# Neil Peart is dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [January 10, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249 "2020-01-10T21:10:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/1 "2020-01-10T21:10:59Z")
This seems to be an factual report on the CBC website. > **[Canadian rock icon Neil Peart, drummer and primary lyricist for Rush, dead at...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/neil-peart-obit-1.5422806)** > > Neil Peart, the virtuoso drummer of iconic Canadian band Rush who was revered as one of the greatest drummers of all time, has died at age 67. Wow, one of the greatest drummers of all time. I don’t even know what to think. RIP and I know what I’m listening to tonight. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/2 "2020-01-10T21:17:52Z")
A corroborating story on _Rolling Stone_, indicating that a spokesperson for the band had confirmed the news. > **[Neil Peart, Rush Drummer Who Set a New Standard for Rock Virtuosity, Dead at 67](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-peart-rush-obituary-936221/?fbclid=IwAR2waO8JVknUqSrGhXrvnIaBaV3u5fAepeKAj_V9a2fLkXl5gSADlYMEDtQ)** > > Hall of Fame drummer and lyricist succumbs to brain cancer ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/3 "2020-01-10T21:19:07Z")
Just saw this. What a shock. I do wonder if this wasn’t a sudden thing. He was a very private person, but it was also well known that Rush ended because he wasn’t up to playing anymore. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/4 "2020-01-10T21:20:25Z")
Aw, man, that sad. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/5 "2020-01-10T21:20:51Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > Just saw this. > > What a shock. I do wonder if this wasn’t a sudden thing. He was a very private person, but it was also well known that Rush ended because he wasn’t up to playing anymore. > > RIP It was brain cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/6 "2020-01-10T21:22:13Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > Just saw this. > > What a shock. I do wonder if this wasn’t a sudden thing. He was a very private person, but it was also well known that Rush ended because he wasn’t up to playing anymore. > > RIP He’s been fighting brain cancer for the past three years the way he did everything else, privately. That’s from The Rolling Stone ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/7 "2020-01-10T21:22:57Z")
Dang, dude. That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/8 "2020-01-10T21:23:58Z")
We had a thread about which celebrity death will hit you the hardest. I have my answer. This one. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/9 "2020-01-10T21:25:13Z")
Sad news. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/10 "2020-01-10T21:26:08Z")
Damn. ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/11 "2020-01-10T21:27:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It was brain cancer. > [@Loach](#): > > He’s been fighting brain cancer for the past three years the way he did everything else, privately. That’s from The Rolling Stone Thank you, hadn’t seen their report when I first posted. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/12 "2020-01-10T21:27:50Z")
Just heard. That truly sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/13 "2020-01-10T21:30:11Z")
RIP Mr. Peart; you done fucking amazing. > [@Loach](#): > > We had a thread about which celebrity death will hit you the hardest. I have my answer. This one. Aye; this one is seeming to sting extra hard. I wasn’t even a Rush fanatic; just a fan of their good stuff, really. But I know every single nuance of every one of those tunes and lots about a lot of their other tunes. This sucks but hey, no one gets out alive. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/14 "2020-01-10T21:30:28Z")
Oh, damn. Fuck cancer! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/15 "2020-01-10T21:33:32Z")
Fuck you, cancer! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/16 "2020-01-10T21:33:55Z")
This smacked me between the eyes when I saw it. I’ve been a Rush fan since the mid-80s. I’ve got all their albums, and have attended at least one show on every one of their tours from 1989 until their 40th anniversary farewell tour. I’ve always admired Neil as someone who managed to keep his privacy in a very public industry (especially with two extroverted band fellow bandmembers who enjoyed the spotlight a lot more than he did). His motorcycling travelogues were excellent too. I had no idea he was even ill–but then, apparently, that was what he wanted. Private until the end. Condolences to his wife and daughter, Geddy and Alex, and the rest of his friends and family. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/17 "2020-01-10T21:42:00Z")
Oh No! Fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/18 "2020-01-10T21:48:29Z")
Yeah, this smarts. It’s not too much to say that, along with Robert Heinlein, Peart’s lyrics gave me the jumping off point to adulthood for me. Even when I disagreed with them I had to think things through with them. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/19 "2020-01-10T21:50:08Z")
Horrible news, but I have to admit, not unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249/20 "2020-01-10T21:52:27Z")
67 used to sound really old. Now it seems way too young to die. RIP Neil. You were a big part of my growing up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-peart-is-dead/846249.md?page=2)