R.E.M. - Why Did the Band Break Up & What Happened To The Members?
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- Опубліковано 12 бер 2024
- Why did R.E.M. breakup and where are the members at today?
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Hailing from Athens, Georgia the R.EM. would be together for nearly 3 decades and sell over 80 million albums. It’s a pretty massive accomplishment for Four college dropouts who played with first played with each other at drunken party's and would later go on to become one of the most influential rock acts in history. They exploded into the 90’s with 1991’s out of time and the following year’s automatic for the people both of which went 4x platinum stateside. They were all over MTV and on rock radio, I mean i still here their music played a lot today. If you listen to sirius XM - they’re played a lot on lithium and 90’s on 9. In 2007 they would be inducted into the rock n’ roll hall of fame. In 2007 Stipe would tell Rolling Stone looking back at the band’s career thus far “We didn’t set out for this to be a career. We just knew it was something we wanted to do, and we would stop when we didn’t want to do it anymore.”
The band’s original lineup would stay intact until 1997 when drummer Bill Berry left the group. He collapsed on stage suffering a brain anuerysm and two years earlier and announced his intention to leave the band not wanting to tour or play anymore telling an interviewer. I didn't wake up one day and decide, "I just can't stand these guys anymore" or anything. I feel like I'm ready for a life change. I'm still young enough that I can do something else. I've been pounding the tubs since I was nine years old ... I'm ready to do something else. He would become a farmer and has had some sporadic returns to music over the years. ) R.E.M. had stated previously that they would call it quotes if any of the four original members quit but they were still under contract with warner BRothers. Berry urged the gorup to soldier on after he left
Unbeknownst to the public and their longtime fans the three founding members REM would perform together publicly for the final time in Mexico City in late 2008. The band at the time had released their fourteenth album 2008’s Accelerate. Stipe would tell Salon
“On our last tour, 2008. During that we were kind of going, well, where could we go from here? We could tell we were on an upswing. It was important to us that we didn’t whimper out with our tails between our legs. We wanted to feel we were at the peak of our powers, and the tour felt like that.”
Fast forward to May of 2009,, the band minus Michael Stipe would head to Portland with producer Jacknife Lee to record some tracks at Jackpot! Recording Studio. Buck’s girlfriend lived in Portland at the time. A handful of the instrumentals including All the Best, That Someone is You and it happened today would make it onto the band’s subsequent and final album. But the record would feature many starts and stops as the members had other commitments within and outside of music. They also spent a fair bit of time searching for the right studios to finish off the record. They would eventually spend a good deal of time in new orleans and berlin, germany wrapping up the album, titled Collapse Into Now.
If you like REM here’s a story I did on why they hated one of their biggest hits ua-cam.com/video/wnFgw2Mpkm8/v-deo.htmlsi=72dlIkbBMWyAkccP
All 4 members were at the 40 Watt Club in Athens last month to hear a tribute performance of “Murmur”. Bill, Peter and Mike went up on stage and played with the band at various points and Michael addressed the audience afterward.
P.S. I was not there.
That would have been cool!
good to hear the 40 Watt Club is still there, Paul Scales was a friend from way back in high school...that would make him happy. So I guess it's ok to mention they still do get together from time to time... 😎
Aka they didn't breakup they retire and preform when they feel like it
@@aypapi1371Various members have performed together. But the entire band has never performed on stage together since 2011. Various members sat in on songs that night but R.E.M. did not perform as a band.
I always like hearing about a band that actually parted on good terms and remain friends. Too many wait until they can't stand each other and then disappear into the mist.
See James Young and Tommy Shaw versus Dennis Deyoung. 2 are still complaining of Mr Roboto and a bunch of the ballads decades later in spite of the money and success it brought them
REM is my favorite band of all time. Been listening to them since early 80s. They always seemed very cool and humble, especially considering all their talent and fame.
@@Thomasmemoryscentraland performing that song they hate with another singer!
Pete Buck said something like “any other job you get to retire after 25-30 years”. They didn’t want to be The Rolling Stones.
Wait...am I about to be surprised with this one?
REM was a high-quality, high-integrity, low-ego band. Thanks for the many, many years of joy you provided. They helped provide the soundtrack of my youth.
Well put!
