Rush is one of the most popular and respected ’odd’ artists of all time. Despite the lack of a number 1 album or single in a 40+ year career, they are 3rd behind the Beatles and The Rolling Stones in most gold and platinum albums released, and despite the large number of haters that despise them, there is a greater number of ‘US’ that respect and treasure them for not just their music but for ALL the good that they’ve done for this world, in charitable giving and inspiring people to be musicians.🤘🖖✌️❤️🎸🥁🎹🎤👌👍
As a 62 year old, longtime RUSH fan, this almost always brings me to tears these days! For me, it brings me back to a better time in the USA when things were better, and we were more unified and sane.
This song came out of an invite to them to watch a space shuttle lift off from the control centre. That would have been awesome to see! Alex Lifeson the guitarist is also a licensed pilot and has actually flown some Canadian airforce F-18s.
The VIP area where they viewed the launch from was called Red Sector A… a song title on the following album “Grace Under Pressure” The first launch of the Shuttle was April 12, 1981 (Palm Sunday). I saw them in concert the following week on Easter Sunday April 19, 1981 in New Orleans
"Countdown" is the closing track off their 1982 album, 'Signals.' You know, THAT record that begins with "Subdivisions!" As a female Rush fan of Rush since the summer of '75, I can think of a few items of note: 1) Before this video was made, Rush had been named by NASA as their OFFICIAL band; 2) as such, they were invited to attend the launch of the Columbia in 1981; 3) Neil Peart described the experience back then as exhausting because they had attended a couple attempted launch, flying after their concert back and forth before witnessing a successful launch; and 4) Columbia met a similar fate as the Challenger, although the Columbia's tragedy occurred upon reentry nearly 17 years to the day of the Challenger disaster. RIP to the Professor, and the crews of both space shuttles.... 🙏🙏🙏
I was in my early 20's when this came out, and I used to have a subscription to a science magazine called "Omni". That magazine would only allow one rock band to advertise in them and that band was Rush. I still have all the magazines stored away in storage today.
In 1981, NASA invited artists of many kinds from around the world to come to Florida, witness the first launch of an entirely new class of spaceship, and record what happened in their art. Glorious success or flaming disaster, NASA wanted artists to react to it. Rush were among the artists invited to attend, and "Countdown" is their vision of the launch of the first STS (Space Transportation System) - the Space Shuttle. The story is told of a Rush fan who happened to know one of the astronauts. One day the fan asked his friend if he had ever heard "Countdown". The astronaut broke into a big grin, and replied "Dude, EVERY astronaut knows that song!"
Once they show it airborne I couldn't help but watch this with dread. I was in college in my early twenties when space shuttle Challenger blew up shortly after launch, killing everyone aboard and raining down burning debris into the Atlantic Ocean. And like so many others, I watched it happen in real time. It was in the morning. It had received more media attention than normal because they were carrying a schoolteacher into space. We were absolutely stunned. Millions of school kids around the world watched it live. It is impossible to describe the sense of disbelief and shock. The only thing that comes close to it was when the second tower got hit on the morning of September 11th 2001. The 2003 Columbia disaster was where it exploded on re-entry, killing all aboard. And it was this exact same shuttle but of course many flights later. A piece of material had come loose during the launch several days earlier and had knocked off some of the foam insulation. They discovered this on a spacewalk to inspect the craft and there was a huge debate about whether to send a rescue mission or go ahead and risk it and have them come home. NASA claimed at the time that there wasn't any way to do a rescue mission but it turns out the Atlantis could likely have been used. During re-entry, heat found its way through cracks in the insulation and destroyed the hydraulics, which led to loss of control, which allowed the craft to rotate into a position where less protected areas were exposed to the re-entry heat and it burned up into several small pieces. I was around first grade when man first landed on the moon in Apollo Mission 11 and it was such a huge deal back then. Lots of kids wanted to be astronauts; it seemed like one of the most heroic things you could do. Of course I was just a little kid, but I remember listening to the radio with my friend and then later on television and it seems like hours and hours after they landed but before Neil Armstrong emerged out onto the surface of the Moon. What a moment. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.
