The Sundays were an English alternative rock group. The band, formed in the mid-1980s, released three albums in the late 1980s and 1990s. Their music is characterised by singer Harriet Wheeler's dreamy voice, David Gavurin's rich and jangly guitar sound, and suspension-rich harmonies.

Career

The band's genesis came with the meeting of Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin at university in Bristol. Wheeler had played gigs with 'Cruel Shoes' an early incarnation of the band Jim Jiminee.The duo soon augmented the band with bassist Paul Brindley and drummer Patrick Hannan.

The Sundays were widely heralded by the British press after early gigs in London in 1988, drawing comparisons with Cocteau Twins and The Smiths. The group's first single, "Can't Be Sure", was released in 1989 and was voted number one in John Peel's Festive Fifty that year.

The band achieved a measure of success in 1990 with its debut album, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, which went gold in the UK and U.S. Subsequent albums Blind (1992) and Static and Silence (1997) also went gold in the United States.

Gavurin formed a friendship with the comedian David Baddiel when growing up in North London, which would lead to the Sundays providing the song "Another Flavour" (sans vocals) from Static and Silence as the theme music to the Newman and Baddiel in Pieces TV series.

The band has been on a lengthy hiatus since the release of Static and Silence. Wheeler and Gavurin are focusing on raising their two children. Hannan went on to play with Star 69, Arnold and theaudience. Paul Brindley is currently the managing director of Music Ally, the digital musical consultancy.

In 1998, a cover version of their song "Here's Where the Story Ends" by Tin Tin Out featuring Shelley Nelson, reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart.

Band members

• Harriet Wheeler - Vocalist - born 26 June 1963.
• David Gavurin - Guitarist - born 4 April 1963.
• Paul Brindley - Bassist - born 6 November 1963.
• Patrick (Patch) Hannan - Drummer - born 4 March 1966, Lymington, Hampshire.

Discography

Albums

Year	Details	Peak chart positions				Certifications (sales thresholds)
		UK	AUS	NZ	U.S.
1990	Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic Released: 15 January 1990 Label: Rough Trade	4	40	—	39	BPI: Silver RIAA: Gold
1992	Blind Released: 19 October 1992 Label: Parlophone/Geffen	15	—	—	103	RIAA: Gold
1997	Static and Silence Released: 23 September 1997 Label: Parlophone/Geffen	10	45	33	33	BPI: Silver

Singles

Year	Single	Peak Chart Positions					Album
		UK	AUS	CAN	U.S.	U.S. Mod
1989	"Can't Be Sure"	45	74	—	—	—	Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
1990	"Here's Where the Story Ends"	—	—	—	—	1
1992	"Love"	—	—	—	—	2	Blind
	"Goodbye"	27	—	—	—	11
1997	"Summertime"	15	41	48	—	10	Static and Silence
	"Cry"	43	—	—	—	—

B-sides/unreleased songs

• "I Kicked a Boy" (b-side of "Can't Be Sure")
• "Don't Tell Your Mother" (b-side of "Can't Be Sure", eventually appearing also on DGC Rarites Vol. 1)
• "Noise" (b-side of "Goodbye")
• "Wild Horses" (b-side of "Goodbye", appearing also on US copies of Blind)
• "Here's Where The Story Ends" [Black Session] (b-side of "Wild Horses" U.S. cassette single)
• "(The) Turkish" (only performed live, and at almost every live gig on the Blind and Static and Silence tours)
• "Something More" (unreleased)
• "So Much" (only on the U.S. version of Static and Silence)
• "Skin & Bones" [live] (b-side of "Summertime")
• "Here's Where The Story Ends" [live] (b-side of "Summertime")
• "Nothing Sweet" (b-side of "Summertime")
• "Gone" (b-side of (b-side of "Summertime")
• "Can't Be Sure" [demo] (b-side of "Cry")
• "You're Not The Only One I Know" [demo] (b-side of "Cry")
• "Through The Dark" (b-side of "Cry")
• "Life Goes On" (b-side of "Cry")

In popular media

Their version of the song "Wild Horses" from the "Goodbye" single (and US copies of the album Blind) was used as the last dance song at the Prom in the popular '90s TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was also featured on the first released soundtrack for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the movie Fear with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg during the roller coaster ride. It was also featured at the end of the season 3 CSI episode 'Crash and Burn'. It was also used in a long-running Budweiser television advertisement in the early 1990s, featuring slow-motion footage of galloping Clydesdale horses.

On the song "Nate and Matt" on the Cigarette Beach EP, Matt Kukla of Grand Buffet proclaims that he is a "compulsive gambler/consulting Ayn Rand" and that he "digs the Sundays/big slowcore fan".

References

1. Larkin, Colin, ed., Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, vol 3, New England Pub. Associates, Chester, CT:, 1992, page 2416.
2. VH1.com : The Sundays : The Sundays' Harriet Wheeler - Rhapsody Music Downloads
3. http://musically.com/cgi-bin/content.cgi?page=team