Timeline R.E.M.

R.E.M. 22

• 1978 – 1980 Athens, Georgia -- the underground scene Athens, Georgia in the late 1970s is an unlikely incubator for one of America's greatest rock bands. The University of Georgia campus generates an arts-and-music underground scene fuelled by the B-52s -- Athens's first nationally successful band -- and a network of parties, loft spaces and small venues. Michael Stipe, an art student, meets Peter Buck, who works at a record store called Wuxtry Records, in 1979. Their shared obsession with the Patti Smith Group, Television, the Velvet Underground and British post-punk is the musical foundation of the band they will form.
• 1980 First performance -- Stipes birthday party R.E.M. perform their first concert on 5 April 1980 at a party held in a converted church in Athens, Georgia. The band -- Stipe, Buck, Mills and Berry, who had been playing together for a few weeks -- play a set of covers and original songs with Stipe reading lyrics from a music stand. The concert goes well enough to convince them to continue. The name R.E.M. -- Rapid Eye Movement, the stage of sleep associated with dreaming -- is chosen from a dictionary almost at random. They book their first tour, playing the southeastern United States in a van.
• 1981 Radio Free Europe -- the debut single R.E.M. records 'Radio Free Europe' as their debut single for the tiny Hib-Tone label in June 1981. The single's combination of Buck's chiming guitar arpeggios, Mills's melodic bass, Berry's driving drums and Stipe's deliberately obscured vocals -- singing fragments of lyric over each other, mumbling rather than enunciating -- is immediately distinctive. It is played on college radio stations across America and named the best independent single of 1981 by the New York Times. The sound that emerges from this recording -- jangly, melodic, slightly mysterious -- becomes the template for a decade of American college rock.
• 1982 Signs with IRS Records -- Chronic Town EP R.E.M. signs with IRS Records -- a small independent label distributed by A&M -- in 1982 and releases the Chronic Town EP. The EP's five songs, produced by Mitch Easter, refine the sound of the Hib-Tone single: Buck's guitar rings and jangles rather than crunches, Mills's bass is melodically inventive, and Stipe sings in a style that is simultaneously intimate and oblique. The EP is rapturously received by college radio and the nascent alternative press. A full-length album is recorded immediately.
• 1983 Murmur -- the debut album Murmur, released in April 1983, is voted Album of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine -- beating Michael Jackson's Thriller. The album's sound is defined by deliberate mystery: Stipe's vocals are mixed low and his lyrics are intentionally indistinct, creating the impression of meaning just out of reach. Buck's guitar playing -- influenced by the Byrds' Roger McGuinn but more aggressive -- creates a jangly, chiming texture that defines the sound called 'college rock' or 'alternative rock.' 'Radio Free Europe' (re-recorded), 'Perfect Circle' and 'Talk About the Passion' are its centrepieces.
• 1984 – 1985 Reckoning and Fables -- the sound develops Reckoning (1984) and Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) develop R.E.M.'s sound in different directions. Reckoning is more confident and melodic -- 'So. Central Rain,' 'Pretty Persuasion' and 'Seven Chinese Brothers' demonstrate a songwriting maturity beyond the band's three years of existence. Fables, recorded in London with Joe Boyd, is darker and more gothic -- influenced by Southern American folklore and Stipe's growing interest in American mythology. Both albums are successful on college radio and build the devoted underground following that will power their eventual mainstream breakthrough.
• 1986 Lifes Rich Pageant -- the political turn Life's Rich Pageant (1986), produced by Don Gehman, is R.E.M.'s most overtly political album -- addressing environmental destruction ('Cuyahoga'), political violence ('These Days') and American mythology ('Swan Swan H'). Stipe's vocals are mixed higher and more legibly than on previous albums, reflecting his growing confidence as a lyricist and public figure. The album is their most accessible to date: 'Fall on Me' receives mainstream radio play for the first time. R.E.M. is beginning to outgrow college radio.