Rush was kind of known as a nerdy band back in the day, and what bigger nerds are there than NASA. How cool is that to be invited to the first launch of the Space Shuttle. 😊
I really like how the emotion in Geddy's voice comes together with the instrumental composition to capture the excitement of witnessing this moment in history. The V.I.P. section from where they viewed the launch was called Red Sector A, which they used as the title of another "moment in history" song that was based on the experiences of Geddy's mother as a Holocaust survivor; Manhattan Project, for which I highly recommend the A Show Of Hands performance, is another "moment in history" song, based on the events surrounding the development and deployment of the first atomic bomb. Safe travels, and cheers from Canada! 🇨🇦 🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🐐 🐐 🐐
The FIRST launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. They were invited to be there to watch. Neil wrote the lyrics and the song was included on their 1982 album Signals.
I remember this day like yesterday - Young and Crippen taking Columbia on its maiden voyage. We all watched it live on TV. It was a sight to behold! Great tune from RUSH. The song dignifies that day like it was.
I was a senior in high school when the Challenger blew up (1986), and it's hard to hear this song without thinking about that or the Columbia disasters. My chemistry teacher brought a tv to class when he heard the news. I also appreciate Geddy and Alex's ability to write music for any lyrics Neil could come up with!
Such a great day in history covered by a great band with a great song about it...I was 8 and watched it on TV with the rest of the country. The lyrics by Peart on "Countdown" cover the tenseness and anticipation of the event to the T.!!
Remember it well. I was 12 and we kids were jumping for joy over it. It had been a long wait, years of design and flight testing, coming off the heels of Apollo and Skylab. It was an amazing few moments watching the launch.
One of my all time favorites from Rush, got to see this live on this tour. Was kind of hoping they'd play it in 2003 after Columbia went down, but if they played everything everyone wanted to hear they'd be on all night.
I watched that launch from the seawall in the video. Titusville, Fl, 30 miles due west of the launch pad. I watched over 20, but that was the most memorable. Only launch with a white main tank. By not sealing the tank with white paint, it saved 5000lbs of payload capacity.. That's what doomed Columbia when a peice of foam broke off the unpainted tank in '01.
Back during the moving pictures tour alex,geddy,and Neil was invited to Florida to watch the launch as vip guest of nasal due to the fact alot of the launch crew was rush fans.they planned to go watch it dure a 3 day off period to bad the launch was scrub due to technical problems. So the launch was rescheduled st a time that rush played a show flew to fla witness the launch then flew to Dallas to do a concert that same night giving them a he'll of a 24 hour period. The song and many more is on the signals album and that album started the synthetic period of the band for rhe next 3 albums.
Rush is one of the most popular and respected ’odd’ artists of all time. Despite the lack of a number 1 album or single in a 40+ year career, they are 3rd behind the Beatles and The Rolling Stones in most gold and platinum albums released, and despite the large number of haters that despise them, there is a greater number of ‘US’ that respect and treasure them for not just their music but for ALL the good that they’ve done for this world, in charitable giving and inspiring people to be musicians.🤘🖖✌️❤️🎸🥁🎹🎤👌👍
5th now.
Spot on...my first album bought (with lawn mowing money): 2112.
@@Fred-vy1hm oh no😳who’s topped them-🤷♂️
Anyone who doesn't know RUSH, has missed a lot of AWESOME music. Personally, a day without 5+ RUSH tunes, I must be dead !!!!
As a 62 year old, longtime RUSH fan, this almost always brings me to tears these days! For me, it brings me back to a better time in the USA when things were better, and we were more unified and sane.
They launched on my birthday. Best present ever.
