10 Music Artists Who Quit In Their Prime
1. Bill Berry… And Then The Rest Of R.E.M.
Far from just a drummer, founding member of R.E.M Bill Berry was a multi-instrumentalist, contributing various piano, keyboard guitar and vocal parts in the studio. He was also responsible for writing some of their most captivating music, including hits like Everybody Hurts and Man On The Moon as well as fan favourites like Perfect Circle.
The band spent a decade as alternative radio darlings before breaking into the mainstream and indeed the big time, becoming the sort of band who could schedule a massive world tour to bring their big hits to the masses. But it was on that 1995 world tour that Berry collapsed after suffering an aneurysm.
Though the multi-talented sticksman made a full recovery, he took stock of his life and decided life as a hay farmer would be preferable to schlepping around the globe with his bandmates.
After Berry’s 1997 departure the band carried on for another fourteen years. Despite a subsequent commercial and creative lull, the band maintained a devoted following and most recently enjoyed critical praise for their last album, Collapse Into Now.
While they were no longer quite at their commercial or critical peak, they could easily have carried on releasing records and playing concerts around the world like some sort of alt-rock Rolling Stones. Instead, they split up, amicably, in 2011 to focus on solo projects.