R.E.M. stars defend 'gentle' Buck

Stipe, Buck, Buck's wife and Mills all appeared in court on Wednesday

LONDON, England -- R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck has been described as a kind gentleman by his wife and friends at his trial for being drunk on a plane.

Buck allegedly went on a rampage during a transatlantic flight, breaking British Airways crockery and assaulting cabin staff. He denies the charges.

Fellow R.E.M. member Michael Stipe told Isleworth Crown Court in west London on Wednesday that Buck was "like a big brother" to him when they met more than two decades ago.

Stipe said he could not believe Buck had behaved as the prosecution alleges.

"He's just not a person who is rude to anyone."

He said Buck had never displayed "aggressive tendencies" whether on an aircraft or anywhere else.

"Something that people don't often know about the American south, there is what is called a southern gentleman, and Peter is my definition of such.

"Basically what a southern gentleman is, is someone who follows the golden rule -- treat people as you would want to be treated no matter who they are. That is why this whole thing to me is absurd ... It just seems so bizarre."

'Homely person'

Buck said he had taken a sleeping pill with wine during the flight from Seattle to London in April and had no memory of the alleged rampage.

The group's bass player, Michael Mills, said Buck told him he was "not really sure what happened" after downing the pill.

Mills described Buck to the court as "a very gentle person, very dedicated to his friends and his craft, and a very nice, straightforward, kind and homely person."

Marriage had made him calmer still and turned him into a "very devoted" family man.

Buck's wife Stephanie said Buck was a very gentle man.

"He is shy, he is very self effacing. If he doesn't eat all his food on a plate in a restaurant he apologises to the waiter."

The trial was adjourned for one week.