R.E.M. - RADIO FREE EUROPE b/w THERE SHE GOES AGAIN - PIC SLVE 1983 IRS IR-9916

$

32

PURCHASED NEW and PLAYED ONCE IF AT ALL and STORED IN A PLASTIC BAG SINCE DAY ONE. Chances are I never played it. The disc is in great condirtion. On Side A there is a small blister on the outer edge of the disc right next to the first lead-in groove and a very small slight scratch from the lead-in groove into the song. I could not get a good picture of either of these. Not sure if the scratch is audible or not.  The paper sleeve is very good and has some slight rippling on the opening edge. I used to buy singles just for the picture sleeves and never play them since usually I had them on cassette, recording them from their albums. And sometimes you were limited on new record condition choices in the store racks.
Side A: Radio Free Europe 3:07 Side B: There She Goes Again 2:45 These are two tracks from their debut album Murmur. From my personal collection. 

R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana, Pixies and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997, the band continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.

The band released their first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. It was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, their first release on I.R.S. Records. Over the course of the decade, R.E.M. released acclaimed albums, commencing with their debut Murmur (1983), and continuing yearly with Reckoning (1984), Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987) and Green (1988). During their most successful period, they worked with the producer Scott Litt. With constant touring, and the support of college radio following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit with the 1987 single "The One I Love". They signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing arenas worldwide.