The quartet reunited to perform an unexpected acoustic version of Losing My Religion at the Songwriters Hall of Fame event in New York on Thursday, so they must have spotted one in the night sky.
The foursome’s public performance was their first since being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
After forming as a minor indie band in Athens, Georgia, REM went on to become one of the top-charting rock acts of the 1990s, with to classics like “Everybody Hurts,” “The One I Love,” and “Man on the Moon.”
In 1997, drummer Bill Berry departed the group due to a brain aneurysm he had while on stage.
Up until 2011, the group performed as a trio before splitting up.
Guitarist Peter Buck said to News this week, “At that point, there wasn’t really anything we could agree on musically—what kind of music, how to record it, are we going to go on tour?”
“We had a hard time deciding where to have dinner. And now all we need to do is decide where to have dinner.”
He declared that “it would never be as good” when asked if the band would ever reunite.
However, they gave in on Thursday, performing their biggest hit for an audience that included Steely Dan and other Hall of Fame entrants.
