REM played their first concert in Athens, Georgia, USA, on 19 April 1980. Their line-up consisted of four drop-outs from the University of Georgia; Michael Stipe (b. 4 January 1960, Decatur, Georgia, USA; vocals), Peter Buck (b. 6 December 1956, Berkeley, California, USA; guitar), Mike Mills (b. 17 December 1958, Orange County, California, USA; bass) and Bill Berry (b. 31 July 1958, Duluth, Minnesota, USA; drums). At the start R.E.M. was a driven college rock band, often playing two or three shows a night, five nights a week, three weeks a month. They applied the post-punk D.I.Y. (do it yourself) mentality to what they were doing and just played tirelessly.