Seven ages of rock - a history of rock music over the past 50 years

R.E.M. release 'Document'

1 September 1987

Outside the College radio network and US underground scene, R.E.M.'s biggest commercial success was with the album 'Life's Rich Pageant' which went gold in the US. With the release of 'Document' and the radio friendly single "One I love" R.E.M. finally moved on from their relatively small fan base to top 10 chart success and platinum record sales. It was at this point that R.E.M. decided that they needed a record label that could cope with their meteoric rise. Warner was a label the band had always respected; they had a reputation for allowing their artists a good amount of creative control; something that R.E.M. had always valued in their earlier recordings.