R.E.M. announced their split in 2011 and since then Michael Stipe has rarely been spotted in public, making only the rare live performance. He made his first live appearance since the band split in 2014 when he opened for his old pal Patti Smith at New York’ Webster Hall.
However, it remains highly unlikely that he was speaking about reforming the band, saying his rocks days were way behind him.
But R.E.M. fans are still in for a treat this month. The 56-year-old’s comments come as the 25th anniversary edition of R.E.M.’s classic album ‘Out Of Time’ - which included the classic hit track ‘Losing My Religion’ – is set to be re-released on November 18.
The re-release of the special edition album will come with demos, music videos and a rare live acoustic recording. It will be released in three different formats. There will be a two-CD set that will feature a remastered version of the original album and early demo versions of every album track, along with demos for two B-sides not included on the original album, and a previously unreleased song.
While the three-LP set will include remastered vinyls of the original album and demo versions of every track.
And the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will include four discs, which - apart from the remastered album and demos - will include live recordings from the band’s 1991 performance at Mountain Stage, and a Blu-Ray with all of the music videos from the album, along with other rare goodies.

Speaking about the album’s re-release, Stipe says: "You're seeing me really reaching, in some cases really over- or under-reaching, to try and find a melody, to work out a lyric to see if it's working or not with the music; never to be heard. And here, 25 years later, we're offering it to the public.”
For the Bowie tribute gigs in New York, Stipe delivered what Rolling Stones described as a “haunting rendition” of “Ashes to Ashes”.
Reflecting about the performance on R.E.M’s website, Stipe wrote: “ In one week I got to interpret and perform two of my top 20 favorite songs of all time. For Carnegie in particular, I wanted the room to be the main instrument.
“Its reverberation and energy is profoundly weighted and airy all at once – it can transform music into something holy – so that informed our arrangement choices for 'Ashes to Ashes’.”
Even though Stipe says his rocks days are behind him, it’ll certainly be interesting to see what he comes up with next.