R.E.M. this week sent fan-club members the band’s final holiday single, capping a nearly 25-year-old tradition with a 2-track CD featuring live renditions of ‘Perfect Circle’ and ‘Life and How To Live It,’ the latter of which was recorded at the band’s last-ever concert in Mexico City in November 2008.

Kate Bush will give fans their first taste of her new album ’50 Words for Snow’ — the singer’s first collection of new material since 2005′s ‘Aerial’ — next week when she releases ‘Wild Man’ as the record’s first single via digital outlets worldwide.

With Mike Peters of The Alarm filling in for late frontman Stuart Adamson, reunited Scottish rockers Big Country next week will release their first single in 12 years — the Steve Lillywhite-produced ‘Another Country,’ the first step toward a brand-new studio album and a planned 30th anniversary tour next year.

Synthpop faves Erasure this morning debuted the first single, ‘When I Start To (Break It All Down),’ off their upcoming album ‘Tomorrow’s World’ on BBC Radio 2, and now have made the 3:34-long track available for streaming on their website. The single will be released digitally Aug. 29 and on CD on Sept. 26.

Modfather Paul Weller unexpectedly announced a new non-album single on Monday, a dancey tune called ‘Starlite’ that can be streamed here and will be available next month as both an iTunes download bundle and a 12-inch single.

Erasure has unveiled a fall tour of the U.K. in support of new album ‘Tomorrow’s World’ — which the band reveals will arrive Oct. 3 in the U.K. and Oct. 4 in the U.K., preceded by first single ‘When I Start to (Break It All Down).’