R.E.M. reunites for first performance since 1997 at Songwriters Hall of Fame induction

Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry attended the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. performed together for the first time since 1997 at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday night, with a rendition of their 1991 Grammy-winning hit “Losing My Religion.” “Writing songs and having a catalog of work that we’re all proud of — that is out there for the rest of the world for the rest of time — is hands-down the most important aspect of what we did,” Stipe told the audience as the former band mates accepted their glass trophies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Some of R.E.M’s biggest songs surprised the rockers, notably “Losing My Religion.” “I love the song, but we never thought it was gonna be a hit,” Stipe said. It was the end of the world as the band knew it in 2011 when they broke up after more than three decades of what The Times characterized as “uncompromising artistic integrity.” Influenced to an extent by Berry’s 1995 onstage brain aneurysm and subsequent 1997 departure, the rockers decided it was time to take a final bow. “We’re R.E.M.,” Stipe said as the rockers picked up their instruments for their song on Thursday night.