This song came out of an invite to them to watch a space shuttle lift off from the control centre. That would have been awesome to see! Alex Lifeson the guitarist is also a licensed pilot and has actually flown some Canadian airforce F-18s.
The VIP area where they viewed the launch from was called Red Sector A… a song title on the following album “Grace Under Pressure” The first launch of the Shuttle was April 12, 1981 (Palm Sunday). I saw them in concert the following week on Easter Sunday April 19, 1981 in New Orleans
"Countdown" is the closing track off their 1982 album, 'Signals.' You know, THAT record that begins with "Subdivisions!"
As a female Rush fan of Rush since the summer of '75, I can think of a few items of note: 1) Before this video was made, Rush had been named by NASA as their OFFICIAL band; 2) as such, they were invited to attend the launch of the Columbia in 1981; 3) Neil Peart described the experience back then as exhausting because they had attended a couple attempted launch, flying after their concert back and forth before witnessing a successful launch; and 4) Columbia met a similar fate as the Challenger, although the Columbia's tragedy occurred upon reentry nearly 17 years to the day of the Challenger disaster.
RIP to the Professor, and the crews of both space shuttles.... 🙏🙏🙏
I was in my early 20's when this came out, and I used to have a subscription to a science magazine called "Omni". That magazine would only allow one rock band to advertise in them and that band was Rush. I still have all the magazines stored away in storage today.
Seriously that is awesome.
I remember OMNI mags.
Oh shit, I loved Omnni magazine! I had no idea that Rush advertised with them. Please find that and post pictures!!
In 1981, NASA invited artists of many kinds from around the world to come to Florida, witness the first launch of an entirely new class of spaceship, and record what happened in their art. Glorious success or flaming disaster, NASA wanted artists to react to it. Rush were among the artists invited to attend, and "Countdown" is their vision of the launch of the first STS (Space Transportation System) - the Space Shuttle.
The story is told of a Rush fan who happened to know one of the astronauts. One day the fan asked his friend if he had ever heard "Countdown". The astronaut broke into a big grin, and replied "Dude, EVERY astronaut knows that song!"
Once they show it airborne I couldn't help but watch this with dread. I was in college in my early twenties when space shuttle Challenger blew up shortly after launch, killing everyone aboard and raining down burning debris into the Atlantic Ocean. And like so many others, I watched it happen in real time. It was in the morning. It had received more media attention than normal because they were carrying a schoolteacher into space. We were absolutely stunned. Millions of school kids around the world watched it live. It is impossible to describe the sense of disbelief and shock. The only thing that comes close to it was when the second tower got hit on the morning of September 11th 2001.
The 2003 Columbia disaster was where it exploded on re-entry, killing all aboard. And it was this exact same shuttle but of course many flights later. A piece of material had come loose during the launch several days earlier and had knocked off some of the foam insulation. They discovered this on a spacewalk to inspect the craft and there was a huge debate about whether to send a rescue mission or go ahead and risk it and have them come home. NASA claimed at the time that there wasn't any way to do a rescue mission but it turns out the Atlantis could likely have been used.
During re-entry, heat found its way through cracks in the insulation and destroyed the hydraulics, which led to loss of control, which allowed the craft to rotate into a position where less protected areas were exposed to the re-entry heat and it burned up into several small pieces.
I was around first grade when man first landed on the moon in Apollo Mission 11 and it was such a huge deal back then. Lots of kids wanted to be astronauts; it seemed like one of the most heroic things you could do. Of course I was just a little kid, but I remember listening to the radio with my friend and then later on television and it seems like hours and hours after they landed but before Neil Armstrong emerged out onto the surface of the Moon. What a moment. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.
RUSH The greatest rock band that ever was or ever will be.
