The top 100 most played songs by R.E.M. in their career. Information taken from www.remtimeline.com

The R.E.M. Timeline Top 100 Live Countdown

Recorded from the radio in July 1989 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Beatles Australian tour. A fascinating account of the event, told by the people who made it happen. I've edited out all studio recordings that were broadcast during the special.

The Beatles - Australian Tour 25th Anniversary special

R.E.M. performing 'I Took Your Name' at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand, 28 January 1995.

R.E.M. - I Took Your Name - Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand, 28 January 1995

First performance: 17 July 1983 - Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT
Last performance: 23 September 2008 - Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
Total number of known performances: 88

We’re starting the countdown at number 98 because we have a 3-way tie for the position.

Written in the period post Murmur’s release while on the road touring that album, the song debuted in July 1983, but unlike most other songs that became set regulars after their debut, it was only played twice that year, on 17 and 20 July. Even during 1984 on the Reckoning tour it was only played occasionally, getting played 23 times (20% of shows). It made very occasional appearances after that in 1985-87, with 1989’s Green tour providing the most performances, 35 in total (25% of shows). The song had seemingly been retired about after that, but was resurrected in 2008, getting 8 plays on that tour, with Munich the city with its final appearance.
Perhaps the most well-known performance of the song occurred on 14 September 1987 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, when in the final encore of the night just Michael and Peter performed the song, followed by Michael singing a few lines of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Red Rain’, before closing with a mesmerizing ‘So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)’ to close the show. It was officially released as ‘Time After Time Etc.’ on the B-Side to the ‘Finest Worksong’ 7” and 12” single in 1988.

Fun fact: The water tower referred to in the song was in Athens on Chase Street. It has since been torn down. Despite the song being based on real events, Michael confirmed Annelise was a fictional character.

1983-07-17 New Haven, CT

#98 - R.E.M. - Time After Time (Annelise) - 17 July 1983, Toad's Place, New Haven, CT

2008-09-23 Germany, München, Olympiahalle

#98 - R.E.M. - Time After Time (Annelise) - 23 September 2008 - Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany

1989-10-14, PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, BC

#98 - R.E.M. - Time After Time (Annelise) - 14 October 1989 - Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada

First performance: 7 October 1986 - Coliseum, Utah State Fairpark, Salt Lake City, UT
Last performance: 21 April 1989 - Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA
Total number of known performances: 88

Although not released until ‘Document’ in 1987, the song made its live debut about 1 month into the Pageantry tour in October 1986. It was played at most shows thereafter during 1986 and 1987, but seemingly fell out of favour with the band after that, and was only played 1 further time in 1989, before being permanently retired.

Fun fact: The firehouse referred to in the song is the old Athens fire station at 489 Prince Avenue. The building still exists, and is now home to the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation.

This live version comes from a performance on 29 October 1987 in Ann Arbor, MI, a blistering 7 minute version with a ferocious Peter guitar solo. Enjoy!

1987-10-29 Ann Arbor, MI

#98 - R.E.M. - Oddfellows Local 151 - 29 October 1987 - University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

First known performance: 4 October 1980 - Tyrone’s O.C., Athens, GA
Last performance: 11 June 1989 - Metropol, Berlin, West Germany
Total number of known performances: 88 (actual number likely to be 150-200)

In the liner notes for ‘Dead Letter Office’, Peter claimed this song was written the same afternoon as ‘Radio Free Europe’, however the first documented performance of this song occurs almost 4 months earlier than that one (setlist information is sparse for 1980 and 1981 however!). For a song called a ‘Xeroxed surf instrumental’ by one well regarded R.E.M. book, this was a song held in high regard by the band, featuring at least twice on every tour in the 1980’s, including a very respectable 17 times in 1986 (27% of shows that tour, possibly due to being featured as the B-Side to the ‘Superman’ 7” single). It was played twice in 1989, before being retired for good.

Fun fact: This song had many titles in its early days, including ‘Stronger Than Dirt’, ‘Generic Surf’ and ‘Auntie’s Quilt’. Even after settling on the name ‘White Tornado’ it would still feature on setlists written as ‘Generic Surf’.

This live version comes from 23 January 1982 at Viceroy Park in Charlotte, NC, a time still 4 months prior to them signing with IRS and 7 months prior to 'Chronic Town'!

1982-01-23 Viceroy Park, Charlotte, NC

#98 - R.E.M. - White Tornado - 23 January 1982 - Viceroy Park, Charlotte, NC

First known performance: 22 January 1982 - Friday's, Greensboro, NC
Last performance: 13 November 1989 - Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
Total number of known performances: 97 (likely amount 200-230)

By early 1982 R.E.M. were really hitting their songwriting stride, with many of the ‘Murmur’ songs debuting in setlists. The band knew they were onto something with ‘Catapult’, and it features in the majority of known setlists throughout 1982 and 1983, and as such is reasonably safe to assume it was played at most shows during those years.

The song however was tainted in the eyes of the band when used as a demo trial for now well-known producer Stephen Hague, who was relatively new to the scene at the time and still many years away from producing some of his best known work, including Malcolm McLaren, New Order, Pet Shop Boys and Blur to name a few. Stephen was suggested to the band by IRS Records as a producer for ‘Murmur’, so the band recorded ‘Catapult’ with him as a trial. From the many accounts of this over the years from the band they did not enjoy the process one bit, with reports of Bill being completely miserable due to him being forced to play the same drum beats over and over again, and the addition of synthesizers to the song was something the band was not fond of at all. 

The sourness of this experience didn’t seem to put them off playing the song throughout 1983, with it being played at the majority shows where full setlists are known, however its frequency in setlists dropped sharply in 1984, only being played 19 known times that year (17% of shows), then seemingly retired for good. It made a final appearance at the 13 November 1989 Atlanta show when all of ‘Murmur’ was played in its entirety, then was put to rest again.

Fun fact: The Stephen Hague version of ‘Catapult’ was kept secret for many years; however, it found its way onto the internet in 2011. While it certainly wouldn’t have fit with what the band were doing at the time, all these years later doesn't sound too bad to these ears!

#90 - R.E.M. - Catapult - 8 July 1983 - Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI

R.E.M. Timeline

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