These cats used to come into a restaurant I worked at in West Village for years after their parting. They were always cordial and wonderful. Not once did they ever act like snobby rock stars.
Yeah they don’t seem like over the top rockstars
WOW that is so awesome!
Not too many drama-less band breakups out there - I'm glad the boys remained friends, but man, they had a glorious run. Whenever I miss them, I turn on the radio and smile.
I’m so glad that they parted as still friends. We see so many of our favorite bands breaking up as enemies and always suing each other
Queensryche! But that’s rock n roll. They can’t all be Rush like gentlemen. Enjoy the ride.
Stipe is always separate tho.
Bill Berry's monobrow wrote 70% of the songs
Life's Rich Pageant
it's a fucking sight, innit
It could do battle with John Oates’s tache
Did he have an aneurism or a short circuit from the static of those brows
@@JDAfrica Haha….maybe they tuned in to Radio Free Europe…..
As a R.E.M. fan that never got a chance to see them live, I would like to see them reunite for just a one time tour.
I saw them in 95', when lucious jackson openned for them. It was a great show.
@@larrylambert1220I saw them at MSG on that tour. 👍
Reunion tour would fetch $2500 a ticket at least.
I saw them on the Green tour in Baton Rouge and believe it or not, Michael Stipe was one of the best male dancers I've seen.
@@buffetline2605I'd like to think that they wouldn't do that. The fact is that they're never going to tour again, so I guess we'll never know.
They didn't break up so much as retire
That's what I feel too
That's a great way to put it.
They all still make music separately, so that's a band break-up. Retirement means they all just sit around watching TV.
@@steve_bal4 The band has retired, not its members.
The further they are in the rearviewmirror, the more it becomes clear how special and unique REM were. It seemed like there were a couple bands like them, but there never were.
Michael stipe was a confidant to Kurt AND Thom, two of the most important and also most reclusive heads in the last 30 years of music, and that’s no coincidence.
Saw REM twice around 2005 both at the cricket ground in Manchester. Two of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
I was there.
One of my favorite bands. I still remember driving home from high school one day and hearing their new single Radio Free Europe and being blow away.
I met Mike Mills at a tiny club in Atlanta. I believe it was 10 High. My bass player knew Mike and was friends with him. Anyway, he was just so super chill, nice, gracious and when Lenard, my bass player introduced us he said "this is Satevo, he's my drummer" And Mike was so nice, interested and just a genuinely great dude giving a small band like our the time of day. Then he said "I like your music, I like your band". Well slather my butt in butter and call me a biscuit, that made my day. Shit, that made my life.
I sold Mike mills a bunch of cocaine while I was living in Chicago
I wish more bands would kind of bow out gracefully. R.E.M did it absolutely right.
I don't feel R.E.M. broke up too soon. In fact I think they stayed a little passed the time they should have called it quits.
I still listen to their music every once in awhile... as I grew up with 90's music and love Alternative music.. they are essential to the genre.
Along with smiths, cure, U2, they were the pioneers of alternative.
Jane’s addiction
I made a comment a few weeks ago on an FB photo of Michael asking why he looked like a bald Andrew Dice Clay. Michael actually saw my comment and left a "heart" like on it. Made my day! Great man with a great sense of humour. imho (it's the spectacles btw) ;)
I hope one day that R.E.M reunite someday since they made some of the best songs of the 90s (possibly of all-time) from "Losing My Religion" to "Everybody Hurts".
If R.E.M did reunite for one show or tour, I can bet my bottom dollar that they won't play,"Shiny, Happy People (the song that R.E.M regretted making)" 😊
They have better songs than just those 2, their early stuff is their best
@@v.s.bstudio7100 "It's the End of the World" is one of my favorites too.
@kenterminateddq5311 listen to their green album, imo their best work and including their first EP
@@v.s.bstudio7100 "Green" is a good album. I haven't heard of their first LP, I should check it out cause REM is one of the best.
REM was definitely one of those special bands that came out at the right time
Love R.E.M.! Especially those first 5 or 6 albums
I agree, those are my favorites too 👍
Early R.E.M was fantastic they went downhill after Bill left.
