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The Shiny Happy People became one of the most influential bands of the age with Monster hits like 'Everybody Hurts'. Aids rumours, aneurysms and angst from the Athens rockers.

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R.E.M.
birth place: Athens, Georgia, USA

R.E.M. walked on stage in Athens, Georgia for their first concert in April 1980. They were four university drop-outs, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry. Their country folk sound, with a driving base line and inaudible, sometimes non-existent lyrics, was unlike any other band of the post-punk era.

A mini-album ‘Chronic Town’ was followed by ‘Murmur’ which was listed by Rolling Stone as the Album of 1983 and R.E.M. gained a cult ‘student campus’ fan base across the US. Their next album ‘Reckoning’ was recorded in just 12 days, and was characterised by its spontaneity, with tracks moving from frustration to jokes.

‘Life’s Rich Pageant’ revealed a political growth in the band that would mature in the late 1980s as they achieved fame. Stipe’s lyrics lingered on the amorality of the USA and questioned the validity of its engrained ethics. The reflective bitter words put to urgent joyous music was a rallying cry to disaffected youth, and Stipe became the unwitting spokesman of a generation.

‘Out of Time’ broke over the heads of fans, shocking them by using an entire string section and featuring contributions from B52’s singer Kate Pierson. The band sang its first love song and it was unanimously celebrated as a masterpiece, topping the US and UK album charts.

The band returned to the studio in 1991 to record its next album. Late in 1992, the band released 'Automatic for the People'. Though the group had intended to make a harder-rocking album after the softer textures of Out of Time, the sombre Automatic for the People dealt with themes of loss and mourning inspired by "that sense of … turning thirty", according to Buck.

1994's 'Monster' was in total contrast to the sound of its predecessors, as it featured distorted guitar tones, minimal overdubs and even touches of 1970s glam rock. Monster topped the album charts in both the UK and US.

On tour in 1995 Bill Berry collapsed in Switzerland and, although he recovered, he left the band in 1997. It transpired that he had suffered a brain aneurysm.

R.E.M. confirmed they would continue to play saying “a three legged dog can still walk.” True to their word, Buck, Mills, and Stipe continued as a three-piece.

The band re-signed with the Warner Bros label in 1996 for a staggering $80 million, the largest recording contract in history at that point. The album 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' was promptly released.

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