Lancelot's Prams' Radio Programs: The Sundays 'Reading, Writing and Arithmatic'

Your Favourite Featured Album for Tuesday 2nd August 2011, 1.30 - 3.30 pm (AEST) was :

"Reading, Writing and Arithmatic", by The Sundays (from 1990)

* Where were you when you first heard songs from this album?
* What does this album remind you of?
* Who were you with when you first heard music from this album?
* Why does this albums' music sound special to you?
* What were you doing when you first heard music from this album?
* How does hearing songs from this album make you feel?

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. The group performed four songs in a session with popular disc jockey John Peel. These songs would later turn up on their debut album, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.
The group worked on their debut for over a year. "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."
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."
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was released in April 1990 and became a commercial success, reaching No. four on the UK charts and peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It would later go on to sell over a half million copies worldwide.
Critical reception was very positive; 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."
All of the album's singles charted in the UK. Similar success occurred in the United States for "Here's Where The Story Ends" due to radio play and MTV rotation.
The Sundays devoted nearly a year to an "exhausting" promotional tour, which encompassed America, Europe, and Japan.
The tour was considered successful, 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" (Source).