After 31 years and 15 albums, the pioneering American alternative rock group R.E.M. announced on Wednesday that it would be no more.
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band,” said the Athens, Georgia-based quartet on its website (www.remhq.com).
“We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.”
Led by Michael Stipe on vocals and Peter Buck on guitar, R.E.M. took alt-rock to the masses with a string of hits including “Radio Free Europe,” “Shiny Happy People” and “The End of the World As We Know It.”
“A wise man once said: ‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave',” said Stipe. “We built something extraordinary together... but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.”
Ethan Kaplan, who runs a R.E.M. fan website, told Rolling Stone that pressure from Warner Brothers records on the fiercely independent band to come out with new material might have been a reason for the break-up.
