RUSH Music Sales Surge More Than 2,000 Percent Following Neil Peart's Death

By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta

January 17, 2020

Rush In Concert At BB&T Center

Rush's music sales have skyrocketed by more than 2,000 percent following news last week of drummer Neil Peart's death, Billboard reports.

Streams of the iconic Canadian progressive rock band's music also surged 776 percent, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Though Peart passed away from brain cancer on January 7, his death was not publicly reported until last Friday, Jan 10.

From Friday to Monday, Rush streams shot up from 2.8 million to 24.5 million, Billboard says. Sales of Rush catalog songs jumped from 1,000 songs during the previous four days to 19,000 songs, and the band went from selling just a handful of albums to over 6,000.

Billboard also expects Rush's The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974 - 1987 to re-enter the album charts next week.

In another development that Peart — Rush's main lyricist since 1974 — would be proud of, LyricFind reported that queries over Rush lyrics now make up 23 of the top 25 most searched songs on its U.S. charts.

"Tom Sawyer" is the most-searched Rush song both globally and in America, while "Limelight" and "The Trees" round out the top three.

Peart is one of the most influential drummers in the world. News of his death drew tributes from all corners of the music industry, especially from his surviving band mates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, who remained close to Peart, despite retiring in 2015.

Peart was privately battling brain cancer for three-and-a-half-years before succumbing to the disease last week. Family, some friends and Peart's band mates dutifully kept the diagnosis a secret until after his passing.

Photo: Getty Images

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