R.E.M. reunite for first group interview in 30 years
Over a decade after their breakup, alternative rock pioneers R.E.M. are set to premiere their first group interview with the original lineup in over 30 years.
Their appearance will be featured on CBS Mornings on June 13th, and will see them interviewed by the show’s anchor, Anthony Mason. The band have not worked together as a four-piece since Bill Berry departed from the group in the late 1990s.
This comes after the announcement of the band’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, set to take place in New York on June 13th. In a preview of the interview on Instagram, guitarist Peter Buck mentioned the importance of their collaborative process, saying, “We lived and died on the strength of the songs, so this is a huge honour”.
Frontman Michael Stipe also marvelled at the amount of ground the group covered during their tenure, saying, “I wind up on YouTube and watch some live performance, I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did that’. Like, we did things, and we did it really well from time to time.”
While the band have not announced any sort of reunion, they have been working on different projects together as of late. During a performance of R.E.M. covers by Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, the original lineup reunited onstage to play a handful of their classic hits as well.
Breaking onto the scene in the early ’80s, R.E.M. became one of the faces of underground college rock based on the strength of their album Murmur. Seeing further success in the ’90s with records like Automatic for the People, the group became a favourite of other acts of the era, such as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
Of course, R.E.M. will not be the only group inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. Fellow inductees include 1970s jazz-rock pioneers Steely Dan and acclaimed hip-hop producer Timbaland.
To be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, artists need to have commercially released their first song over 20 years ago.
Acts who were snubbed this year include Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke, Tracy Chapman, George Clinton, Heart’s Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, plus Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav.
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