Accomplishments/Awards

Voted to Modern Drummer Hall of Fame: 1983
Best Rock Drummer: 1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985
Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983,1984,1985,1986

Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
Best All Around: 1986

1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion
As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, Neil is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories

Personal Profile

Neil Peart was born September 12, 1952. He took up drumming when he was 13 years old and received professional drum lessons for his birthday. Originally inspired by the agressive drumming of the late Keith Moon, he is also influenced by the likes of Carl Palmer and Bill Bruford.

Neil grew up near Toronto and played in a series of high school bands before moving to London during the early 70's in order to try and further is musical career. While there he worked as a salesman at a shop called The Great Frog in the tourist district of Carnaby Street. Disillusioned by the British music scene he later returned to Canada where he eventually hooked up with Geddy and Alex. He became a member of Rush in June, 1974.

Neil likes to read and his lyrical influences stem from some of his literary heroes - Ernest Hemmingway, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, Barth, Rand, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Neil has also written articles and editorials, and in 1994 coauthored a short story "Drumbeats" with Kevin J. Anderson for the horror anthology Shock Rock II.

Neil's wife, Jaqueline Taylor, passed away from cancer in June of 1998; his only child Selena also passed away in August of 1997 from a tragic car crash.


Taken From
Success Under Pressure -- by Steve Gett


Surrounded by a huge set of custom prototype Tama drums, a glittering array of Zildjian cymbals and a mass of other percussive instruments, Neil has everything he needs to create his highly praised big sound, which serves as the driving force behind Rush's music.

Originally inspired by the aggressive drumming of the late Keith Moon, the young Peart later found himself picking up influences from the more technically oriented rhythmic patterns employed by the likes of Carl Palmer and Bill Bruford. However, he has long since prefected his own adventurous style, which evidences a marked flair for the dramatic. The extended solo spot on the Exit...Stage Left version of "YYZ" is a classic example of his overall dexterity.

Growing up near Toronto, Neil played in a series of high school bands before he decided to move to London during the early 70's, in order to try and further his musical career. Finding that the streets weren't exactly paved with gold, he ended up working as a salesman at a shop called The Great Frog in the tourist epicentre of Carnaby Street. Eventually, somewhat disillusioned by the British music scene, he returned to Canada, where he soon hooked up with Geddy and Alex.

Since becoming a member of Rush in June, 1974, Neil has not only established himself as one of rock's most skilled drummers, but also as an extremely prolific lyricist. Much of his inspiration for the latter stems from his keen interest in literature. He actually picked up his first book at the age of six and has since devoted much of his spare time to reading.

After ploughing through countless children's adventure stories, he went on to develop a passion for fantasy and science fiction works, which provided him with an element of escapism from the grim reality of everyday life in suburbia. In fact, this was a theme he later touched upon with the song "Subdivisions", from the Signals Lp, which he describes as "an exploration of the background from which all of us (and probably most of our audience) have sprung."

Neil's lyrical style has altered a good deal over the years and he believes that his selection of reading matter has tended to dictate his own writing approach. On the road, he can often be seen with his head buried in the pages of books and he has listed his literary heroes as Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, Barth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Peart has expressed interest in writing a novel and, a few years ago, he predicted that he would end up writing by profession and drumming as a hobby. Whether that will happen remains to be seen. In the meantime, Neil has been able to display his writing prowess by providing the text for the band's press releases and tour books.

Rush fans would doubtless revel in further accounts of the group's activities and one can only hope that, as some point, Neil may decide to publish more. Apparently, he actually wrote a complete day-by-day diary on the Moving Pictures tour, which would definitely be most interesting to read.

At the same time, though, the drummer guards his private life vehemently, something I once discovered on a lightning road trip with Rush. Since my time with them was strictly limited, due to the fact that they tend to drive on to the next city immediately after playing a show, I (somewhat naively) asked if they would mind filling out a 'factsfile' questionnaire, figuring that it might make for interesting reading. Neil was particularly loathe to involve himself in such an exercise and actually sent me back a written note, which read: "Steve, I don't want to be rude or arrogant about your questionnaire, but these are things I'm not really interested in. I like to talk about what I do, and about what I think, but I'm not vain enough to think my past or my favorite things are of general importance.

"My musical history with and before Rush is well documented elsewhere (many times) and doesn't really bear repeating.

"The point is that I don't really like 'human interest' stories about music or musicians (especially me). As my privacy is increasingly reduced and violated, I defend it more determinedly. People know me as a musician, but like to think they know me as a person. This is an illusion, and one that I have no wish to foster by providing details of my private life. I hope you can understand this. I have no wish to be unpleasant. And, yes, I know I could have answered your questions in the time it took me to write this!

"Yours truly, Neil Peart."

Realizing my mistake, I could only admire the man for his honesty. Indeed, of the three Rush members, Neil appears to be the most reserved character and one suspects that he does not suffer fools gladly. However, this hardly detracts from the tremendous respect he deserves as a creative artist.