REM - STIPE PAYS LIVE HOMAGE TO LEDGER

STIPE PAYS LIVE HOMAGE TO LEDGER

REM frontman MICHAEL STIPE paid an emotional tribute to tragic HEATH LEDGER - before launching into one of the actor's favourite songs. The band dedicated their track Until The Day Is Done to Ledger in front of a packed crowd at Stubb's Barbeque during their stint at Austin, Texas' South By Southwest festival on Wednesday (12Mar08). A visibly upset Stipe announced, "This is dedicated to Heath Ledger who loved this song," before shouting at the end, "Goodbye Heath, we loved you!" Ledger suffered a fatal accidental overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment on 22 January (08). He was 28. As well as Stipe's moving homage to Ledger, REM used the 90-minute set to preview songs from their forthcoming album Accelerate, due out next month (Apr08).