He is hardly the epitome of a world famous rock star.
The softly spoken Mike Mills, bassist with rock band REM, must be one of the most unassuming celebrities out there.
Despite his impressive 28-year career in the international spotlight, fans asking for autographs and photos everywhere he goes, and now countless sell-out stadium gigs under his belt, Mills is far from complacent.
Still riding high on his career and working with band mates to churn out one top class rock song after another, Mills refuses to sit back and relax. Reflecting on his achievements is saved for sometime in the future.
"There will be time enough for sitting back and reflecting later," he sensibly states. "Right now, I'm looking forward to this summer's tour and then, of course, the next record."
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He and fellow REMer Peter Buck hit the age of 50 this year, and lead singer Michael Stipe turns 48 - but the sound of REM is certainly showing no sign of ageing.
Mills speaks proudly of the band's new album, and rightly so.
He is talking to the Daily Echo from a smart hotel in central London during REM's whistle-stop visit to the capital before embarking on a worldwide tour to promote their 14th studio album, Accelerate.
Mills says he is relishing the thought of another tour, particularly as the aptly titled 34-minute long Accelerate is such a fast and furious album perfect for playing live.
"We had great fun with Accelerate," he said. "Something we really intended to do was to really enjoy making the record, and we succeeded."
Accelerate went straight to number one in the album charts when it was released in April this year, following rave reviews and many observations that it was a "return to form" for a band that many music critics argued had released weak records ever since 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
"They are missing the point though," comments Mills, with a hint of frustration in his voice. "The point is that this is REM in 2008. It is not a return to anything.
"The great thing about being your own boss is that you can do what you want. This time, it felt like the time to do a really fast, really rock'n'roll record. That's what we have done and we are very pleased with it. It's great fun to play live too."
Since the mid-1990s when drummer Bill Berry left REM after suffering an aneurysm in his brain during the band's Monster world tour, the band has been criticised as lacking focus and direction, perhaps understandably so.
Mills freely admits this was a fair criticism of the band, but he believes that that elusive direction has now been found once again.
"Working on Accelerate is probably the most focused we have been since Bill left. We feel more like a band than we have for some time. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but we are very good friends and we are very confident in what we are doing right now."
And now that a firm focus and commitment has once again been established for REM, fans will be delighted to hear that it seems the band has no plans to call it a day anytime soon.
About the future, Mills says: "I don't see why not more albums. We feel good about where we are. We are still making good music and we are still having fun, so why not continue?
"We may be more committed now than ever before. To do this type of work we have to be totally committed - if you're not then you're wasting everyone's time.
"Everybody in the band at some point has had enough, but really there is nothing more important in our lives than REM. There has been a point when I have thought I've had enough', but that's natural."
So, had there been no REM in the world-dominating form the band finds itself in today, what would Mills be doing with himself?
"I would either be playing baseball or working for a newspaper," he laughs. "I used to play a lot of baseball and I loved journalism, so one of those. But we formed REM before I'd even finished studying the core curriculum - it's been my life."
Ahead of a summer packed full of tour dates, Mills appears to be relishing the thought of plenty of live performances and a chance to allow the new tunes from Accelerate to be thrashed out in front of excited audiences.
"I think every time we play the new songs they are getting better," he states. "I love travelling and I love playing music, so touring, combining the two is great."
Later this month, for the first time ever, REM will be arriving in West End near Southampton to play at the county's Rose Bowl cricket ground. The gig will be one of just four UK stadium concerts for the band this summer.
"The Rose Bowl was suggested to us by a promoter," said Mills. "We have not really been to that part of England so it's definitely time we got down there, we're really looking forward to it."
So does he know anything at all about Southampton?
"I saw Southampton play QPR back in 1995," he remembers with a chuckle. "I went to the match at QPR's ground with Joe Boyd, who produced our record Fables of the Reconstruction - he is a big QPR fan."
n REM play at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on August 27. For tickets call 0844 576 5483 or visit livenation.co.uk
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