NO!!!!!!!! After 31 years together as a band, R.E.M is finished!
The announcement was made this morning on the band’s official website:
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and coconspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band,”
“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.”
Even going past the group announcement, every member wrote on their own site about the breakup, and their reasons for why it took place. Michael Stipe wrote,
“A wise man once said—’the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave. We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it.
“I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way. We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It’s been amazing.”
The band, consisting of Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck first became who they are back in 1980 in Athens, Georgia. They became known through the country’s college campuses, and broke through into the mainstream with 1987’s “Document.”
Since then, they have earned three Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
The band released their final album, “Collapse Into Now”, in March.