The original four members—Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry—appeared for an interview.
R.E.M. of Athens, Georgia is being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in a rare interview, the band discussed their breakup, songwriting process, and enduring friendship.
All four original members—Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry—sat down together for an interview on “CBS Mornings” for the first time in almost 30 years.
The band’s beginnings at the University of Georgia, their collaborative songwriting approach, and the strain of turning out hits were all covered in the interview. Buck was always pressuring them to record the next album, Stipe even joked.
Under duress, the band released classic songs like “Losing My Religion,” which Mills feels “should never have been a hit.”
Additionally discussed in the interview was Bill Berry’s 1997 resignation due to a brain aneurysm. Buck said that once Berry left, the band had trouble finding a musical middle ground.
The band members emphasized their lifetime friendship and profound admiration even though there wasn’t a reunion tour scheduled. Buck remarked, looking back on their split, “We quit at the right time.”
Though Mills joked that it would take “a comet” to get them back together, don’t hold your breath for a comeback.