While R.E.M. fans may have held out a glimmer of hope that the band might reunite occasionally for a gig, frontman Michael Stipe dashed them during a U.K. television interview, reports Spin.
Having recently disbanded this past September after 31 years together, frontman Michael Stipe and bassist Mike Mills were invited as guests on the BBC TV program Newsnight on Wednesday (November 2) to discuss their political point of view regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Asked why R.E.M. chose not to get together every few years, similar to the Rolling Stones and other bands, Mills explained, “It was an opportunity for us to walk away on our own terms … There are no external forces making us do this. We have no problems. We can walk away as friends and feel like we’ve accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish."
At the end of the discussion, the interviewer asked, “When are you getting back together again?” suggesting that they might be like the Eagles When Hell Freezes Over.
However, Stipe said, “It’s definitely over. It’s done.” Asked if it was sad, he replied, “Yes, of course, it’s bittersweet. It’s strangely liberating.”
Mills concluded, “We feel very comfortable with what we have done.”