In a recent interview with “CBS Mornings,” R.E.M. joked that it would take a “comet” and “super glue” for them to get back together. The interview, the quartet’s first in 30 years, aired hours ahead of their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night.
Perhaps, they were trolling fans.
All four original members made a surprise reunion during the induction ceremony in New York City. R.E.M. performed an acoustic version of their 1991 hit “Losing My Religion.” The annual event also honored artists like Steely Dan, Timbaland and Hillary Lindsey.
Thursday’s surprise marked R.E.M.’s first public performance will all four members since 2007 — when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Lead vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry formed the band in 1980 while attending the University of Georgia. The group of college students quickly transformed into pioneers of alternative rock, releasing fifteen studio albums across four decades.
Credit: (AJC Staff Photo/Celine Bufkin)
Credit: (AJC Staff Photo/Celine Bufkin)
The band disbanded in 2011, though Berry had left the group in 1997 after experiencing a brain aneurysm on stage while the band performed in Switzerland in 1995.
“That was a weird time for me. ... I didn’t regret it at the time, [but I] sort of regretted it a little later,” Berry told Anthony Mason of “CBS Mornings.”
Of their Songwriters Hall of Fame honor, the band said it was a huge accolade that ties back to their roots.
“It is the hardest thing that we do,” Mills said about their songwriting. “It’s the thing we’ve worked on the most from the very beginning.”
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