Peter Byrne, whose band Naked Eyes were a radio staple with 1980s perennial hits “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises,” died on Sept. 14 in Los Angeles. He was 74.
Jim Merlis, a spokesperson for the group, confirmed Byrne’s death,
adding that he died “peacefully … after a brief illness.” A specific cause of death was not immediately available.
Byrne and Rob Fisher, college friends from Bath, England, were first members of the band Neon, which included future Tears for Fears members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Byrne and Fisher went on to become a duo, launching Naked Eyes in 1982, the year they also signed to EMI Records.
Their debut studio album, which was self-titled in the U.S. and Canada and called Burning Bridges elsewhere, arrived the next year. The LP rose up the charts, reaching Number 32 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of two of the album’s hits: a cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Always Something There to Remind Me,” which peaked at Number Eight on the Billboard 100, and “Promises, Promises,” which reached Number 11 and imbued their signature synth-pop sound. The album’s “When the Lights Go Out” also became a Top 40 hit.
The New Wave band recorded a sophomore album, Fuel for the Fire, in 1984. That, too, spawned a Top 40 hit with “(What) in the Name of Love,” and the album peaked at Number 83 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. They disbanded after its release.
In 1985, Byrne lent his vocals to back Stevie Wonder’s hit “Part-Time Lover” and went into songwriting for television, film, and for the Olsen Twins.
After Fisher died in 1999 at the age of 42, Byrne continued to make music and toured the U.S. and internationally. In 2001, he release solo album, The Real Illusion. Additional Naked Eyes releases followed, including 2007’s Fumbling With the Covers, 2021’s Disguise the Limit, and a remaster of their self-titled debut arrived last year.
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