VH1 Rock Docs 'RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage' Premieres Saturday, June 26th at 9PM ET/PT on VH1, VH1 Classic, and Palladia

NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- VH1 Rock Docs presents the world television premiere of the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Choice Award documentary, "RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage" premiering on VH1, VH1 Classic, and Palladia on Saturday, June 26th at 9PM*.

With a career spanning four decades, RUSH (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart) is one of the most successful bands in the history of popular music. This new documentary gives a comprehensive exploration of the history of legendary Canadian power trio, Rush – from their early days growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, through their landmark albums and tours, and finishing with them in the present day. This documentary offers an in-depth look at the band's evolution: starting with their progressive hard rock sound of the 70's, through their popular rock sound of the early 80's, continuing through the keyboard influenced mid/late 80's, and deciding in the 90's to return to a sound more resembling that which made them famous.

"RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage" explores the phenomenon behind what could be the world's biggest cult band, Rush. Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn ("Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" & "Iron Maiden: Flight 666") tell us the story of the band by combining extremely rare and never-before-seen interviews with current interviews from some of the band's admirers and contemporaries. These interviews include Gene Simmons (KISS), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Trent Reznor (NIN), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), and many more.

Zoe Vision, in association with Banger Films is set to release "RUSH: Beyond The Lighted Stage" on Blu-Ray and DVD on June 29. Rush has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and has garnered legions of devoted and passionate fans. Rush is one of rock's most influential bands, ranking third for most consecutive gold and platinum albums behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

"RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage" is the newest film in the Emmy Award-winning VH1 Rock Doc franchise.  VH1 Rock Docs are feature-length documentaries that tell unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of genres, styles, and musical perspectives.

"RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage" is a production of VH1, in association with Banger Films. Brad Abramson, Stephen Mintz, Shelly Tatro and Jeff Olde serve as executive producers for VH1. For Banger Films, Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn serve as directors.

For more information on VH1 Rock Docs go to rockdocs.vh1.com

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that present videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the 60's, 70's and 80's, including The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police, Madonna and many more.  Learn more at VH1Classic.com.

Palladia, MTV Networks' high-definition music channel, launched in January 2006 and features original music-based programming for a variety of music genres, including hip hop, rock, country, pop, reggaeton, soul and more, as well as HDTV acquisitions and original content from MTV Networks Music Group's MTV, VH1, and CMT family of services.  The channel has grown to 28 million households and is available on major U.S. carriers including Comcast, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Time Warner, Dish, DIRECTV, Charter, AT&T u-Verse and Insight.  

*All times ET/PT

SOURCE VH1