As the music world mourns the passing of Rush drummer Neil Peart, fans the world over have spoken out about the tragedy. This includes some rock legends in their own right who’ve weighed in on the void his death leaves. Among them, Kiss founding member Paul Stanley took to Twitter to express his condolences.
Absolutely Horrible News. Neal Peart has died after fighting brain cancer for years. His later life was filled with so much family tragedy. So, so sad. I’m just shocked. pic.twitter.com/EM4Ea1quaY
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) January 10, 2020
Joining Stanley was fellow Kiss founder Gene Simmons, who offered “prayers and condolences to the Peart family, fans and friends,” adding “Neil was a kind soul.” Guitarist Tommy Thayer, who joined the band in the mid-1990s, echoed Simmons’ sentiment, adding that he was “so sad to hear about Neil Peart passing.”
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Peart died earlier this week after a three-year battle with brain cancer. After the news was made public, fellow Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson tweeted out an official statement, calling him a “friend, soul brother and bandmate of 45 years.” In addition to calling for the Peart family’s privacy, they encouraged everyone to donate to cancer research foundations.
Though there has been an outpouring of support, Peart was always held in high regard by his rock and roll brethren. Back in 2015, Police drummer Stewart Copeland called him “the most air-drummed-to drummer of all time.”
“Neil pushes that band, which has a lot of musicality, a lot of ideas crammed into every eight bars, but he keeps the throb, which is the important thing,” Copeland told Rolling Stone that year. “And he can do that while doing all kinds of cool s—.”
That same year, Rush embarked on its final world tour before retiring, a decision that was influenced in part by Peart’s chronic tendonitis. In a 2015 interview with Drumhead Magazine, Peart seemed to be enjoying his retirement.
“My dad – he’s a retired drummer. True to say – funny to hear,” Peart admitted. “And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to… take yourself out of the game. I would rather set it aside then face the predicament described in our song ‘Losing It’.”
