RUSH Guitarist Says Court Case Won't Delay U.K. Tour

August 11, 2004

Andy Coleman of the U.K.'s Evening Mail is reporting that RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson today promised Birmingham fans the band's forthcoming NEC shows will definitely go ahead — despite a court case hanging over his head.

The 50-year-old musician says he was due to appear in a Florida court in September but a deal has been done to postpone the hearing until October, after RUSH's U.K. tour which plays the NEC on September 9 and 14.

The battery charges he faces stem from an incident on New Year's Eve at a Florida hotel in which a police officer was injured.

"The trial was actually set for mid September but everyone has agreed to move it to October," he says. "However, I'm still hoping it won't go to court. It is not going to be pleasant for anyone if it does."

Police claim an officer was pushed downstairs during the fracas while Lifeson says police were brutal, zapping him with a stun gun four times and breaking his nose during the New Year party attended by him and his family.

The news that the band are still coming to the UK will be a relief for fans who have not seen RUSH in concert in Britain for 12 years. The UK even missed out on their 2002 Vapor Trails tour.

"We tried to get over to the U.K. on the last tour, we had every intention, but we left it too late and missed the window of opportunity. Many venues were already booked up," says Alex.

"We could have come back later but it would have been six months after the original tour had ended so it really wasn't worth it." Read more.

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