@@markheywood5626I don't think changing is the same as going downhill. People change. Music changes. Sounds like they wouldn't do anything different. They seem to have integrity and not pumping it for every dollar as lame bands like Aerosmith, KISS or Motley Crue do
You've gotta love a band that got together for the fun of it and call it quits cause there's no more fun to it.
Its actually become a cliche for bands to break up because of creative differences, prima donna attitudes, burnout, various drug abuse, death of a member or whatever that it's become a rule at this point
Its nice to hear a band actually retired on good terms.
mid-80's were the band's greatest years for the content of their music
1. Maybe they just felt like there was nothing left for them to prove. I will give them credit for sticking with the breakup/retirement and not doing these "farewell tours" (looking at your KISS and Motley Crue).
2. I will agree that they did lose something after Bill Berry had to leave for health reasons & their album quality declined after 'Monster'
3. I regret never getting to see them in concert.
They had become a festival band. But the audience were getting smaller.
I was sad that they called it quits whithout me having a chace to see them live, but on the other hand, I'm glad that they went out without a fuss, whithout fighting, on their own terms.
Good for them! Thank you for the post! 🤘🏻✌🏼😊
I prefer their 80s output most but wasn't ready for them, not until '91 when everyone got into them. Glad I got to see them twice (without Bill, regrettably) and they ended on a great album. Also proud that they stuck to their word, remaining split and still be best mates.
Amazing how seeing an album cover can bring back so many memories.
As a kid i was obsessed by Stand. Could not get enough of that song. Repeat repeat repeat and then repeat some more
R.E.M. are pound for pound across the genres my favourite band of all time. Having heard my dad playing Automatic for the People and really liking it, I got into them bigtime around Monster and was fortunate to see them four times from 1999 onwards. They're one of few bands where I have all the albums and that bookstore signing on the video may have been the one I was at!
Their's was a friendship that grew into one of the biggest rock bands on the planet and they knew when it was time to bow out gracefully and their friendship remains. And we can keep up with their solo projects too.
But the main thing is to keep listening to the music, keep banging on about how good they were, and try to get more people turned on to the band.
Artists like Hendrix, The Beatles, Queen etc are still massive decades on and we can help do that for Michael, Peter, Mike and Bill!!!
I watched a documentary on this band from MTV years ago. The most interesting part to me was that the band always recorded the music away from Stripe and then Stripe added the lyrics later, and as the band said, 'turn our music into REM.' That documentary and Funky Monks, a RHCP documentary on UA-cam, two best ones I've seen.
*Stipe
Stars and stipes
Barbra Stipestrand
"Stryper". Lol
REM didn't break up. They retired. I hate that word break up for them.
I think they were running out of steam.and playing smaller and smaller venues. They quit before they fell out with each other. Michael Stipe wanted to be a film producer and he produced the film Saved in 2004 about a private Christian school where one if the students gets pregnant of suspecting her boyfriend is gay to distract him from men. She then makes friends with the only two non Christians in the school.
I lived in Athens, GA back in the 90's and had a chance to meet Michael Stipe a couple of times. This wasn't unusual, he was around town all the time, and he was really accessible. He was a really down to earth nice guy, and you would never have guessed that he was one of the biggest stars in music. I love R.E.M. I still listen to them.
Just a side note, if you like REM and want to hear something close but slightly different, check out the band Guadalcanal Diary. They did a few albums in the 1980s and have a similar vibe.🤔
Didn't know them. Loved the sound! Thanks for the suggestion.
Don't forget, the late great Bill Rieflin ended up on drums until the final end. RIP Bill
If you’ve not seen it watch the King Crimson documentary recently released featuring past and current members. There’s a wonderful piece about Bill as he approached the end of his life while still touring with Crimson. He was a wonderful person.
Props to those guys. They stayed grounded, remained friends, and got out at the right time. Nothing but respect.
Love the channel. Great work on these videos. I think there could be a bit more space in the edits and maybe some short lulls here and there. but I get that you can’t play the bands music in those spots without getting dcma’d. Either way. Awesome stuff. 🙏
Such an intelligent and wholesome group of people. No drama,no bullshit. They are missed.
Excellent video, enjoyed the hell out of that! REM will live on, the music will make sure of it!
Bill Berry is in a new band with guitarist/ singer of Athens band Five Eight, Mike Mantione. They are called The Bad Ends great band check them out!
