2112 at 50: How Rush Answered Mercury's Demand for a Hit Single With a 20-Minute Suite

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 14:47:36 +0000

In 1976, one album away from being dropped, Rush handed their label the least commercial thing they’d ever made, and side one of 2112 bought them the next four decades of doing whatever they wanted.

It’s late 1975, and Rush are playing smaller rooms than they were a year earlier. Their third album, Caress of Steel, has stiffed: two side-long suites, hostile reviews, shrinking crowds. The band’s own name for the supporting run tells you everything: the “Down the Tubes Tour.” Geddy Lee later told MOJO they joked about Neil Peart going back to selling farm equipment, and him and Alex Lifeson going back to painting movie theatres.

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2112 at 50: How Rush Answered Mercury's Demand for a Hit Single With a 20-Minute Suite