R.E.M were formed in Athans, Georgia, USA, in 1980. The group consists of Michael Stipes (vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Michael Mills (bass) and Bill Berry (drums). Several members of the band had already played with other groups before they themselves got together. Stipe, for example, had played with the band 1066 before he met Buck who, at that time, was working in a record shop. After meeting the other 2 members at a party, they realised that they had a similar musical style and formed the band as we know them today. R.E.M. took their name from a physiological term for the sleep cycle stage in which dreaming occurs, the "Rapid Eye Movement".

They made their debut concert at a friends birthday party in April 1980 in a derelict church where Stipe and Buck were actually living at that time. After this initial gig they played regularly in their home town and slowly but surely built up a good following of fans. So good in fact that, by the end of the year, they were supporting The Police as their back-up band in Atlanta.

Following their increasing success the 4 members who, at that time, were still studying, decided to leave college and put all their effort into music. In 1981 they recorded their first studio works with producer Joe Perry and, managed by Jefferson Holt, they released their first single "Radio Free" which became a favourite with the US college radio network. In fact the single was actually voted as Best Independent Single Of The Year by Village Voice Magazine.

After hearing the groups debut single Miles Copeland signed the group to his I.R.S label. Their first album was entitled "Chronic Town" and although it brought the band modest interest, it wasn't until they appeared on the show "Late Night with David Letterman" and then once again played as the opening group for the The Police that they found national recognition themselves. A succession of albums followed over the next couple of years "Murmur" (1983), "Reckoning" (1984) and "Fables Of The Reconstruction" (1985) are just a few of their earlier efforts. The last one mentioned was actually recorded in just 12 days. During the recording of this album, which took place in England, it was reported that Stipe had suffered a physical and mental nervous breakdown. Although the album didn't produce any hit singles it did manage to sell over 300.000 copies in the USA.

In 1988 - after 7 albums with I.R.S. label - the group signed for Warner Bros for a reported staggering 6 million dollars and later the same year produced the album "Green". Soon after the release of that album they undertook an exhausting world tour which would be their last of the decade. During the European leg of the tour Berry collapsed in Munich and was diagnosed with 'Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever' which was caused by a tick bite he'd received whilst gardening. For this tour guitarist/keyboardist Peter Holsapple was drafted in as a fifth member and, as the album name suggests, the tour had a strong enviromental theme with Greenpeace stalls at every show.

"Out Of Time" became their next album which was arguably their most successful to date. Singles such as "Shiny Happy People", "Radio Song" and "Losing My Religion" were the obvious reasons why the album topped the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic. After scooping numerous awards for it they reached super stardom with their next effort "Automatic For The People" which sold over 10 million copies.

In 1995, whilst on tour, a set of unfortunate events happened to the group. In fact, 3 members of the group were all hospitalized for different complaints. The most serious being the case of Berry who left the stage during a concert with severe headaches. He was later diagnosed as having a brain tumor which thankfully could be removed in operation later.

Despite tour cancellations for the reasons mentioned above the band bounced back with new material and announced the dismissal of their long-time manager Jefferson Holt amid allegations of sexual harrassment from an employée at their offices. Their new material was put together to form the album "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" which, for the groups high standards, only sold modestly. Soon after the album Berry decided to leave the group. He did however make a 'swan song', so-to-speak, with the 1997 Christmas fan club single "Live For Today".

Since Berry's departure the group have used Scott McCaughey for sessions and have recently had further hits with the single "Daysleeper" and with the album "Up".