Michael Stipe Biography

Born on 4 January 1960 into one of the many suburbs that characterise the peripatetic existence of those whose father are in the military, John Michael Stipe was initially a quiet child. After a childhood of moving from base to base, however, he came into his own when he went to high school. There, his musical proficiency and punk attitude made him, for the first time, the centre of attention.

REM (the acronym stands for the dream like state scientists call Rapid Eye Movement) can said to have been born when he met up with a record store clerk and future guitarist of the band, Peter Buck. REM was officially formed in 1980 with the addition of Bill Berry and Mike Mills. Their distinctive sound stood out at their first ever concert in Athens, Georgia, and soon brought them a cult following in the underground scene.

Their debut single, 'Radio Free Europe', created enough groundswell for IRS Records to sign them up and the band released their first album, 'Murmur', in 1983.

In June 1988, the band signed with Warner Brothers, where they wrote their most successful albums, 'Out of Time' in 1991 and 'Automatic for the People' in 1992.

The video for 'Out of Time's' 'Losing My Religion' became one of MTV's all-time most popular videos. They followed the releases with an ambitious world tour, during which Berry suffered a cerebral haemorrhage on stage. After recording another album, 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi', Berry decided to quit the band. Now a threesome, REM recorded 'Up' in 1998 to mediocre reviews.

In the 1990s, Stipe began to turn his attention to filmmaking. His talents as a producer were first demonstrated through his inventive music videos, and he eventually launched a film company called 'Single Cell Productions'.

In 1998, Single Cell produced two acclaimed films, the documentary 'American Movie' and the darkly comic 'Being John Malkovich', which earned its director, Spike Jonze, an Oscar nod.

REM was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October 2006, in their first year of eligibility.

As well as performing with REM, Stipe has been involved in several collaborations. In 1994, he wanted to record a song with Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who was also a close friend but the singer died before anything could be put on tape.

Stipe recorded 'Let Me In' in 1994 in tribute to Cobain, of whose daughter he is godfather.

He also recorded an unheard duet with Tori Amos later that year and his next collaborations did not occur until 2006.

Stipe sang on Placebo's track 'Broken Promise' with lead singer Brian Molko that year and he later teamed up with Coldplay's Chris Martin to record 'In The Sun' for Hurricane Katrina relief victims.

The singer delved into fashion in 2008 when he released his own holiday collector edition of polo shirt with Lacoste.

But it's not all earnest political activism for the indie kid who signed to Warner Bros. He was seen sporting a moustache in 2009 with a smile that could almost belong on one of his 'Shiny Happy People'.

In 2011, Stipe took part in a live online chat with fans on Facebook to discuss the premiere of REM's latest music video for 'Walk it Back' from the band's 15th album.

On 21 September 2011, REM announced they will be splitting up after 31 years together. The split is thought to have been amicable.