I was in one of the biggest bands in the world but quit to become a hay farmer after having a two aneurysms on stage
AS part of R.E.M., Bill Berry was in one of the world’s biggest ever bands, but he quit to become a hay farmer.
R.E.M. became one of the world’s biggest selling music acts, and had huge hits including Losing My Religion and The One I Love.
As well as being a drummer for the band, Bill Berry, now 65, also contributed occasional guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals, keyboards and piano on studio tracks.
But in 1995 Bill collapsed on stage in Switzerland after having a brain aneurysm and in 1997, just two years later, Bill made the decision to leave the band for good.
Speaking about the horrible incident, Bill explained it was thought to be a migraine when actually it was something far more serious.
Test results revealed he’d had two aneurysms – one had ruptured and the other luckily hadn’t.
He told the Los Angeles Times: “It felt like a bowling ball hit me in the head.
“There wasn’t any warning. I was just singing the falsetto part on ‘Tongue’ when it happened.”
After the tests, an operation was immediately scheduled the day after for the star – and it was a success.
But the two aneurysms made the star realise he wanted to take a step back from the band.
His bandmate, guitarist Peter Buck, told The Boston Globe: “It’s tough having your head operated on. A lot of people just don’t come back, because it’s the end of the world to them.
“After the operation, Bill could barely move, but he still said he’d be ready to play in two weeks. We knew there was no way of that happening.”
In 1997, Bill decided to become a farmer instead and work on his hay farm in Georgia.
He’s since made a return to music, and in 2022 he formed a group named The Bad Ends.
The group released their debut album named The Power and the Glory in January of this year.
Discussing his musical return, he said to SPIN: “In very early 2017, a chance pedestrian encounter in downtown Athens found me face to face with one Mike Mantione.
“At that point it had been over two decades since I’d involved myself with the record-making process and here was a man Peter Buck recently described as ‘the unsung hero of Athens rock and roll’ offering an opportunity to play in the game again.
“It was energizing to once again play with top-notch musicians. This record is unique for me in that it was the only one with which I was involved, that was written, rehearsed, recorded, produced and mastered in Athens.”
The star has a 20-year-old son named Owen Berry, who he shares with Cybele Lange.