Michael Stipe of REM performs at The T in the Park festival - Day 3, Perth and Kinross, Scotland - 13.07.08

Stipe, who is a staunch supporter of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, confesses that the band's song Man-Sized Wreath was inspired by his hatred for Bush.

The track begins with the lyrics: "Turn on the TV and what do I see/A pageantry of empty gestures all lined up for me".

Stipe explains, "That's a reference to our current president, who I very publicly despise.

"I just can't stand the guy or his administration and it was about him going to the graveside of Martin Luther King, one of my heroes, and I think desecrating the memory of that great man and his work by being there during the Iraq war.

"I found it pathetic so I wrote that song about it."

Source: WENN