Rush once interrupted Toto’s performance by pulling the plug on them, according to Steve Lukather, who recently appeared on The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music podcast. In Toto’s early days, the guitarist shared a memory with Rush, saying: “After all, we wanted to come out rock, and we were a rock band, and they put us in the p*ssy band category.” We were gaining airplay on rock radio and booking shows. We were supposed to open for Rush, but they pulled the plug on us. I believe we were doing so well that they decided to pull the plug on us.”
He continued, recalling his reaction and the aftermath of the incident: “It was f*cking strange.” I understand, but it felt like being the opening act and being treated as such. That was in the 1970s. The headliner could f*ck you if you were the opener. Something else or the number two lights. We’d only been gone thirty seconds when I heard Jeff [Porcaro] playing drums and Lenny [Castro] playing percussion.” Lukather discussed the same incident with Sonic Perspectives in a 2021 discussion, and was then questioned if he had reconciled with the Rush members later on. The musician elaborated:
“I’ve never met them. I spoke with them on the phone once. It’s fine; it had nothing to do with the bands themselves; it was just the personnel. These crew members occasionally fight. It was a hundred years ago, it doesn’t matter, I’m not holding any grudges, ‘Oh, I hate Rush’ – that’s not the case at all.” Toto and Rush shared the stage in 1979 when the former opened for them during the ‘Hydra’ era. Rush, on the other hand, was in route to promote their sixth studio album, ‘Hemispheres.’
