R.E.M. explain why they’ll never fully reunite: “It’d never be as good”

nme.com:

R.E.M. have explained why they will never reunite as a full-time band, saying that it would “never be as good” if they did.All four original members of the iconic alternative rock band – singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry – appeared together last night (June 13) as they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.The band split amicably in 2011, while Berry had left the group during the height of their commercial success in 1997.

However, at the ceremony, the quartet gave a surprise acoustic performance of their 1991 classic ‘Losing My Religion’, the first time the four have played live together since their 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.Watch fan-shot footage of the performance below:Ahead of the ceremony, the quartet also gave a rare interview to CBS News, in which they were asked about the possibility of reforming again in the future.They remained resolute that it would not be happening, with Buck quickly replying: “It’d never be as good”.When asked what it would take to get them back together, Mills quipped “a comet”, while Berry added, “superglue”.Elsewhere in the interview, the former bandmates also discussed what it means to have their songwriting recognised in such a way.“We lived and died on the strength of our songs, so this is a huge honour,” said Buck.“it is the hardest thing that we do and it’s the thing that we’ve worked on most from the very beginning,” added Mills.“Because we had to.

I mean really early on, just to put food on the table we had to write songs as fast as we could,” said Berry.Members of the band have fielded questions about possible reunions in the past, always making clear that they never see it happening.