R.E.M. Caricature

R.E.M. Caricature, illustrated here in Park West, Illinois on May 26, 1983 with Bill Berry age 25, Peter Buck age 27, Mike Mills age 25 and Michael Stipe age 23 upon the release of their debut album “Murmur”.

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe who were students at the University of Georgia.

One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck’s ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe’s distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills’s melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry’s tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre.

With constant touring, and the support of college radio following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit with the 1987 single “The One I Love”. The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988.

Released in March 1991, Out of Time was the band’s first album to top both the US and UK charts. The album’s lead single “Losing My Religion” was a worldwide hit that received heavy rotation on radio, as did the music video on MTV and VH1.

Top ten hits: “Losing My Religion”, “Nightswimming”, “Everybody Hurts”, “Man On The Moon”, “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”, “Fall On Me”, “Drive”, “Radio Free Europe”, “Driver 8”, “The One I Love” and “Stand”.

Bill Berry on March 1, 1995, at the Patinoire Auditorium in Lausanne, Switzerland, Berry collapsed on stage during an R.E.M. show from a ruptured brain aneurysm. He recovered and rejoined the band, but left in October 1997.

The band broke up amicably in 2011. R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2007.

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