The Sundays - Original UK Vinyl "Reading, Writing & Arithmetic" 1990 Excellent
£
19
$
25
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
This is the original UK 1990 vinyl release of the brilliant debut album "Reading, Writing & Arithmetic" by indie-pop band The Sundays.
The record and sleeves are in excellent condition. Please refer to images for detail and just let me know if you have any questions or would like to see further pics.
I'm gutted to be selling it but I need to offload some of my more valuable records as I'm saving with my partner for a deposit on a house.
Can post outside UK too - please message me with your location for rates.
Track listing
All songs written by David Gavurin and Harriet Wheeler.
- "Skin & Bones" – 4:16
- "Here's Where the Story Ends" – 3:54
- "Can't Be Sure" – 3:22
- "I Won" – 4:23
- "Hideous Towns" – 3:46
- "You're Not the Only One I Know" – 3:50
- "A Certain Someone" – 4:25
- "I Kicked a Boy" – 2:16
- "My Finest Hour" – 3:59
- "Joy" – 4:10
1989–1990: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic[edit]
The Sundays released their first single "Can't Be Sure" in January 1989, which topped British indie charts and received acclaim as one of the best singles of 1989.[7]The group performed three songs in a session with popular disc jockey John Peel. These songs would later turn up on their debut album, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.[7] The group worked on their debut for over a year.[6] "A lot of bands who get signed, who have been playing the circuit for years, have 30 songs for the first album," said Gavurin. "But we didn't have enough for our first album, let alone our second. We can't write to deadline. You can't force a whole load of songs out quickly."[8] Responding to whether the band felt pressured when working on the album, Wheeler responded "No, because to start off with, we're far more critical of ourselves than anyone else, and that's more a concern to us than what the press think." Gavurin also commented "The main pressure we felt was with the single, and even then, we thought, well, they're either going to like it or they're not, and there's not much we can do to influence that."[5]
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was released in April 1990 and became a commercial success, reaching No. four on the UK charts[7] and peaking at No. 39 on theBillboard 200 in the United States.[9] It would later go on to sell over half a million copies worldwide.[4] Critical reception was very positive;[6] Rolling Stone writer Ira Robbins referred to it as "an alluring slice of lighter-than-air guitar pop, a collection of uncommonly good songs graced by Harriet Wheeler's wondrous singing."[10] The single "Here's Where the Story Ends" was particularly successful in the USA due to radio play and MTV rotation.[6] The Sundays devoted nearly a year to an "exhausting" promotional tour,[4] which encompassed America, Europe, and Japan.[6] The tour was considered successful,[6] though it wasn't without some mishaps; a London show had to be rescheduled due to Wheeler losing her voice and the group experienced some bemusement when a Dallas, Texas show was advertised with the slogan "See The Sundays on Sunday with ice-cream sundaes".[7]
price rating
