Peter Buck Recalls Losing Interest In R.E.M.

When R.E.M. decided it was time to go their separate ways, the rockers have been enjoying one of the best times of their career. However, even eleven years after the dissolution, the band seems determined that their decision was the right call. Recently, Peter Buck also discussed why R.E.M. walked away from it all while chatting with Classic Rock and said he hadn’t regretted a thing.

Anyone might wonder why a band enjoying great success and worldwide recognition would walk away from all the publicity, but R.E.M. is pretty determined not to reunite. Even former bassist Mike Mills stated that they had quit at the right time, as the band was at a point where nothing was left to do. So when Peter was asked to disclose his happiest times during his run with R.E.M., the guitarist also decided to address why it all fell apart.

“The eighties, I think,” Peter said as he recalled the happiest period in his life as a band member of R.E.M. However, he confessed that things started to go downhill when the band began to receive more commerciality. Buck noted, “But when it got really big, I don’t know if anyone really enjoys that. When the non-musical stuff became so intense, it took away some of the pleasure for me.”

Peter was burned out from the band’s publicity and couldn’t do it anymore. The guitarist explained, “It’s just the stuff where you kind of wake up and go, ‘God, I don’t want to have my picture taken today. And I don’t really want to pretend to be an actor in some video where I can’t act.’”

He continued, “I loved playing Glastonbury and playing in front of lots of people and selling multiple millions of records, but it was never the reason I did it. And when we got to the point where we decided that it was the end, it felt like a great shared experience. I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not going to go back to it.”

When asked if it was the right time to disband, Peter said he stood with their decision, “I think so. The last two records were really strong. But I just felt like no matter how good our last record was, it wasn’t really our time any more. And that’s fair; I understand that. And we were lucky.”

So, maybe the noblest thing one might do when they don’t enjoy their career as they used to is to leave and find what they next need. And Buck found his musical enthusiasm back in a new project, as he collaborated with Luke Haines and released the pair’s second album, ‘All the Kids are Super Bummed Out.’ So, go and give it a checkout.