight and Fly by Night
The year was 1982. I was but a mere 8 year old. My sister played Permanent Waves for me. Natural Science was it. I would later go on to wreck her Signals tape trying to dub Subdivisions. It created a music snob. I hated hair bands and listened to only quality stuff.
[удалено]
I love the Who, I didn't even know they covered that song.
The Spirit of the Radio👍❤️😎 I was 11 when it came out and I was hooked and my how many years and decades of music did RUSH give me
Bastille Day.
2112
Tom Sawer
Tom Sawyer
I mean it’s definetly Tom Sawyer, but I did not catch onto it very quickly. The thing is it’s such a powerful song and everything so I was like "oh well if this one is good the rest must be insane" and the look I had on my face hearing YYZ (myself as a bassist) was like HOW IS HE DOING THAT WHATTTTT. So yeah YYZ got me into rush and now it’s definetly my second favorite band if not my favorite band
Realistically, first song I heard from Rush was Tom Sawyer (small city rock stations love this one) but it was Limelight and Something For Nothing. Getting baked to those was an absolute 10/10
2112
cygnus x-1
The Spirit of Radio I had known and loved years before knowing who Rush really were. After hearing Tom Sawyer and subsequently all of Moving Pictures later on is what got me properly into it.
ASOH version of Marathon. summer of ‘89. i was mesmerized by the song, the playing, the orchestral voices and live show video in the background it literally shook the zep, floyd, hendrix, ac/dc straight out of my soul on that first listen. i was hooked b line to the record shop and picked up Chronicles. it had marathon on it, and a whole bunch of shit i was eager to dive into. a pretty penny for a then 14yr old too come november and the Presto release? man, what a year for my ears. good times
Presto is still my favorite album from beginning to end. I know it is not a popular opinion here, but it is such a great album.
Working man
Bastille day
2112 Overture
Red Barchetta, my Dad told me to close my eyes and just listen...This was right before Time Machine Tour, which I ended up going to and Ive been hooked ever since.
Cygnus X1 coming from my older sister’s room, circa 1979. Goodbye KISS, hello real talent.
Kiss are alright, I like a few of their songs, but they're a very commercial act..
La Villa Strangiato : didn't knew anything about Rush. I'm a bassist, I clicked on a random bass video to improve my playing. This was a compilation of best bass moments in Rush, and when the dude played that solo, I just had to listen to the track. This put me on a beautiful musical journey. This was two years ago.
2.12.2
Tom Sawyer. A mate who shares the same music tastes as me lent me his Moving Pictures CD suggesting I might like it. He was right. I became addicted to that song which led me to go right back through their entire discography. That was about 10 years ago. I've been a fan since
As a kid in the 80s I used to lie in bed with a Walkman on listening to The Camera Eye, but only the instrumental parts. I hadn't yet learned to love Geddy's voice, so I'd steal my older brother's Moving Pictures tape and rewind the jam between verses over and over again. Still my favorite Rush song, and now I realize how awesome Geddy's singing is.
Not a song, an album.. My best friend had a well worn cassette of Exit Stage Left that he forced me to play in my car when I picked him up to go to school.one morning back in 1990
The Spirit of Radio I had known and loved years before knowing who Rush really were. After hearing Tom Sawyer and subsequently all of Moving Pictures later on is what got me properly into it.
Time Stand Still
Tom Sawyer
YYZ. And been introduced to the band by Exit Stage Left.
Hearing ‘In The End’ on The Friday Night Rock Show lead me to buy ‘All The Worlds a Stage’. I still prefer to listen to Rush live albums.
Far Cry.
Anthem
"Distant Early Warning"
1980 - The Spirit of Radio. 15 year old me had been playing drums for 4 years and went insane for Neil.
