R.E.M. Raise a Toast to Rock Hall Induction

R.E.M. celebrated the news of their upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in early January by raising a glass (or two) and tipping a microphone (or three).

"Myself, Mike Mills and Bertis Downs, our manager, had flown to London," singer Michael Stipe tells Spinner. "Peter Buck was on tour with Robyn Hitchcock, doing club dates, and we flew over to have an R.E.M. meeting. It was at dinner the Sunday night before the actual announcement was made. We had an idea, but the call actually came in, and it was kind of exciting -- we went off and saw Robyn perform (at the Zodiac, in Oxford). We raised a few pints after the show."


Feeling festive, Mills and Stipe got onstage with Hitchcock's band, the Venus 3 (which also includes Buck and R.E.M. touring band members Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) for an encore that included 'Electolyte' and the new-ish R.E.M. song 'I'm Gonna DJ.' Mills stuck around for a second encore that featured a cover of the Byrds' 'Eight Miles High.' Stipe, presumably, was back in the audience with his friend Thom Yorke.

Read our exclusive Q&A with Michael Stipe

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