Saw them live 3 times in their prime. Excellent shows.
I always wondered what happened to them. Thanks for covering REM.
Bill berry is a underrated drummer definitely one of the top of all time
No
I agree, he's a great, all around musician in general. very melodic as well as rhythmic.
As a kid i was obsessed by Stand. Could not get enough of that song. Listening to it made me so happy. Repeat repeat repeat and then repeat some more
They were so awesome and they went out with quality music and a solid friendship.
Long Live REM!
There was a time in the early 90s when REM were tied with U2 as the alternative kings. Their albums from Murmur to Automatic for the People are all 5 🌟 records. PLAY LOUD
REM is one of my favorite bands, and two of their albums are among my personal favorite albums. I still listen to "Lifes Rich Pageant" once every couple of months. (The National even mentions Begin the Begin in one of their songs.) I'm also in love with "Up". I know this album received a poor reception, and I wasn't crazy about it at first. I put it aside for a couple of years, but I listened to it again on a whim. and it blew me away. I could see what I feel is huge artistic growth in the album, and it has been on my "greatest" list ever since.
I loved REM . They were huge when I was a kid in the early 90s . I hate that I never got to see them live
I liked REM but I love Drivin' n' Cryin'!!!!Peter Buck/Kevn Kinney go great together.... McDougall Blues...Drivin' n' Cryin' still my favorite band to this very day. And they are still rocking!!!
The most famous break up was Motley F-ing Crew?! Ever hear of a band called "The Beatles"?
i wish they'd done a proper farewell tour so we could have seen them one last time.
Glad they got out before it was too late. Some bands stay together too long for one reason or another and end up hating each other in the end. It's good to get away from it while you're still friends
I remember when Travis or Radiohead made a song about that and how they ended up travelling in one tour bus each in the video..
Their early albums have a special place in my heart.
So many songs by REM have gorgeous musical elements of grace, elegance and mystery. They are amongst The Greats in my book. Cuyahoga transports me and I can see spoons bending....
Saw them on their Green tour in 1989, great show!!
Good video! Funny, I remember in 1985 hearing Can't get There from Here and Driver 8 and thinking I had missed out on a great thing. Little did I know.
One of the Greatest bands of all time. Period.
Great video. This is actually quite inspiring, to be honest. Great job.
Saw them live in Ireland years ago and they were amazing, I’m glad I got to see them but would have loved to seen them live again.
They weren't the same after Bill Berry left.
That was a very neat presentation. Love REM and dudes. So cool to see these people really living it bc they've decided, that's enough.
I used to play Risk with some guys in Athens occasionally. One night I showed up for the battle and Mike Mills came in and sat right next to me. I kept my cool as best I could. He wound up playing with us a number of times. Really nice, bright guy with a lot a AMAZING stories.
Hardest day of my life, at that time. One of the greatest bands in history.
The Beatles of alternative rock.
Got to do a video of Ministry!!!!
Except just limit it to when they were relevant. Pretend the last nearly 30 years didn't happen, lol
@@mattmiller4821😂👏
Does that include Filth Pig?
@@mattmiller4821 Even their fans are suffering from Al's cringe
@@domnfg Filth Pig is the borderline. Some people think its good; i do not. It's far far inferior to Land Of Rape And Honey and Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste. Also , In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up Live is one of the best live albums ever made. Banger after banger start to stop.....
Great Band Historic! One all time greats! I'm happy they never and will never get back together. They deserve their peace and the fact they remain friends is just awesome which is so rare with bands. Their legacy will last for generations! AND IF THEY DO EVER DECIDED TO COME BACK I WILL BE FIRST IN LINE TO SEE THEM!
Seen them headlining at Torhout festival Belgium 1995. Part of the Monster tour, they were great 😊
I loved their early albums, music which became part of the "soundtrack" of my life. They lost me with the "green" album and everything thereafter. I don't know exactly why. It wasn't personal. Music either resonates with you or it doesn't. They were super influential and played a big part in the creation of "alternative rock". And should always be remembered for that. I wish them the best.