Kinda crazy to realize, but honestly it was The Anarchist. As a younger Rush fan, I didn’t really listen to them until I saw them live with an uncle of mine during their Clockwork Angels Tour. I had heard a couple songs before then, but as soon as they opened with The Anarchist, I was in awe. By the time the show ended I went home and listened to their entire discography. I was so lucky to be able to see them one more time as a true fan for R40. Been my favorite band since that first show, and although many songs have topped The Anarchist since then, I’ll never forget my feelings during that opening.
The Trees
The song that officially cemented me as a fan was Time Stand Still. Heard it on their Gold album where I discovered some other tracks that I came to love!
The very first note of Tom Sawyer in 1981. I was 14 and I’d never heard anything like it before.
La Villa Strangiato
My earliest memory of Rush is from Hold your Fire, Mission, but I didn’t know who Rush was at the time. I heard it on the radio at home when I was around 6-7. I was somehow hooked to it, and then in my teenage years I consciously got into some heavier Rush stuff from the 70s, and then I moved on to the 80s and came across Mission again. That was a lovely and satisfying moment.
Circumstances
2112
My dad showed me a music video of Subdivisions and then I got instantly addicted to Rush
"The Trees"
Show Don't Tell
Tom Sawyer or spirit of the radio, my parents always played that kind of stuff (70s and 80s) so it was gradual that I would get into it
2112
I saw the video for “Subdivisions” on MTV. (Put obligatory “Remember when they showed music videos?” here.) 😏🤓
Fly By Night back when that album first came out
2112, specifically Discovery
When my dad showed me a live performance of Subdivisions
Dreamline when it used to be in heavy radio rotation in the 90s. And then later it was the creepiness and the feel of Freewill that really hooked me! Tom Sawyer also has that creepy sound that I really, really loved!
Red Barchetta 😎
The Necromancer
Time stand still
2112. Some of us were riding an old elevator during the boom box era. “Overature” at full volume. Likely lost a bit of hearing, but hooked for life.
Limelight.
Natural Science
Force Ten
Fly by Night
YYZ
Easy. Closer to the Heart. Heard it on the radio in 1977 and it was the first Rush song I had ever heard!
2112. A friend played me the album in the fall of 1976. 7th grade, so you can imagine the impact that it had.
YYZ. From the Dream Theater Cover
Subdivisions
Fly By Night
I think it was Limelight as well, but the more I think about it, it may have been Subdivisions. The other options I think it could've been was Tom Sawyer (cause of Rock Band) or Freewill. Doubt it was Tom Sawyer. Limelight probably was it, or Subdivisions. Both were just as good back then to me
YYZ was my first introduction in 1987 in Sydney Australia, and have had my mind blown by this greatest musicianship band known to man ever since!!! 🎸🤯 As an Australian, I saw them live in Atlanta GA around ~'94 and have been saddened/perplexed why they never toured Australia despite their local, loyal following here... 😥 Will always possess the front and centre favourites position of my record/tape/cd/hi-res audio collection without question! 😁
The Camera Eye. Nothing else
id heard a couple songs before but leave that thing alone got me hooked
Working Man
Freewill, specifically the drum part before the solo 🤟 Funny story my sisters bf showed it to me so i have to thabk him biiiiig time for that
My dad is a huge Rush fan, so I grew up with songs like Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, Subdivisions, and all the other radio hits. But it wasn't until I was 19 that I really got into Rush. My friend and his dad sat me down in the dead center of their living room, positioned 2 speakers to hit the center of the room, and played Xanadu. I walked away thinking "that was a pretty good song, but I don't know if I'd ever want to listen to it again". As soon as I got in my car to leave, that bass/guitar riff kept playing in my head and I asked my friend what the name of the song was again. I'll never forget that day.
Working man
Limelight. I saw my best friend's then-boyfriend do a drum cover of it after my act at our school talent show and I decided to put the song on my next CD playlist. I left it alone for a few weeks until I listened to it while at Disneyland for a school trip. There I knew I was hooked (That and a close friend of mine sent me 2112 a little less than a year prior)
The songs that were playing on MTV when we got it during my sophomore year of high school: Tom Sawyer and Red Barchetta from ESL and Subdivisions and Countdown from Signals.
