Editing Neil Peart (section)

===Joining Rush===
After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for a St. Catharines band known as Hush<!-- the 2010 beyond the lighted stage documentary is incorrect with regards to his last band before Rush -->, who played on the Southern Ontario bar circuit.<ref name=geocities /> Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto-based band Rush, which needed a replacement for its original drummer [[John Rutsey]]. [[Geddy Lee]] and [[Alex Lifeson]] oversaw the audition. His future bandmates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived in shorts, driving a battered old [[Ford Pinto]] with his drums stored in trashbags. Peart felt the entire audition was a complete disaster.<ref name=geocities /> Lee later remarked that he was instantly mesmerized by the way Peart played triplets, also hitting it off on a personal level (with similar tastes in books and music); meanwhile, Lifeson had a less favourable impression of Peart and still wanted to tryout one last drummer.<ref name=geocities />

After some discussion between Lee and Lifeson, Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=July 29, 2015|title=Revisiting the Day Drummer Neil Peart Joined Rush|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/neil-peart-joins-rush/|access-date=June 24, 2020|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624194743/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/neil-peart-joins-rush/|url-status=live}}</ref> Peart procured a silver [[Slingerland]] kit which he played at his first gig with the band, opening for [[Uriah Heep (band)|Uriah Heep]] and [[Manfred Mann's Earth Band]] in front of over 11,000 people at the [[Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)|Civic Arena]] in [[Pittsburgh]] on August 14, 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chartattack.com/news/39903/neil-peart-speaks-about-new-rush-release|title=Neil Peart Speaks About New Rush Release|date=November 16, 2005|work=[[Chart (magazine)|Chart]]|access-date=August 9, 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607181538/http://www.chartattack.com/news/39903/neil-peart-speaks-about-new-rush-release|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the band's primary lyricist. Before joining Rush he had written a few songs, but, with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, Peart's previously underutilised writing became as noticed as his musicianship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rush.robpagano.com/index.php?c=neil|title=Neil Peart Mini-Biography|website=rush.robpagano.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108062047/http://rush.robpagano.com/index.php?c=neil|archive-date=January 8, 2009|access-date=January 11, 2020}}</ref> The band were working hard to establish themselves as a recording act, and Peart, along with the rest of the band, began to undertake extensive touring.

His first recording with the band, 1975's ''[[Fly by Night (album)|Fly by Night]]'', was fairly successful, winning the [[Juno Award]] for most promising new act,<ref name="Individual awards list">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/2740/rmem.html|title=Individual awards list|access-date=February 2, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122140246/http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/2740/rmem.html|archive-date=January 22, 2008}} Accessed July 16, 2007</ref> but the follow-up, ''[[Caress of Steel]]'', for which the band had high hopes, was greeted with hostility by both fans and critics.<ref>Caress of Steel Review [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r17118|pure_url=yes}} Greg Prato, AllMusic Guide]. Retrieved September 20, 2007</ref> In response to this negative reception, most of which was aimed at the B-side-spanning epic "[[The Fountain of Lamneth]]", Peart responded by penning "[[2112 (song)|2112]]" on their next album of the same name in 1976. The album, despite record company indifference, became their breakthrough and gained a following in the United States.<ref>AllMusic Guide Review for 2112 [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r17123|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic Guide]. Retrieved February 10, 2008</ref> The supporting tour culminated in a three-night stand at [[Massey Hall]] in Toronto, a venue Peart had dreamed of playing in his days on the Southern Ontario bar circuit and where he was introduced as "The Professor on the drum kit" by Lee.<ref>Geddy Lee Announces Neil Peart [http://nimitz.net/rush/faq2ans.html Rush Frequently Asked Questions]. Retrieved February 19, 2008</ref>

Peart returned to England for Rush's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the next album, 1977's ''[[A Farewell to Kings]]'', in [[Rockfield Studios]] in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow-up, ''[[Hemispheres (Rush album)|Hemispheres]]'', in 1978, which they wrote entirely in the studio. The recording of five studio albums in four years, coupled with as many as 300 gigs a year, convinced the band to take a different approach thereafter. Peart has described his time in the band up to this point as "a dark tunnel".<ref>Current Biography Magazine [http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/currentbiographyfeb2001.htm Power Windows Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911160511/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/currentbiographyfeb2001.htm|date=September 11, 2009}}. Retrieved February 19, 2008</ref>