MICHAEL STIPE - STIPE: 'I CAME OUT TO HELP KIDS'

R.E.M. frontman MICHAEL STIPE made the decision to announce he's gay in order to be a role model for youngsters struggling to cope with their sexuality. The singer revealed his sexual preference in an interview with Time magazine in 2001, when he told the publication he was a "queer artist". And now Stipe believes celebrities should be more open about their sexuality to aid youngsters in the same position. He tells Spin magazine, "I recognise that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there." Stipe admits his songwriting was also helped by his identity crisis: "(The song) 7 Chinese Brothers was about me breaking up a couple and then dating both of them - a man and a woman - which is a terrible thing to do. But I was young and stupid."