R.E.M. Plays It For Laughs

They chose Dublin to play a week of shows before recording the next album because the band members love the place and they know they’ll have a laugh, according to R.E.M. European agent Bob Gold.

"I can’t imagine they’d do it anywhere else because they enjoy the city and have always had a good time there," the Gold Artists chief told Pollstar. "After every album they’ve had some regrets about not playing some of the songs live in front of an audience before recording them," he explained, after the band had sold out five MCD-promoted shows at the city’s 1,620-capacity Olympia Theatre in less than 20 minutes.

Work on the follow-up to 2004’s Around The Sun, which will be produced by Jacknife Lee, is now starting in Vancouver.

Toward the end of June, Michael Stipe and the band will move to Dublin, where 8,000 fans will get chance to hear a live preview of the new stuff June 30th and July 1-5.