I got REM the instant I heard Fables of the Reconstruction. It was 1985 and I was 12 years old. Then I found Chronic Town and Mumur. They simply fit so perfectly into my life as a Louisiana boy. I dreamed of moving to Athens. I loved finding meaning in the mysterious lyrics. The words and the music went hand in hand. It was (or seemed to me) so fantastically new! So nice to watch this. Pilgrimage has gained momentum
I am pretty sure this was REM's first UK live TV appearance . I was already a huge admirer and couldn't wait to see them live . Saw them a few months after this in Birmingham (Tin Can Club around 50/100 people !) They didn't disappoint ! I think the 1980's were the best time for this band
I think your right , I saw them five times in 1985 and thought they were fantastic with a wonderful mystique and brilliant guitar sound ! I lost interest when Green was released
@@stevet8444to me, Green was kinda their Joshua Tree in terms of mass exposure.. But by the 90’s they became more grandiose with pretensious music videos.. They lost me at losing my religion
This was a cool cultural exchange. When the Brits were sending us all those Britpop electronic acts like OMD, New Order and Human League, we sent them a folk rock band like Rem that didn’t even use Synths. It was like sending them a piece of wood 🪵. All natural. And I’m always amazed at all the Appregios Peter Buck plays during every song. I don’t know how he does it. He is the key to their sound along with Stipes voice.
This is kind of surprising that the kids are standing there staring and watching kind of like they either don’t like what they’re hearing or that they are deciding are they cool enough or should we reject them? Sad reaction! At the time they time they were considered the best American band around. But the Brits had Britpop and OMD, Joy Division, Depeche Mode and Duran Duran! And Gary Numan! A lot of Synth based music and REM sounded Retro compared to the new sounds coming out of the U.K. Still, I personally thought they were good, especially Radio Free Europe! That was a Classic Hit! And the proof is that I don’t cringe hearing their music 40 years later! It holds up! 🔥👏🏻💥🎸😎
I was sort of thinking that but I know a bunch of those in the audience were transfixed. REM had a new sound that deeply resonated and they built an enormous fan base. If I were at the show I would just want to stare and enjoy.
I remember seeing this at the time (The Tube was a must-see every week as there was no other place on British TV to see music like this) and that began my love affair with REM
I had just graduated from high school when I first heard them... I was like WTF is this... I scrambled to find the lyrics to the songs, remember this was decades before the easy to find stuff out Google... The words spoke to me
Those Bananarama girls dancing to ... yeah to what.. little did they know. Further audience seems dubious to how the hell to respond. How does this relate to Spandau Ballet. Bizar. Beautiful.
I don't blame the befuddled audience, it took me plenty of listens to "get" the genius of early REM. I probably watched this as a schoolboy and only remember fancying Paula Yates and rocking to The Cult. (great clip of "Phoenix" on The Tube for further investigation)
'all the way from the deep south, by which i mean atlanta not croydon' i don't know which is funnier, the actual joke or the fact that they're from athens.
I liked Green, it was different, but I liked it. After that, they became a band that had a love/hate relationship with commerciality. I didn't like the pandering quality of the songs, even if who they were pandering to tended to change with each release or even with each song.
