R.E.M.

(Vocals: [John] Michael Stipe, b. Decatur, Ga., Jan. 4, 1960; Guitar/mandolin: Peter [Lawrence] Buck, b. Berkeley, Calif, Dec. 6, 1956; Bass/keyboards/vocals: Michael [Edward] Mills, b. Orange, Calif, Dec. 17, 1958; Drums/vocals: Bill Berry [born William Thomas Berry],b. Duluth, Minn., July 31, 1958; Berry left the group in 1997.) Popular American alternative ROCK band, which takes its name from "Rapid Eye Movement," an allusion to a stage of sleep. They were formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by four University of Georgia students. A year later, they released independently the single Radio Free Europe, gaining them a contract with I.R.S. Records. An EP and LP followed in rapid succession.

The group toured Europe in 1983 and continued to record, building a reputation among critics and alternative music listeners. They became known for their dense sound, featuring vocals mixed far in the background (and Stipe's sometimes incoherent muttering style), so that it was difficult if not impossible to understand exactly what each song was about. They scored a minor hit in 1986 with the song Fall On Me but did not have a major breakthrough until a year later, with the hit songs The One I Love and It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) from the album Document. This led to their signing with the major record label Warner Brothers.

R.E.M.'s first major pop hit came in 1991 with Losing My Religion from their second album for Warner, Out of Time, on which the band took a more acoustic, softened approach. They continued to enjoy hits with Everybody Hurts and Man on the Moon (both 1992) in a similar style but then came back to a harder-edged sound with Monster (1994), featuring the hit What's the Frequency, Kenneth? A world tour followed in 1995, during which they recorded their next album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which failed to yield any hits.

In 1997 Berry quit the group after suffering a brain hemorrhage while touring with the band in the previous year. The group went on as a trio, recording the album Up, released in fall 1998. This new album featured many more electronic instruments and sounds, as well as a DRUM MACHINE.