Interesting, I literally didn’t know that REM were still having chart records, well into the 21st century (having given up on them mainly after the New Adventures in Hi-Fi album, though I still knew that they were going strong’ish).
Though they may have been bought primarily by their fanbase, a top 40 record (particularly back then), was STILL a hit record. I do remember them occasionally playing this on the radio, but almost as an afterthought, as in “Yes, we know you have fans and your big, but. . . “
Their first was back in 1987, with the seminal The One I Love, a #16 in 1987:
Whilst there last, number 32 in total!, was Wanderlust, which hit #27 in 2005.
A staggering career.
CB
Curious Bystander 