Rush bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have posted the following message in the wake of flood of tributes honouring drum icon Neil Peart, who passed away on January 7 after a three-year battle with brain cancer:

Billboard is reporting that in the days following the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart, streams of the band’s songs surged by 776% in the US, according to initial reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

January 10-13, on-demand audio and video streams of Rush’s catalog of songs increased to a combined 24.54 million - up 776.4% as compared to the previous four days (2.8 million on Jan. 6-9). The act’s most-streamed tunes during the January 10-13 period was the 1981 hit “Tom Sawyer”, with 2.82 million streams (up 305% as compared to the 698,000 streams it registered Jan. 6-9).

In terms of sales, Rush’s catalog of songs grew by 2,304% to 19,000 (from 1,000), while the group’s album sales gained 1,820% to 6,000 (up from a negligible figure).

In related news, following Peart's death, the band dominates Billboard's LyricFind US and LyricFind Global charts dated January 18, led by "Tom Sawyer", which bows at #1 on both lists.

The band infuses 23 of the 25 positions on the Global survey and 18 of the 25 spots on the US ranking.

The LyricFind Global and LyricFind US charts rank the fastest-momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the US. The company is the world's leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio. The latest tracking week ended January 12.

Rush songs occupy the top six of the LyricFind Global tally, paced by "Tom Sawyer", which earned a 2,480% boost in lyric views, according to LyricFind, following the news of Peart's passing.

"Limelight" ranks at No. 2 on Global (up 2,788%), with "The Trees" (up 1,513%) rounding out the top three.

Read more at Billboard.