R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe sings David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World in a rare solo performance

The singer paid tribute to the late musician on Jimmy Fallon's US chatshow

Since REM disbanded in 2011, live performances from Michael Stipe have been extremely few and far between - but fortunately, he has returned to the stage for a stirring rendition of a David Bowie classic.

Paying tribute to the musician who passed away in January, Stipe performed 1970 track "The Man Who Sold the World" on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show.

The performance comes ahead of his appearance at a Bowie tribute concert at New York's Carnegie Hall due to take place this week. Alongside fellow artists Patti Smith, Mumford & Sons and Debbie Harry, Stipe will read a poem he wrote in Bowie's honour following the pioneering musician's passing.

Bowie passed away from cancer on 10 January which led to an outpouring of tributes from across the world. His newly-released studio album Blackstar shot to the top of the charts the following week. His long-time collaborator, producer Tony Visconti, recently revealed he believes there is a new David Bowie in our midst struggling to make it big due to record labels 'not financing' them.