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One of the first and most important band for the Alternative-Rock movement
was formed in Athens, Georgia USA, in 1980, by frontman vocalist Michael
Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry.
R.E.M. made their debut, a year later, with the single "Radio Free
Europe", which was followed by the 1982's 5-track EP, "Chronic
Town".
The group's first full-length disc, "Murmur", was eventually
issued in 1983, it was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike cracking
the top 40 of The U.S. Pop Albums chart.
During the rest of the '80s, the band released five albums and all were
ranked in the top 30 of The Billboard Top 200 chart plus a collection
of rarities and B-sides entitled "Dead Letter Office"; 1987's
"Document", became their best chart-placing, reaching #10; around
the same time The Modern and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts were stormed
by a series of hit singles including the #1s "Orange Crush"
and "Stand"; "The One I Love" reached the #2 position,
also "Fall On Me" hit #2; "Turn You Inside-Out", "Pop
Song 89", "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel
Fine)" and "Can't Get There From Here" entered the top
20.
In the summer 1991, the foursome released the explosive "Out Of Time"
which went straight to #1 on both The Billboard 200 and the Official U.K.
Albums charts; its single "Losing My Religion" peaked at #4
on The Billboard Hot 100, achieving enormous success all over the globe;
two more singles climbed into the top 5 of The Modern Rock chart: "Shiny
Happy People" with Kate Pierson of The
B-52's and "Texarkana"; at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards,
"Losing My Religion" won for Best Pop Performance and "Out
Of Time" for Best Alternative Music Album.
1992's "Automatic For The People", reached the top of the charts
in many countries, the album included "Drive" and "Man
On The Moon" which both topped the American Rock charts.
Two years later the group released "Monster", it climbed The
Billboard 200 chart to the #1 spot, lead by two further Modern Rock #1s
hits: "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Bang And Blame".
The band began a tour in early 1995, but after two months Bill Berry,
in Switzerland, collapsed from a brain aneurysm, the group was forced
to rest.
In September of 1996 R.E.M. resurfaced with the eleventh studio effort;
"New Adventures In Hi-Fi" rose to the #2 slot in U.S. and hit
#1 in U.K. the record included "E-Bow The Letter" and "Bittersweet
Me" which peaked at #2 and #6, respectively, on The Modern Rock Tracks.
In October 1997, the band shocked the music scene with the announcement
that Berry amicably left the group to retire to life on his farm.
The remaining members continued replacing Berry with a drum machine; Beck's
drummer Joey Waronker and ex-Screaming
Trees drummer Barrett Martin contributed to sessions for 1998's "Up",
playing on some tracks; the record peaked at #3 on the U.S. Top 200 chart
and its main single, "Daysleeper", climbed into the top 20 of
The Modern Rock chart.
The following year they provided the soundtrack "Man On The Moon",
which included another Modern Rock top 20 hit: "The Great Beyond".
2001's "Reveal" reached the #6 position on Billboard's Top 200
chart and the single "Imitation Of Life" missed the top 20 of
The Modern Rock chart.
In late 2003 R.E.M. released a retrospective collection which featured
two new tracks, including the Canadian top 20 hit single " Bad Day".
Almost a year later the band returned with an album of all new material,
"Around The Sun"; it reached #13 on The Billboard 200 and included
the single "Leaving New York".
"Accelerate", the first studio album in four years from R.E.M.,
finds modern-Rock's most acclaimed band returning to the stripped-down,
guitar-driven power that first enraptured fans. The 11-song set was released
in April 2008 going straight into the top 3 in several countries, including
United States, U.K. and Canada; it contains the Hot Modern Rock top 20
hit "Supernatural Superserious".
R.E.M. biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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