Does Michael Stipe Have Plans for R.E.M. to Reunite?
In Sept. 2011, R.E.M. “decided to call it a day as a band.”
In the three years since they disbanded, fans have been wondering if frontman Michael Stipe has plans to sing again. In an interview with CBS This Morning, the iconic lead singer opened up about just that. “I think I’ll sing again. That’s maybe an exclusive? But I think I will sing again, yeah,” Stipe said during the sit-down, which aired on Dec. 13. “I love my voice and I think it’s still… I think it actually got better as I got older. Not soon… Maybe. I don’t know.”
He further noted, “I just needed to step away for a while.”
Stipe appeared on the show to promote the box set REMTV, which chronicles some of the the band’s most memorable moments. As for any potential R.E.M. reunions in the wake of the release, he noted, “No, that will never happen. No, there’s no point.
“I love those guys very much and I respect them hugely as musicians and as songwriters and everything, but I just don’t want to do that thing that people do,” Stipe said. “I don’t want to do that. Full respect for those who do it. Total respect… I despise nostalgia. I’m not good at looking back.”
Despite dashing hopes of a reunion with his longtime bandmates, he revealed he does still sing, but it happens to be in the privacy of his own home. “I sing in the shower. And I’m not bad,” he said. “You would be surprised at my play list.”
Though, there are other times he does get the urge to perform. “When I go to see bands perform live, that’s when it’s hard for me,” he said. “I look up on the stage and I think ‘I wish I was there.'”