The classic Rush album that turned Alex Lifeson against the band: “It was a bit of a fight”What happens when you’re the guitarist in a band that suddenly shifts its focus to synths? In the early 1980s, Alex Lifeson of Rush had to find out the hard way. When Rush first formed in 1968, they were like countless other bands at the time: a rock and roll outfit. Rush were a band who openly welcomed that into their rehearsal rooms. From 1982’s Signals, the band were suddenly keys-first as Lee took up post on a synthesiser and so started writing songs for his new instrument.