• 1987 Document -- the mainstream breakthrough Document (1987) is R.E.M.'s mainstream breakthrough. 'The One I Love' -- a minimalist rocker that reaches Number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, their first Top 10 single -- and 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' make R.E.M. a household name. Stipe's rapid-fire lyrical style on the latter (listing cultural references in breathless succession) becomes one of rock's most quoted vocal performances. The album reaches Number 10 on the Billboard 200. R.E.M. has been the most important band in American underground music for five years; Document makes them important to everyone.
• 1988 Signs with Warner Bros. -- $10 million deal R.E.M. signs with Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for a reported $10 million -- the largest deal for a rock act at the time. The move from IRS (an independent label) to a major is widely watched in the music industry: will R.E.M. compromise its artistic integrity for commercial success? The answer, proved by Green (1988) and the subsequent decade, is no. The Warner deal gives R.E.M. creative control and an advance that funds ambitious production, international touring and expensive videos. It is the most commercially successful transition from independent to major in rock history.
• 1988 Green -- the Warner debut Green (November 1988) is R.E.M.'s debut for Warner Bros. and their most musically varied album to date: 'Stand' and 'Pop Song 89' are accessible pop; 'World Leader Pretend' is a political statement by Stipe; 'The Wrong Child' is an acoustic ballad about a disabled child's isolation. The album reaches Number 12 in the US and produces R.E.M.'s first major pop hit in 'Stand.' The subsequent Green world tour takes R.E.M. to venues of unprecedented size. They are now one of the biggest bands in the world.
• 1991 Out of Time -- Number 1 worldwide, Losing My Religion Out of Time (March 1991) is R.E.M.'s commercial zenith -- reaching Number 1 in both the UK and US and winning three Grammy Awards including Album of the Year. 'Losing My Religion' -- built on a mandolin riff by Buck, with Stipe's most emotionally exposed vocal to date -- reaches Number 4 in the US, Number 1 in multiple European countries and wins the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. The song's combination of vulnerability, melodic beauty and religious imagery makes it one of the defining songs of the 1990s. R.E.M. does not tour the album.
• 1992 Automatic for the People -- the masterpiece Automatic for the People (October 1992) is widely considered R.E.M.'s greatest album -- a sustained meditation on mortality, loss and transformation that is simultaneously their darkest and most accessible work. 'Everybody Hurts,' 'Nightswimming,' 'Man on the Moon' (tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman), 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' and 'Drive' are among the finest songs in their catalogue. Arranged with orchestral strings by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, the album reaches Number 2 in the US and Number 1 in the UK. It sells over 18 million copies. R.E.M. again does not tour.
• 1994 Monster -- the deliberate reinvention Monster (September 1994) is a deliberate shock to the system after two quiet albums: loud, distorted, sexually charged and intentionally provocative. Stipe, who has been dealing with speculation about his sexuality, writes explicitly about desire and gender fluidity. Buck returns to electric guitar after two acoustic albums. The album reaches Number 1 in the US and UK. The subsequent Monster world tour (1995) -- R.E.M.'s first in five years -- is troubled: Berry suffers a brain aneurysm on stage in Lausanne, Mills has emergency abdominal surgery and Stipe has a hernia operation. All recover.
• 1997 Bill Berry leaves -- the drummer departs Bill Berry, R.E.M.'s drummer and one of the four equal creative partners, announces his departure from the band in October 1997. Berry, who suffered the aneurysm during the Monster tour, has re-evaluated his priorities and decides he would rather farm his land in Georgia than continue touring and recording. His departure is handled with characteristic R.E.M. dignity: no acrimony, no public dispute, a mutual agreement that the band will continue without him. Berry's departure changes R.E.M. fundamentally -- the loss of his drumming intuition and songwriting contribution is audible on subsequent albums.
