JULIE BURCHILL
My friend Emma Forrest and I used to kiss the TV screen when Michael Stipe came on. Emma’s excuse was that she was 15. I, shamefully, was in my 30s. I liked Losing My Religion at the time, as I was — but now I’ve found it again, I can both enjoy it and feel smug
LIZ KERSHAW
In 1986 my brother Andy and I set off on a road trip across the U.S. with a stash of cheap fags and beer, a pile of cassettes and a few addresses. Our destination? Athens, to meet R.E.M. We loved them and they loved Andy because he was the only person playing them on Radio 1. Their album Life’s Rich Pageant combined the raw passion of rock’n’roll with folksy American roots music — and gave us the soundtrack to our trip
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NANCI GRIFFITH
My favourite song of R.E.M.’s is Stand because it implies individual, personal responsibility for the choices one makes in life
MINNIE DRIVER
My two favourites are Leaving New York and Everybody Hurts. The impact of hearing Leaving New York live reminded me that when R.E.M. write a pop song nobody can do it like them, while Jake Scott’s video for Everybody Hurts was instrumental in presenting that song. It’s a beautiful song but its impact was doubled with the video
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DINOS CHAPMAN
I hate R.E.M. Why? God, that’s a left-field question! Because it’s weak, whingey, warbling hippy music
SARA LAWRENCE and HANNAH WESTLEY