REM at Liverpool Royal Court Theatre on May 21st 1989

This was the one and only time that I ever saw REM, but I absolutely loved the show.  Like any concert, there was a massive context to the event.  In terms of the band itself, REM had broken into widescale recognition through the 1987 'Document' album and, in particular, the single 'The One I Love' had made a lot more people stand up and take notice of the band:

Thus, the 1988 'Green' album was building on this success, and when REM announced their 1989 UK tour dates, still at relatively small venues, the tickets for the Manchester Apollo show sold out almost immediately.  Fortunately, me and a few mates, now affectionately known as the Gumbies, somehow managed to get tickets for the Liverpool Royal Court Theatre show on May 21st thanks to one of the Gumbies as it happens.  Of course, the show was dominated by the 'Green' material which was fine with me, as still today, 'Green' probably remains my favourite REM album.  My enduring image from the show is of Michael Stipe wearing a kind of almost fox hunting come straightjacket outfit, and singing quite a few of the tunes through a loudspeaker (the picture below is taken from a review of the REM Royal Court gig that I found on the Internet):

One of the tracks I remember Stipe singing through a loudspeaker to is 'Turn You Inside Out' from 'Green':

It was great that 'Tourfilm' (from the US leg of the 'Green' tour) was released, as it has obviously helped me to reminisce on the Royal Court gig over the years.  From 'Green', my favourite two tracks have always been 'World Leader Pretend' and 'Orange Crush':

The first video above is from REM's appearance at the 1989 Pink Pop Festival in Holland from the European leg of the 'Green' tour, while in the second one, the band are on Top of the Pops  (can only just remember this happening from the back of my now vague memory store).  Absolutely love the lyrics to 'World Leader Pretend', as they seem to deal with the complex landscape of being introverted/ introspective: 

                  "I sit at my table and wage war on myself /It seems like it's all, it's all for nothing". 

Yeah, these lyrics have been omnipresent near the front of my mental jukebox since the release of 'Green' in 1988 (I think that for anyone who is or has been painfully shy/self-conscious, these lyrics strike a deep chord).

Besides the above, there was a tragic context to the 1989 REM Royal  Court gig, as many Liverpool fans had lost their lives at the Hillsborough football disaster the month before.  At the REM concert itself, Michael Stipe seemed to be keenly aware of this, as in between songs, he was continually imploring the crowd to take a step back so that nobody got crushed there.  Furthermore, there was a more ideological/political dimension to the concert, as Stipe kept encouraging the crowd to take an interest in Greenpeace and Amnesty International (now well-known causes, but less so at that time).

Finally, REM are obviously much more than just their 'Document' and 'Green' material, and I love a lot of their pre-'Document' and post-'Green' material, but I just wanted to locate this post at a particular time when the band were breaking through into the mainstream and getting set to become something huge (it's great to have the value of hindsight here, of course).