The Sundays

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
The Sundays
singer Harriet Wheeler
singer Harriet Wheeler
Background information
Origin Manchester, England
Genre(s) Alternative
Indie rock
Indie pop
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums
Years active 1988–1997
Label(s) Rough Trade
Geffen
Parlophone
Associated
acts		 Jim Jiminee
Departure Lounge
Members
David Gavurin
Harriet Wheeler
Patrick Hannan
Paul Brindley

The Sundays are an English alternative rock group.

The band, formed in the mid-1980s, released three albums of material in the late 1980s and 1990s. Their music is characterised by singer Harriet Wheeler's "dreamy" voice, 'jangly' guitars and suspension-rich harmonies.

Contents

[edit] Career

The band's genesis came with the meeting of Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin at university in Bristol. Wheeler had played gigs with the band Jim Jiminee [1] [dubious — see talk page]. 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 late 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.

During his time at Bristol University, Gavurin formed a friendship with the comedian David Baddiel, which would lead to the Sundays providing the song "Another Flavour" (sans vocals) from Static and Silence as the theme tune 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 a couple and are focusing on raising their two children.

[edit] Trivia

  • The band's cover version of "Wild Horses", originally written by the Rolling Stones, was featured in the film Fear; in episode 3.20 ("The Prom") of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer; and in episode 3.17 ("Crash and Burn") of the TV show CSI. The song appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album. It was also featured in a Budweiser commercial aired during Super Bowl XXIX.
  • "Here's Where The Story Ends" was featured in the film Blown Away. It has also been covered by several artists, including a UK Top 10 version by Tin Tin Out, featuring vocals by Shelley Nelson, in 1997, and a version by Chinese diva Faye Wong. The song was also covered by Flowchart, a Philadelphia-based electronic band.
  • The Sundays' mailing list "Arithmetic" (now seemingly defunct, but web site intact) also produced a cover album featuring independent groups and artists, arranged primarily by members John Lee and Brandon Milner. It was named Our Finest Hour.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

Year Song UK Singles Chart US Modern Rock Album
1989 "Can't Be Sure" 45 – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
1990 "Here's Where the Story Ends" – 1 Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
1992 "Love" – 2 Blind
1992 "Goodbye" 27 11 (1993) Blind
1997 "Summertime" 15 10 Static and Silence
1997 "Cry" 43 Unknown Static and Silence

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed., Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, vol 3, New England Pub. Associates, Chester, CT:, 1992, page 2416.


[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_Sundays_7139.html"
In other languages