2. REM
Hammersmith Odeon, London, May 1989
Hard now to find a live pic of Stipe with hair. Not visible, which is probably for the best, is the plaited pony-tail that he wore on this tour. REM was the first band I saw to really command the stage, to make a gig into a show; the slightly boxy suit worn by Stipe suggests they took their cue here from Talking Heads. It was a jubilant mix of theatricality (Stipe bashing out a beat on a metal chair as he sang Gang of Four's "We Live As We Dream, Alone" a capella) and fierce, sweaty, just-this-side-of-corny rock'n'roll. I was 17 and had lost my cherry a few weeks earlier, so was in an understandably excitable mood.