35 Years Ago, Religious Imagery Got These 90s Alternative Rock Legends Banned From Your Television

Formed on the University of Georgia campus in 1980, R.E.M. found success the old-fashioned way. Despite being snubbed by mainstream radio early on, the alt-rock outfit toured constantly and built a cult following that eventually launched them onto the international stage with the breakthrough 1987 hit “The One I Love”.

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Four years later, they would score their biggest hit with “Losing My Religion” from their seventh studio album Out of Time. Reaching No. 4 on the U.S. Hot 100, the song expanded R.E.M.’s listenership. However, not everyone was a fan. In fact, on May 2 in 1991, Ireland banned the “Losing My Religion” music video from the airwaves, deeming its religious imagery “unfit for broadcast”.

Directed by Indian filmmaker Tarsem Singh, the video mined millennia of religious symbols, including Christian martyr Saint Sebastian and the Biblical episode of the Incredulity of Thomas alongside Hindu deities.

Nominated in nine categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, “Losing My Religion” brought home trophies for  Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing.

Still, Irish promoters weren’t fans of what they deemed “crucifixion imagery”, which lead singer Michael Stipe insisted did not exist. (Stipe also wrote the lyrics.) Additionally, the video’s perceived “homoeroticism” was also a strike against it in Ireland.

“I didn’t think a lot about it,” Stipe told Rolling Stone in June 1991. “If they can’t handle it, they don’t get to see the video.”

[RELATED: Why R.E.M. Stopped Playing This 1991 Song for Good After Just Two Performances]

The Real Meaning of The Hit That Changed Everything For R.E.M.

As Stipe has since explained, “Losing My Religion” doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. He pulled the term from his Southern grandmother, who often used it to express frustration or desperation.

Rather than a non-declaration of faith, the narrator of “Losing My Religion” is battling near-crippling introversion.

“So, what I was pulling from was being the shy wallflower who hangs back at the party, or at the dance, and doesn’t go up to the person that you’re madly in love with and say, ‘I’ve kind of got a crush on you. How do you feel about me?’” Stipe said in 2022. “So there’s this whole relationship that’s happening only in the person’s mind. And he doesn’t know whether he’s said too much or hasn’t said enough.”

Once the song had become R.E.M.’s biggest hit, going out in public was more difficult for Stipe. “I went from being someone that was recognized by people in my age group who love a certain type of music to being universally, wildly, insanely famous,” he said.

Featured image by Michel Linssen/Redferns