With Neil Peart’s passing there have been more and more stories of what his later years were like.
Don Parry Remembers Neil Peart
Former Jethro Tull drummer Don Parry took to Facebook to remember his departed friend. Parry wrote, “During the last three and a half years, Neil faced this brutal, aggressive brain cancer bravely, philosophically and with his customary humour.”
He would also go on to say that his sense of humour was very characteristic of him, even given the serious situation and the odds handed to him at the time of the diagnosis and subsequent surgery. Parry revealed he felt undone when he learned of his friend’s death.
Parry would go on to say, “His tenacious approach to life served him well during those last years and although he primarily kept to his own counsel, he retained his dignity, compassion, understanding and his deeply inquisitive nature which never deserted him.”
Neil Peart Was Not in Pain
Parry revealed that during his interactions with Peart in his final few years, the drummer was not in pain. “This was always my first question and when I saw him… ‘no pain’ came the reply. What a blessing that was. We were all grateful for that.”
Sully Erna, the frontman for Godsmack, who apparently became friends with Peart, said that in the drummer’s final year of his life, he was in a wheelchair and couldn’t speak. It appeared however, a close friend of the band said rumours surrounding Neil Peart’s final months are inaccurate.
“I choose to remember Neil as he was and I want to respect his family’s privacy during this difficult time.” – Donna Helper
Donna Helper, who was credited with discovering Rush while working at an Ohio radio station back in 1974, addressed the rumours that Peart was unable to speak in his final months prior to his death by posting on social media that the rumours of his final months were inaccurate. She said, “Sad to say, there are some rumours about Neil Peart’s final months circulating on social media. The vast majority are inaccurate. As for me, I choose to remember Neil as he was and I want to respect his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
“By the way, he was able to speak almost till the very end…” – Donna Helper
Helper would later add several more tweets saying, “Normally I would remain silent and let people say what they want but to say this is different. My friendship with Rush is something I take very seriously and I will defend the truth as much as I can.
It’s the least I can do but it ended the way he wanted, surrounded by his family and best friends.” “By the way, he was able to speak almost till the very end, I’m told. Anyways. I’m just sorry there’s no cure for this kind of cancer he had. May he rest in peace.” “That’s the only reason I decided to say something. I hope folks understand this is not about me. It’s about respecting Neil’s memory and letting him rest in peace.”
From May of 2018, about two years after he was diagnosed with brain cancer, a photo emerged of Neil Peart from Lauren Gump Wheaton who posted this photo in 2018 saying, “Lunch date in SoCal today, always good hanging with the boss.”
Audio and Video Streams Increase By Almost 800%
Following Peart’s death, Rush’s back catalogue has been performing extremely well on the Billboard charts and on streaming services.
Figures that were compiled by Nielsen Music and MRC data have shown that between the January 10-13th, audio and video streams of the trio’s music went up by almost 800%, which hit a combined figure of almost 25 million. The most played track was “Tom Sawyer” from the Moving Pictures record which was played almost 3 million times compared to 700,000 streams the week before.
Sales of individual tracks in the same period for those four days were up almost 2,400% from 1,000 to 19,000. Album purchases for the group grew to almost 2,000%.
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