A rock band that broke out of the ferment of the early ‘80s college-rock scene to become one of the biggest acts in the nation reunited Thursday for its first high-profile performance in well over a decade.

R.E.M.’s performance during the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony was the first public performance in 17 years that featured singer Michael Stipe, drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills. The quartet played “Losing My Religion,” a 1991 single.

Berry left the band in 1997 and the remaining trio disbanded in 2011. The full timeline is a bit more convoluted. In 2007, Berry joined the group as it was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, playing “Man on the Moon” with Eddie Vedder and “Gardening at Night.” He also helped record a song for a tribute album that year.

More recently, in February, the foursome took to the stage of the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga., joining Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, who were on a tour performing R.E.M.’s debut album “Murmur.” Spin.com reported that Mills, Berry and Buck joined in on various songs; Stipe did not, but made remarks from the stage.

NPR reported that plans for the songwriters Hall of Fame had been kept secret: On Thursday, CBS Mornings aired a segment taped as far back as February, in which Mills said it would take “a comet” to get the band together for a performance.

CBS Mornings followed up Friday with a report on the performance revealing that it had been in on the secret. Members of the band said they had no plans to capitalize on their legacy with future reunion shows.

“We are lucky enough to have – I don’t really love the word – a legacy that we can leave in place and not mess up,” said Mills. “And you don’t get that opportunity but one time.”

“We did it, we had our day in the sun,” said Stipe.

R.E.M. was formed in Athens, Ga., in 1980. Signature songs include “Radio Free Europe,” “Don’t Go Back to Rockville,” “Driver 8,” “Superman,” “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “Nightswimming.”

Alabama songwriter Jason Isbell introduced the group for its induction.