Ahead of their gig at the quintessentially Welsh Clwb Ifor Bach, I had the opportunity to sit down with Paige Turner and Lee Newell of Anglo-American band Sunday (1994). Having released their first single in February 2024, and their most recent EP ‘Devotion’ in May, they set off on their sophomore UK tour.

When I arrived at Clwb before the interview, I knew I was in the right place when I was met by sea of white-lace donned fans, queuing hours before the doors opened for the best spot. Inside, there was a much more varied demographic; ranging from men in 80s band shirts to young people seeking the whimsical, nostalgic feel the band capture through their music.

After the Kentucky-originated duo Girl Tones the audience waited in their spots for the main act. Screams erupted when the house lights turned off, and red lights rose from the stage; followed by the familiar bass of the Twin Peaks theme. Emerging from the smoke was Lee Newell, playing the intro riff to their track Our Troubles, before Paige Turner appeared centre-stage in her iconic long dress, a black cross on her cheek.

The setlist moved between heavier, almost psychedelic tracks reminiscent of Mazzy Star and The Cure to upbeat bass-driven tracks like Doomsday reflecting 60s pop. The venue became illuminated by phone flashlights, painting an intimate scene during the emotional track Rain, while lead singer Turner made her way down the front of the stage, singing directly to fans. Towards the end of the gig they proudly accepted a Welsh flag from a fan, waving it between them while they gushed about it being their first time performing in Wales.

Q&A

So, the first thing is your name. Where did it come from and what was the inspiration?

L: “The Gregorian Calendar. We wrote our first song on a Sunday and we saved the first song, which was Tired Boy, as Sunday.”
P: “We called the band that for a couple of years up until we started releasing music. We kind of knew that we couldn’t just be called Sunday. It’s too common.”
L: “We knew we had to keep Sunday in there somewhere because we had a whole list of potential names. They all just didn’t feel right.

I don’t think I’ve said this in an interview before, but we were watching this documentary about a
bodybuilder who killed her husband. On the screen one of the titles said, ‘Valentines Day 1995’ and I loved just how it looked written out. We had that as a potential name, but we loved Sunday so much. We tried changing a letter to a number or something, but then we were like, our music is so cinematic sounding.”

P: “So, we stylised it as a film.”
L: “We were like, maybe we could be our own film.”

How did you form and when? Any anecdotes?

P: “Well, we’ve been dating for like twelve years now. We’ve been working together almost from the moment we met. We’ve been working on various different projects in the music industry, like writing songs for other people, with a bit of our own stuff. But we’ve talked about being in a band together for so long, but we never found the time to do it. And then during the pandemic, we all had so much time on our hands and we were so bored that we just wanted to do something fun. We wanted to make stuff that we liked, and like music we listened to and what we were inspired by.
You can hear that in the music, and it was so easy to write, which is not always the case. But this
was something that I feel like we didn’t even need to discuss, we just started doing it.”

L: “It was sort of an unwritten thing. I think we are a bit telepathic just because we haven’t left each other’s side for twelve years.”
P: “It only took us twelve short years. We didn’t really start doing the band stuff you do, like talking about the name and the artwork not long ago, like 2023. Then we put out the first song last year in February.”

And you blew up.

P: “Kind of, in a way.”

Who were your biggest musical inspirations?

L: “Changes a lot.”
P: “I love The Cure. Fontaines D.C were actually a really big inspiration, because we were listening to them a lot and we went to their gig around the time that we started putting out our music. Loads through the 80s and 90s era.”
L: “It’s hard to put my finger on just one, because I hear different things creeping into our music all the tie. It can be from The Supremes to The Prodigy, to Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths. New Order is a big one, Nancy Sinatra we reference a little.”

What’s your favourite song you’ve written?

P: “I feel like the best answer I could give is Tired Boy because, the band wouldn’t exist without that song really. That was sort of the catalyst and the first song that made us fall in love with being in a band and wanting to do it. So, I guess that’s my most proud”
L: “Changes daily. I’d say at the moment, Softly.

What do you want listeners to feel when they listen to your music?

P: “Hard question. Dangerous. I want people to relate to the pain that you go through being at this age, but find the humour in it.”
L: “I would say our music is like a tragedy, but in a Shakespearean, that sounds really wanky, but I just mean, there’s a lot of comedy in our songs. Wherever there is sadness there is comedy. So maybe a little laughing, a little crying.”
P: “That’s what we hope they feel.”

Finally, any messages to fans?

“You got it, baby.”

Words by Maddie Hobbs

Featured image courtesy of Maddie Hobbs