Frustrated that its records did not see satisfactory overseas distribution, R.E.M. left I.R.S. when its contract expired and signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records . Though other labels offered more money, R.E.M. ultimately signed with Warner Bros.—reportedly for an amount between $6 million and $12 million—due to the…
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The Music for the Masses Tour began on 22 October 1987.
While living in Cleveland in 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboards in the Exotic Birds , a synth-pop band managed by John Malm Jr. Reznor became friends with Malm, who informally became his manager when he left to work on his own music. At the time, Reznor was employed as an…
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Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met in 1987 while attending the Lycée Carnot secondary school in Paris. The two became friends and recorded demos with others from the school. In 1992, they formed the band Darlin’, with Bangalter on bass, Homem-Christo on guitar, and Laurent Brancowitz on guitar and…
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For 1987’s Music for the Masses , the band’s sound and working methods continued to develop. It was the first time they worked with a producer not related to Mute Records. Dave Bascombe was called to assist with the recording sessions; although, according to Alan Wilder, Bascombe’s role ended up…
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For their fourth album, R.E.M. enlisted John Mellencamp ‘s producer Don Gehman . The album, entitled Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), brought Stipe’s vocals closer to the forefront of the music. In a 1986 interview with the Chicago Tribune , Peter Buck related, “Michael is getting better at what he’s doing,…
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In the United States, the band’s music appealed primarily to an alternative audience who were disenchanted with the predominance of “soft rock and ‘disco hell’” on the radio. This view of the band was in sharp contrast to how the band was perceived in Europe, despite the increasingly dark and…
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In October 1985, Mute released a compilation, The Singles 81→85 ( Catching Up with Depeche Mode in the US), which included the two new non-album hit singles ” Shake the Disease ” and ” It’s Called a Heart “, with the US version also including their B-sides (“Fly on the…
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They toured Canada in July and August 1985, and Europe in October of that year, including the Netherlands, England (including one concert at London’s Hammersmith Palais ), Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and West Germany. On October 2, 1985, the group played a concert in Bochum , West Germany, for…
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In July 1985, the band played their first-ever concerts behind the Iron Curtain , in Budapest and Warsaw .