R.E.M. were an American rock band from Athens, Georgia who were formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry (born Duluth, Minnesota, July 31, 1958) guitarist Peter Buck (born Berkeley, California, December 6, 1956), bassist Mike Mills (born Orange County, California, December 17, 1958) and lead vocalist Michael Stipe (born Decatur, Georgia, January 4, 1960). R.E.M. enjoyed some mild success with their first few releases, with their debut album Murmur being widely acclaimed upon release in 1984, a succession of following albums gradually building their reputation, and signing with Warners in 1988 for their sixth studio album Green. R.E.M. released a series of hit songs such as Losing My Religion, Everybody Hurts, Electrolite and Crush With Eyeliner and have achieved eight UK Official Album Chart Number 1s, including 1991’s Out Of Time, 1992’s Automatic For The People and 1994’s Monster. R.E.M. became a trio in 1997 when Berry retired, and continued until announcing their split in 2011. R.E.M. have sold over 85 million records worldwide, and won the BRIT Award for Best International Band three times, in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
