


Some ideas that Alex Lifeson and Lee had initially saved for potential solo albums were used on Signals. In hindsight, he said it was considerably difficult to make because it took longer than usual for the band to achieve the right feel for each song. Lee considered Signals as the beginning of a new era for the band. The album displays the band continuing to incorporate the synthesizer into their songs with less emphasis on guitar-oriented riffs which had been the focus of their sound in the 1970s. Geddy Lee has said that the group were aware of how easy it would have been to " it safe" and produce another Moving Pictures, a mindset the band was entirely against.

The majority of Signals was written and rehearsed in early 1982. The group had their sound man capture their soundchecks on tape which provided a method of developing new songs, which was particularly the case for "Chemistry". Having arranged some material for their next studio album, Rush toured North America and Europe from October to December 1981 with a setlist that contained "Subdivisions". Peart was also working on lyrics, in particular a set which included "Subdivisions", a track the group would later record for Signals. In one of drummer and lyricist Neil Peart's diary entries written during this time, he had been cleaning a Hayman drum kit that was housed in the studio and, in September 1981, began working out a song with two members of the band's road crew, the unreleased "Tough Break". Rush then took a three-month break, during which they oversaw the production and mixing of their second live release, Exit.Stage Left, at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec. 1 album in Canada and selling over one million copies in the United States at the tour's conclusion. The album became their most commercially successful of their history, granting them their first No. In July 1981, Rush ended their tour in support of their previous album Moving Pictures. Signals has been reissued several times, including a remaster with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix in 2011. The group supported Signals with a concert tour from April 1982 to May 1983. Rush released three singles from the album: " New World Man", which became the band's highest charting single in the United States and a number-one hit in Canada, as well as " Subdivisions" and " Countdown". In November 1982, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million copies in the United States.

It is the last album produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974. Signals demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. After the release of their previous album, Moving Pictures, the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album Exit.Stage Left. Signals is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on Septemby Anthem Records.
