UAWIL #277: Rush - 2112

The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast · Mar 19, 2026 · 1h 26m

By early 1976, things were looking bleak for Rush. Despite their relentless touring schedule and 3 albums - Rush, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel - the record company wasn't happy. The band called the Caress of Steel Tour the Down The Tubes Tour as their crowds got smaller and their record didn't sell. Mercury records wanted radio friendly hits or something more like the Zeppelin-y first record or they would drop the band.

Instead of changing their sound and bowing to the powers that be, they decided to do their own thing. That thing was a full side of an album with 7 distinct parts of a suite…