Rush was kind of known as a nerdy band back in the day, and what bigger nerds are there than NASA. How cool is that to be invited to the first launch of the Space Shuttle. 😊
I really like how the emotion in Geddy's voice comes together with the instrumental composition to capture the excitement of witnessing this moment in history. The V.I.P. section from where they viewed the launch was called Red Sector A, which they used as the title of another "moment in history" song that was based on the experiences of Geddy's mother as a Holocaust survivor; Manhattan Project, for which I highly recommend the A Show Of Hands performance, is another "moment in history" song, based on the events surrounding the development and deployment of the first atomic bomb. Safe travels, and cheers from Canada! 🇨🇦
🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🐐 🐐 🐐
The FIRST launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. They were invited to be there to watch. Neil wrote the lyrics and the song was included on their 1982 album Signals.
ROCK 'N' ROLL RUSH! The greatest band ever!!
I remember this day like yesterday - Young and Crippen taking Columbia on its maiden voyage. We all watched it live on TV. It was a sight to behold! Great tune from RUSH. The song dignifies that day like it was.
I was a senior in high school when the Challenger blew up
(1986), and it's hard to hear this song without thinking about that or the Columbia disasters. My chemistry teacher brought a tv to class when he heard the news.
I also appreciate Geddy and Alex's ability to write music for any lyrics Neil could come up with!
Rush documenting their experience at the Launch, for everyone to imagine and enjoy. Love the music interplay with actual shuttle launch audio.
Wow a rare Countdown reaction video.
Cool stuff. Great unique song.
Great song beautiful solo
Great reaction. Everything you said is true. Rush is the greatest. My favorite band by a mile.
What makes Rush so awesome is they keep it REAL. 💗
Such a great day in history covered by a great band with a great song about it...I was 8 and watched it on TV with the rest of the country. The lyrics by Peart on "Countdown" cover the tenseness and anticipation of the event to the T.!!
Remember it well. I was 12 and we kids were jumping for joy over it. It had been a long wait, years of design and flight testing, coming off the heels of Apollo and Skylab. It was an amazing few moments watching the launch.
While I was stationed in Orlando in the Navy, I was able to see the launches. Not close, of course, but we could see them going up. Amazing each time.
One of my all time favorites from Rush, got to see this live on this tour. Was kind of hoping they'd play it in 2003 after Columbia went down, but if they played everything everyone wanted to hear they'd be on all night.
I watched that launch from the seawall in the video. Titusville, Fl, 30 miles due west of the launch pad. I watched over 20, but that was the most memorable. Only launch with a white main tank. By not sealing the tank with white paint, it saved 5000lbs of payload capacity.. That's what doomed Columbia when a peice of foam broke off the unpainted tank in '01.
this was actually the song of NASA for a year or so
We Should Be So Proud! We are capable of more.
Nice reaction. Nice to see you look deep into the song and the band. 👍
Rush had the honor to witness the Space Shuttle Columbia Maiden Flight in Apr 1981 which ushered the Space Shuttle era of the 80's
Awesome commentary my friend! So much great music out there, thank you for sharing!
Wow the first launch of the space shuttle back in 1981 I watched it on TV then in 1992 got to see a launch live at the Cape in Florida.
thanks for your reaction
Unique indeed!
Back during the moving pictures tour alex,geddy,and Neil was invited to Florida to watch the launch as vip guest of nasal due to the fact alot of the launch crew was rush fans.they planned to go watch it dure a 3 day off period to bad the launch was scrub due to technical problems. So the launch was rescheduled st a time that rush played a show flew to fla witness the launch then flew to Dallas to do a concert that same night giving them a he'll of a 24 hour period. The song and many more is on the signals album and that album started the synthetic period of the band for rhe next 3 albums.
I ment nasa
7:00 - 7:15 says it all!
1 contdouwn reaction ❤that.
Challenger 😢.
8th grade. The triumph...
🙏🙏🙏👍👍👍🤘🤘🤘🏋️🤸🛶🛸🚀
The band. Mostly Neil was the lyrics writer. Remember when this came out.
A man after science. Visit a Planetarium. You will like it.