“Staring at the Sun” by Ultra Vivid Scene

"Staring at the Sun" is a Kurt Ralske song through and through: he wrote the words and the music for Joy 1967–1990, the second Ultra Vivid Scene album, released in May 1990. After his self-produced first record had done moderately well, Ralske went back into the studio in November 1989 and this time handed the controls to Hugh Jones, a producer with Echo & the Bunnymen, Modern English and the Damned on his résumé, and brought in a handful of session players. Jones produced and engineered the track, with Guy Fixsen assisting, and mixed it with Helen Woodward.

Ralske meant the album's title to read like the words on a tombstone, and once the record was done he put a real band together, taking Ultra Vivid Scene on the road for the first time that spring.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.