Released first single

The Sundays released their first single ” Can’t Be Sure ” in January 1989. It topped the British indie charts and received acclaim as one of the best singles of 1989. 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 . 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.” Asked 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.”