Monster was pretty damn good
I am so happy that the members ended the band on friendly term with each other and their creative juices were still flowing with the last two albums which it seems like there were getting back to their earlier rock sound. I would still like to see them get back together for one more studio project and perhaps a short tour something like The Cars did with their 2010 album Move Like This but if that never happens then I am just grateful for the music they have given the world and I wish the members the best as they move on with their lives.
R. E. M. epic music, high quality, three singer, top 5 band all of time
Stipe has been always separate since then. Mills and Buck has collaborated numerous times onstage etc but never with Stipe. It shows something.
Bill Berry still plays with Mike and Peter occasionally.
It shows that walking away means walking away. Don’t look for something that’s not there.
REM were absolutely massive and everywhere starting in the late 80’s into the mid 90’s. They were everywhere. Radio, MTV ect. They were huge.
R.E.M. exploded in the 1980s……. R.E.M. was huge long before 1991.
Saw them live a couple of times. Incredible performances.
Been to many concerts but REM was the only one where I sat front row.
never saw them live but lived in Athens Georgia in the mid 90s for a while and saw them all the time at Georgia Bar, jittery joes coffee shop and The Globe which is a bar in Athens. Good times.
the band broke up because they seen Michael Stipe's cameo in Pete & Pete, and were like "what did he just to with his eyebrows?"
Great take ❤️🎶🎶
I first heard of these guys on an underground radio station, as well as an early-80s appearance on David Letterman. I was hooked from day 1. Radio free Europe, Superman, At my most beautiful. Too many to count are my favorites. Great, underrated, band.
Almost like "greed above all" ruins things and we still fail to learn this
They really didn't break up, and just retired as has-beens from a forgotten age of college radio. They're still friends, and still jam together in private.
They were never has-beens. For what it’s worth, they never released a bad album either.
Nice video it’s not often you get a band history free of drama. It made for a nice video.
Kansas also, great documentary on you tube
Great story!
Driver 8 is still in my top 10 greatest songs and a must play on every long car road trip I make
I still mourn the finality of REM, but at least we have a world of their music to listen to. There’s always hope that they will just record a few new songs together.
It’s just REM, no big loss 😂
I didnt have much knowledge of REM's background story, but i asked a friend at work what happend to them as they seem ro have disappeared from the mainstream. My friend at work explained to me how long they had been together and how old they must be now. I was shocked. I never knew they were together for so long
Amazing band. Respect. ❤
they were together for nearly 3 decades lmao that's a long time for a band.
I don't have a problem w/ em' but R.E.M scoring a record deal for 80 mil is soo wild 2 me
I respect their true commitment to real music from the heart. I still own their first best of cd "Eponymous", which i was able to remaster (for) myself - cos that's where my commitment lies. And a song like "Find the River" will give me all the deepness in emotions i ever needed from R.E.M., as they were then
The full original band were actually together onstage a few weeks ago at an event in Athens, you could have mentioned/ended your video with that…
R.E.M., The B-52's and Smashing Pumpkins were pretty much my 90's. I can't separate that decade in my head from those three groups.
Thanks for reminding how much I loathe motley crue
The members of R.E.M. grew apart by the mid-90’s. Not enemies by any means but by then all four guys were living in separate states.
Great video.
Saw them at Hyde Park ‘05. I didn’t even plan on going. Just walked past in the morning, got a ticket and sat in the queue with the fans. I didn’t even own an album.
I’ve never been so surprised. Michael Stipe was one of the best front men I’ve ever seen. He just didn’t stop.
So glad I saw them on the last tour in 2008. 🎶 Without realizing it would be the last time they ever played in Canada. They went out the right way. 👍 To me, their enduring legacy remains the same. Whether they kept going after 2011 or not.
I wish Journey had followed this same path. They lose one of the greatest male vocalist of all time and today, they are still chasing the fame they once had, not writing anything worth mentioning. Simply trying to catch the good old days.
After Perry left, they should have created a new band and let Journey fade with grace.
They enjoy playing and they like making money. What's wrong with that? They don't owe you a damn thing.
They didn't break up. They retired
Saw this band 6 x times in
London they still remain biggest influence of my life
I was in a restaurant in Rome 2 years ago and the guy on the next table looked familiar but I couldn't put a name to him... Only after he got up and left did I realise it was Michael Stipe. ( not that I'd have approached him )..