Legend has it that guitarist Peter Buck was working at Wuxtry Records in Athens, Georgia when Michael Stipe strolled in. They talked about music and bands. The rest is history. Twenty-eight years and fourteen albums later R.E.M. has become the little band that could.

R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe has poked fun at his homosexuality by reading out a 'statement' revealing his bandmates Mike Mills and Peter Buck are heterosexual. In the staged press conference video on the group's YouTube webpage, Stipe sits down to read his humorous statement as camera bulbs flash repeatedly around him.