Naked Eyes vocalist Pete Byrne dies — The Guardian
Pete Byrne, the vocalist of British new wave band Naked Eyes, died in Los Angeles, United States, on September 14 after a short illness. He was 74. The musician’s death was announced on Wednesday on the band’s website and social media accounts, The Guardian reports.
Naked Eyes hits in the United States
Byrne was part of the “Second British Invasion” — a wave of British synth-pop and new wave bands that gained popularity in the United States, including thanks to the rise of MTV. The publication names Duran Duran and A Flock of Seagulls among other representatives of this wave.
In the late 1970s, Byrne founded Naked Eyes after his previous bands, Studio and Neon, failed to achieve success. Future Naked Eyes member Rob Fisher also played in Neon. Byrne and Fisher later formed a duo, changed their name to Naked Eyes and signed with EMI.
The band’s biggest hit was its cover version of Burt Bacharach’s song Always Something There to Remind Me. The track reached the top 10 of the charts in the United States, Canada and Australia. Although Naked Eyes did not reach the top 40 in the United Kingdom, the band had three more top-40 hits in the United States: Promises, Promises, When the Lights Go Out and (What) In the Name of Love.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The musician’s later career
Naked Eyes ceased to exist after its second album, Fuel for the Fire, released in 1984. Byrne later explained the split by saying that he lived in Los Angeles while Fisher lived in London, as well as by EMI’s loss of faith in the project.
After that, Byrne wrote and produced music for other artists, and in 1985 he recorded backing vocals for Stevie Wonder’s single Part-Time Lover, which topped the U.S. chart. In 2001, he released the solo album The Real Illusion. After Rob Fisher’s death in 1999, Byrne revived Naked Eyes as a solo project, released two more albums under the name and toured with 1980s music.
Pete Byrne is survived by three children — Merlin, Dylan and Chloe — and four siblings: Eileen, Sandy, Carol and Steve.
