R.E.M.

**R.E.M.** was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe who were students at the University of Georgia. Liner notes from some of the band's albums list attorney Bertis Downs and manager Jefferson Holt as non-musical members. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left the band in 1997, the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists.

## Links to Kershaw

Andy Kershaw's sister, Liz Kershaw mentioned on the BBC Radio 6 Music website in 2014 on how Andy and herself went to see REM perform in Atlanta, Georgia, USA:

> *"I’ve always loved R.E.M., right back to 1983. My brother and I once went to Athens, Georgia, for our holidays to see them. Then before they were really famous we’d take them out round London for the day, particularly when they were recording with Joe Boyd. Michael Stipe would want to go to art galleries and we’d want to go and sit in bars in Soho."* [1]
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Andy Kershaw also mentioned seeing REM perform in Atlanta in his No Off Switch book (page 265) and later added that he nearly got into a fight with the singer Michael Stipe:

> *"We also paid a courtesy call on REM in Athens, Georgia. This was before I had been obliged to roll up my sleeves to Michael Stipe to extract from him an apology to Our Elizabeth in the bar of the Mean Fiddler in London. A bunch of us, including Stipe and the likeable REM guitarist, Peter Buck, were out together at some gig. Our Elizabeth was in the middle of an anecdote in the bar afterwards. Stipe was not, at that moment, the centre of attention. And the rest of us were not finding, unanimously, Michael as moodily magnificent and as fascinating as he found himself. 'Shut the fuck up!' he snapped at Elizabeth as she was in mid-sentence. I invited him to apologise or to step outside. He did say sorry, eventually, and I was not obliged to give the right-admires singer and songwriter the horse-whipping, on that night, he so richly deserved."*
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Despite the event, Kershaw continued playing much of REM's material, although by the time he had his own Radio 3 show, the band were rarely played on his shows.

## Shows Played

1985
* 21 September 1985: Radio Free Europe (LP - Murmur) I.R.S.
* 12 December 1985: Old Man Kensey (LP - Fables Of The Reconstruction / Reconstruction Of The Fables) I.R.S.

1986
* 20 October 1986 (John Peel): Superman (LP - Lifes Rich Pageant) I.R.S.
* 03 November 1986 (John Peel): Superman (LP - Lifes Rich Pageant) I.R.S.
* 04 November 1986 (John Peel): Hyena (LP - Lifes Rich Pageant) I.R.S.

1987
* 01 January 1987: I Believe (LP - Life's Rich Pageant) I.R.S.

1988
* 20 October 1988: The One I Love (LP - Document) I.R.S.

1990
* 04 November 1990: You Are The Everything (CD - Green) Warner Bros.

1991
* 10 November 1991: You Are The Everything (CD - Green) Warner Bros.
* 29 December 1991: Belong (CD - Out Of Time) Warner Bros

1992
* 07 November 1992: Monty Got A Raw Deal (CD - Automatic For The People) Warner Bros.

1993
* Andy Kershaw Radio Tracks Tape 5: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (CD Single - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite) Warner Bros.

1994
* 08 October 1994: Strange Currencies (CD - Monster) Warner Bros.
* 12 November 1994: Wall Of Death (v/a CD - Beat The Retreat - Songs By Richard Thompson) Capitol

1996
* 29 September 1996: Be Mine (CD - New Adventures In Hi-Fi) Warner Bros.
* 13 October 1996: New Test Leper (CD - New Adventures In Hi-Fi) Warner Bros.
* 20 October 1996: Electrolite (CD - New Adventures In Hi-Fi) Warner Bros.
* 10 November 1996: Electrolite (CD - New Adventures In Hi-Fi) Warner Bros.

1998
* 26 November 1998: Hope (CD - Up) Warner Bros.

2000
* 03 February 2000: The Great Beyond (CD single) WEA
* 02 March 2000: Voice Of Harold (CD - Dead Letter Office) I.R.S.

2021
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 10: Voice Of Harold (album - Dead Letter Office) I.R.S.

2022
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 11: Ages Of You (album - Dead Letter Office) I.R.S.

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* Discogs
* Official Website