V.RARE 1973 Canada 7" 'Not Fade Away' RUSH -geddy lee

	£		336
	$		445

EXTREMELY RARE 1973 Canadian 7" Debut Release by Canadian Rockers RUSH !! Superb EX+ Condition. The Ultimate RUSH rarity!. These 2 tracks were never included on any other Rush release and are exclusive to this single. Ink stamped "NOT FOR SALE" (for Promo Use) on both labels.

'NOT FADE AWAY' / 'You Can't Fight It' (STEREO MN 001)

Condition - side 1 label is spotless (besides ink stamp). (side 1) vinyl is near mint and plays perfectly. side 2 label is spotless (besides ink stamp). (side 2) vinyl has a couple of minor surface marks which do not affect play at all. the first 5 seconds of this side plays with some very minor background and the rest plays perfectly. you'd be very lucky to find another one of these, let alone in this outstanding ex+ condition

Back in August of 1968, guitarist Alex Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist Jeff Jones got together to jam out to a few hard rock tunes of the day. They soon landed their first paying gig playing Friday nights at a coffeehouse located in the basement of an Anglican Church, The Coff-In. They didn't even have a name until John's brother Bill piped up, "Why don't you call the band Rush?" The Friday following their first show, Jeff called to cancel because he wanted to go to a party instead. Thinking quickly, Alex called another bass player he had played with previously. Geddy Lee melded solidly into Rush and was an official member by the end of the show.

On Christmas day 1968, Alex asked Lindy Young to join the band as keyboard player and so a four-piece Rush debuted at The Coff-In in January of `69. The future seemed bright for Rush until John, for some moronic reason, convinced Alex they'd be better off without Geddy. In May of that year, Geddy got the boot and was replaced by Joe Perna and Rush changed their name to Hadrian. It was at this time that a 16-year old Ray Danniels was signed up as manager. Danniels also booked shows for Geddy's new band, Judd. In July, Hadiran disbanded shortly after Lindy jumped ship to join Judd. In September, Judd broke up and John, Alex and Geddy reformed Rush.

Ray Danniels booked shows for Rush all over Ontario. Over the next few years, Rush's fanbase progressively grew as more and more original material worked its way into their repertoire. For a brief period in 1971, Mitch Bossi joined as a second guitarist but later quit out of his disinterest in the band. In 1973, Danniels and his new partner Vic Wilson arranged for Rush to cut a single. "Not Fade Away" (a Buddy Holly cover) and "You Can't Fight It" (a Lee/Rutsey composition) were recorded and shortly thereafter peddled around the record company circuit by Danniels. The single, on Rush's own Moon Records label, sold a few copies in Toronto but received no airplay. Taking a huge risk, Danniels and Wilson decided the best way to promote Rush was with a full length LP. Scrounging up money to finance the project, Danniels asked Terry Brown to produce the record. In January of 1977, Rush was released on Moon Records.

The album did moderately well and won some airplay in Toronto and Montréal, but Danniels had bigger plans for the band. Passing a copy of the LP to a friend, A&M rep Bob Roper, it would eventually land in the hands of Donna Halper, program director at WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio. Halper, always on the lookout for a new sound, asked a DJ to play "Working Man" to see how it went over. Listeners ate it up. Halper informed Danniels of the interest shown in the record and arrangements were made to distribute Rush in Cleveland. Initial shipments of the record sold out. Cleveland couldn't get enough of Rush. Pulling a few strings, Danniels managed to get Rush an opening spot for a ZZ Top concert. It wasn't long after that a deal was signed with Mercury Records and a five-month supporting tour was arranged. With their first major US tour only two weeks away, John announced he was leaving Rush. Along with health reasons (John suffers from diabetes) there were personal conflicts as to the band's musical direction: John was into a hard blues-rock sound while Geddy and Alex were begin to explore the realms of progressive rock.

So the search began for a new drummer. A mutual friend recommended Neil Peart, then drummer for a St.Catharines band called Hush. (That's not a joke!) Alex and Geddy had already heard a few drummers but none really impressed. "Neil came down the second day of auditions, " says Alex, "and he looked really weird. He had really short hair with shorts on. He was working in a parts department, selling tractor parts. So this weird looking guy comes down with this small kit of Rogers drums, and he played them like a maniac! He was really an intense drummer! I had reservations, however, I wasn't really sure. Neil was the second or third guy we tried, so who knows. Maybe there's going to be three or four others as good. It was a bit weird. We sat down and talked a lot. Geddy and Neil talked mostly. I had these reservations. I wasn't sure." Geddy finally convinced Alex and on July 29 1974 (Geddy's 21st birthday), Neil officially joined Rush.

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