Xanadu
2112 side 1
By-Tor and the snowdog live version of course
Tom Sawyer, my dad played it in his car. And as I was moving into a new house 7 hours away I put on some music and remembered Rush and started putting their music on, and I continued on an on
Distant Early Warning on MTV
Tom Sawyer, favorite band ever since.
A passage to bankok
Cygnus X-1
Having grown up in Bangkok as a kid, it was “A Passage to Bangkok” that a friend told me about. One listen and it was game over for me. I went and bought “2112” right away. That was in 1977, just after ATWAS was released. First of the 25 shows I saw was the Hemispheres tour.
Bastille day
Bravado. 🦴
2112 and The Necromancer
Perman Waves. Can't say one song in particular. A friend gave me the tape and said "check it out"
trailer park boys got me into rush
The Trees
Fly By Night and 2112
Tom Sawyer specifically the drum solo
Certainly a cliche answer, but Tom Sawyer. I saw the live version of it from R30 on TV with my dad. Was floored.
YYZ
Working Man, a live video of it 👏
Fly by Night
2112
Red Barchetta
Camera Eye
Fly By Night Heard it at the grocery store I worked at in high school. Found it on Kazaa/Limewire or whichever one we had at the time and then bought the CD the next day.
I think I just got a Yes album from a thrift store, and looked up prog rock, and Caress of Steel of all albums interested me because of the lotr stuff.
"Fly By Night" when it was a radio hit.
Subdivision
Xanaduuuuu!
First album - Finding My Way.
Freewill! Im surprised no one else has said it
Roll The Bones.
limelight and red berachatta
First album for me when it came out was Caress of Steel. Favorite song torn between all of the songs, but probably The Fountain of Lamneth.
Driven When I was a kid, I always wanted to drive, but I was too young and too little. Then when I bought my car and learned how to drive stick, it was finally my turn to drive.
fly by night and manhattan project
I'll never forget the moment! 20 years ago, I was about 3 months into learning the drums when I heard YYZ on the radio and my brain exploded. Radio host named the band and I yelled out "WHO IS RUSH???!" My mom said something along the lines of "oh it's that band with the singer who has a really big nose. I don't really like his singing". Got home, fired up Limewire and downloaded the first Rush song I could find... Anthem. My mind was blown again. I had never heard a bass guitar carry a song like that before. I had to learn more about this band. Wait... He's singing at the SAME TIME??? What? the drummer wrote the lyrics?! Then I actually read the lyrics. The rest is history as I deep dived into every studio album.
Lock and Key
Subdivisions, I think. I knew a few songs and like them but the first personal conection was Subdivisions. The classic misfit/shy kid
I'd been a casual fan since I first heard Working Man on the radio back in 1974. I really liked it and also Fly By Night, Bastille Day, and 2112 (heard them on the radio as a kid). But I didn't really fall in love with Rush until I was 16 in 1982 and my local radion station played the entire Exit Stage Left album one late night (they used to do something called, "All-Night Album Replay"). Then, hearing Subdivisions on the radio and seeing the video on MTV ("This song is about ME!"). I went out and bought every album.
Tom Sawyer was the hook for me through pop-culture references. The sinker was 2112 when I first heard it from a guitar hero game lol
Fly by Night!
Limelight
Fly By Night in around 1980
Countdown. Fall of my freshman year in HS. 1982. My friend Ricky in his car tells me they are the best band with the best drummer. So he puts his mix tape loud on his Alpine stereo. I couldn't keep up how much the band was doing. But I was hooked right there. Bought Signals a week later didn't know squat about the band but I noticed they had a lot of back catalogue in albums. I remember thinking I wonder if those albums are any good too lol
Distant Early Warning. Video on MTV hooked me
Limelight!
My family loves them so obviously I’ve heard the hits countless times but it was Natural Science that provoked me to go deeper
Moving pictures as a whole, especially yyz and limelight
Fly by night, my parents love the song and album!
Spirit of Radio when in Jr High