R.E.M. formed right on the doorstep of 1980, a new decade buzzing with the promise of post-punk and new wave and a nascent underground music scene, one that cut a touring circuit through the college towns then emerging all across the USA.
Bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry were the practiced, musically literate rhythm section with a love of Beach Boys and Motown, while singer Michael Stipe and guitarist Peter Buck were just two record store geeks with a taste for East Coast art rock.
