Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Original Neil Peart Rush drum set up for auction

The original drum set used by Neil Peart during his early years with Rush is now available for purchase via an online auction by Bonhams in Los Angeles.

Offered as part of a Music Memoribalia event that runs from November 23 to December 9, Peart used the Slingerland drum kit with Rush between 1974-77. The package features a pair of bass drums with chrome wrap including the original head; blue resonant heads each with large silver Rush logo and "Neil" on one and "Peart" on the other (originals and additional replicas), and includes a 14-inch Tom Tom with chrome wrap and with original head signed by Peart.

According to Bonhams, the drummer purchased the set in late July/early August 1974 from Long & McQuade in Toronto, ON and used it for three years before placing it in storage in 1977; the package later became one of three drum kit's donated by Peart for Modern Drummer Magazine's "Neil Peart Drumset Giveaway" introduced in their March 1987 issue.

This set was awarded to New York drummer Mark Feldman in the October 1987 issue and comes with a letter signed by Peart informing Feldman that he was a contest winner and commenting on his submission; it was eventually sold by Feldman to the present owner.

Available with a starting bid of $80,000, the Peart package is among the highlights of the Music Memorabilia auction; other items of note include a set of Grateful Dead handwritten lyrics by Mickey Hart to “Fire On The Mountain”, Jim Morrison's driver's license, a Chinese couch formerly owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, sold by Yoko in 1984, plus an array of concert posters, guitars, and signed material.

View Peart’s drum set and other items at bonhams.com.

Peart passed away on January 7 at the age of 67 after a three-and-a-half year battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, Glioblastoma, following the Canadian band’s final concert in Los Angeles in 2015.
See also:

Rush: Neil Peart Drumset Scholarship announced
Fu Manchu release Rush classic as Neil Peart tribute
Rush: Neil Peart tribute set for Modern Drummer Festival
Rush bassist Geddy Lee shares rare 1960s live photo
Search Rush at hennemusic