• 1998 – 2001 Up, Reveal and the post-Berry years Up (1998) and Reveal (2001) are R.E.M.'s most experimental albums -- built on electronic textures, drum machines and atmospheric production, exploring the space left by Berry's departure. Both are critically respected but commercially modest by R.E.M.'s standards. Up in particular divides opinion: its ambient, introspective quality is either profound or self-indulgent depending on the listener. The band signs a new deal with Warner for $80 million in 1996 -- the largest record deal in history at the time. The commercial pressure this creates is visible in the tension between R.E.M.'s experimental instincts and their label's expectations.
• 2001 Michael Stipe comes out as gay Michael Stipe publicly identifies as gay in an interview with Time Out magazine in 2001, having previously described himself as 'post-sexual' and declined to label his sexuality. The coming-out is received without significant controversy -- Stipe's ambiguous sexuality has been widely assumed for years. His openness about his identity in the 1990s and 2000s, in an era when few mainstream rock artists were publicly out, makes him an important figure in LGBT visibility in popular culture. His friendship with Kurt Cobain, his political activism and his refusal of celebrity's conventional requirements make him one of rock's most distinctive public figures.
• 2003 Around the Sun -- the nadir Around the Sun (2004) is widely considered R.E.M.'s weakest album -- over-produced, lacking in energy and disconnected from the qualities that made their best work extraordinary. The band themselves later acknowledge its failure. The album is released against the backdrop of the Iraq War, to which it responds in an unfocused way. It reaches Number 13 in the US -- respectable but a significant decline from their peaks. The subsequent tour is the band's least successful in a decade. R.E.M. is at a creative low point from which they will partially recover with their final album.
• 2008 Accelerate -- the comeback Accelerate (2008) is a remarkable late-career recovery -- loud, fast and energetic in a way that recalls Document-era R.E.M. The album is recorded quickly with producer Jacknife Lee and deliberately rejects the over-produced textures of Around the Sun. 'Living Well Is the Best Revenge,' 'Supernatural Serious' and 'Man-Sized Wreath' demonstrate that the band's energy and wit are intact when properly focused. The album reaches Number 2 in the UK and wins a Grammy for Best Rock Album. It is the most enthusiastically received R.E.M. album since Automatic for the People.
• 2011 Collapse into Now -- the farewell album Collapse into Now (February 2011) is R.E.M.'s 15th and final studio album -- a summation and celebration of their entire career, featuring guest appearances from Patti Smith (whose influence on Stipe is acknowledged throughout) and Lenny Kaye. The album's title and its final track ('Blue' and the closing 'That Someone Is You') suggest both an ending and an affirmation. The band plays their final shows in Europe in the summer of 2011. In September 2011, without any warning to the public or industry, they announce their disbandment.
• 2011 R.E.M. disbands -- the most dignified exit in rock On 21 September 2011, R.E.M. posts a statement on their website: 'To our fans and friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. What's next for each of us? That we do not know.' There is no acrimony, no farewell tour, no contractual dispute. Stipe, Buck, Mills and Berry (who had left 14 years earlier) issue individual statements of warmth and respect. The dissolution is unanimously described as the most mature and dignified breakup in rock history.
• 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- inducted in first year of eligibility R.E.M. is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 -- in their first year of eligibility, reflecting the critical consensus on their importance. The induction ceremony features performances of 'Radio Free Europe' and 'Man on the Moon.' All four members attend. The Hall of Fame induction is both a recognition of their influence on alternative rock -- virtually every American indie rock band of the 1990s cites R.E.M. -- and a marker of the distance between the jangly underground band of 1980 and the institution they have become.
• 2023 – present Legacy -- the founders of American alternative rock R.E.M.'s legacy is the proof that a band can be simultaneously the most critically respected and one of the most commercially successful acts in rock music without compromising between the two. Their influence on American rock is incalculable: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, The National, Arcade Fire and virtually every American indie rock band of the past 40 years acknowledges R.E.M. as a primary influence. Murmur defined college rock; Automatic for the People defined album rock's emotional range; 'Losing My Religion' defined the alternative rock mainstream. They were, simply, the most important American rock band of their era.