The Sundays were an English alternative rock band. The band's lineup consisted of lead vocalist Harriet Wheeler, guitarist David Gavurin, bassist Paul Brindley, and drummer Patrick Hannan.
Having met while attending Bristol University, Wheeler and Gavurin formed the band in 1988. The Sundays secured a recording contract with Rough Trade Records. Their debut single was "Can't Be Sure". Their first album, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, was released in 1990 and became a UK top 5 hit. The album's lead single "Here's Where the Story Ends" was a number one hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States.
The Sundays' next single, "Goodbye", did not emerge until 1992. Their next album, Blind, arrived the same year, reaching the UK top 15. The single "Love" reached number 2 on the US Modern Rock charts. In 1997, their third and final album, Static & Silence, was followed by the release of their most successful single, "Summertime", which made the UK top 15.
History
1988: Formation
The Sundays formed in 1988.
Vocalist Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin had met as students at Bristol University in the mid-1980s. Wheeler was from Reading, the daughter of an architect and a teacher, and studied English literature. Gavurin was from Wembley and actively pursued a degree in the Romance languages, The two fell in love and began living together. Following graduation, they wrote music in their free time while collecting unemployment benefits. otherwise, the couple had no musical background. The group subsequently became the focus of a record label bidding war. They eventually signed with Rough Trade Records and had a distribution deal signed for the United States with DGC Records. It went on to sell over half a million copies worldwide. alongside their lighter-than-air guitar pop, influenced the nascent Britpop scene, notably impacting bands like Sleeper. The hit single "Here's Where the Story Ends" also gained considerable success in the USA, propelled by extensive radio play and MTV rotation. The Sundays eventually released a new single, "Goodbye", a minor hit, in Autumn 1992. The release came almost three years after their last UK show. Despite Blind's initial appeal with audiences, it drifted off the charts by the summer of 1993. Although the band retained much of the same sound that they developed on previous albums, they added horns to a number of tracks for Static & Silence. The album was not as successful as Reading, Writing and Arithmetic; however, the single "Summertime" became their most successful hit to date on the UK chart and achieved a top 10 spot on the US Alternative Rock chart. It was The Sundays' third most successful single in the US, behind "Here's Where the Story Ends" (which made it to number 1 on the US Alternative Rock chart) and "Love" (which made it to number 2).
As of 2026, the band have not released any music since 1997.
2014: Possible return
In April 2014, Adam Pitluk, the editor of American Airlines' magazine American Way, tracked down and conducted an interview with Wheeler and Gavurin in which he put forward the idea of a reunion. They responded, "First let's see if the music we’re currently writing ever sees the light of day, and then we can get on to the enjoyable globe-trotting-meets-concert-planning stage."
On 10 October 2014, during an interview on BBC Radio 6 Music's Radcliffe & Maconie radio programme, David Baddiel described Dave Gavurin as his "oldest mate" and stated that "they [Dave and Harriet] are doing music, but whether they ever put that out there, I’ve no idea. They're the most paranoid people about actually putting stuff out there".
In an interview with the C86 Show Podcast released on August 18, 2020, Patrick Hannan revealed that Wheeler and Gavurin had "never stopped making music" and that he had played drums on a number of their tracks. Hannan added that these recordings may never be released.
Band members
- Paul Brindley – bass (1988–1997)
- David Gavurin – guitars, Hammond organ, piano, percussion (1988–1997)
- Patrick (Patch) Hannan – drums, percussion (1988–1997)
- Harriet Wheeler – lead vocals (1988–1997)
- Lindsay Jamieson – tambourine (1990–1992)
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:200px;"| Details
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:150px;"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales thresholds)</small>
|-
!width="35"|<small>UK<br /></small>
!width="35"|<small>AUS</small><br />
!width="35"|<small>NED</small><br />
!width="35"|<small>NZ</small><br />
!width="35"|<small>US</small><br />
|-
|1990
|Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
- Released: 15 January 1990
- Label: Rough Trade
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 40
| style="text-align:center;"| 56
| style="text-align:center;"| 37
| style="text-align:center;"| 39
|
- BPI: Silver
- RIAA: Gold
|-
|1992
|Blind
- Released: 19 October 1992
- Label: Parlophone/Geffen
| style="text-align:center;"| 15
| style="text-align:center;"| 78
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 103
|
- RIAA: Gold
!width="35"|<small>US Air</small><br />
!width="35"|<small>US Alt</small><br />
|-
|1989
|"Can't Be Sure"
| style="text-align:center;"|45
| style="text-align:center;"|74
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
|rowspan="2"|Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
|-
|1990
|"Here's Where the Story Ends"
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|123
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|rowspan="2"|1992
|"Love"
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|rowspan="2"|Blind
|-
|"Goodbye"
| style="text-align:center;"|27
| style="text-align:center;"|175
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|rowspan="2"|1997
|"Summertime"
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| style="text-align:center;"|41
| style="text-align:center;"|48
| style="text-align:center;"|50
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|rowspan="2"|Static & Silence
|-
|"Cry"
| style="text-align:center;"|43
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| colspan="11" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
|}
B-sides / unreleased songs
- "Can't Be Sure" [demo] (b-side of "Cry")
- "Don't Tell Your Mother" (b-side of "Can't Be Sure", eventually appearing also on DGC Rarities Vol. 1)
- "Gone" (b-side of "Summertime")
- "Here's Where the Story Ends" [Black Session] (b-side of "Wild Horses" – US cassette single)
- "Here's Where the Story Ends" [live] (b-side of "Summertime")
- "I Kicked a Boy" (b-side of "Can't Be Sure", released on Reading, Writing and Arithmetic)
- "Black Sessions" (Live 1992 - Album) (French radio show - France Inter)
- "Life Goes On" (b-side of "Cry")
- "Noise" (b-side of "Goodbye")
- "Nothing Sweet" (b-side of "Summertime")
- "Skin & Bones" [live] (b-side of "Summertime")
- "So Much" (only on the US version of Static and Silence)
- "Something More" (unreleased)
- "Through the Dark" (b-side of "Cry")
- "Turkish" (only performed live, and at almost every concert on the Blind and Static and Silence tours)
- "Wild Horses" (b-side of "Goodbye", appearing also on US copies of Blind)
- "You're Not the Only One I Know" [demo] (b-side of "Cry")
Music videos
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Director
!Album
|-
| rowspan="3" |1990
|"Can't Be Sure"
| rowspan="3" |Peter Scammell
| rowspan="3" |Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
|-
|"Here's Where the Story Ends"
|-
|"Joy"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|"Love"
|Unknown
| rowspan="3" |Blind
|-
|"Goodbye"
|Peter Scammell
|-
|1993
|"Wild Horses"
|Josh Taft
|-
|1997
|"Summertime"
|Pedro Romhanyi
|Static & Silence
|}