R.E.M. Biography - Music bands & groups

 
 

Biography » music bands groups » r e m

R.E.M.

Name: R.E.M.                                                                       
Origin: Athens, Georgia, USA                                                       
                                                                                   
R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael     
Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Bill       
Berry (drums and percussion). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative     
rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar   
style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free   
Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was         
followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S.       
Records. In 1983, the band released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur,   
and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases,     
constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of             
underground success, R.E.M. entered the mainstream in 1987 with the hit song "The 
One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to       
espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas           
worldwide.                                                                         
                                                                                   
By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream     
success, R.E.M. was viewed as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most     
commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People   
(1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M.'s 1994 Monster     
was a return to a more rock-oriented sound. The band began its first tour in six   
years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered   
by three band members. In 1997, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a           
reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in       
history. The following year, Bill Berry left the band amicably, with Buck, Mills, 
and Stipe continuing as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style,     
the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and         
commercial success. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall     
of Fame.