R.E.M have announced that their only UK gig this year will be next month before a small audience of competition winners and specially-invited celebrities.
The performance is being held at the Radio 1 theatre at Broadcasting House, in London’s West End, on October 25 and is being broadcast live on Radio 1 from 7-9pm. Details of how to win tickets will be broadcast on Radio 1’s Breakfast Show.
DJ Mark Radcliffe will introduce the band, and will also interview them live on air. REM are due to play a half-hour set of old material, plus new songs from their forthcoming album, ‘Up’, which is released the day after their performance.
REM’s UK spokesperson explained: “They don’t tour every album and they didn’t want to tour this year, so they’re just promoting the record instead with radio and television appearances. People forget they didn’t tour ‘Out Of Time’ or ‘Automatic For The People’ either.”
The band’s only other appearance will be on Chris Evans’TFI Friday TV show. They will also be pre-recording an appearance for the Top Of The Pops TV show which will be broadcast at a later date. REM founders Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck will be joined by multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughy and Ken Stringfellow, plus former Beck drummer Joey Waronker. Scott and Joey both performed with REM at this year’s Tibetan Freedom Concert and also play on the new REM album. McCaughy also joined them on the band’s ‘Monster’ tour.