Naked Eyes are an English
new wave band
["All Eyes on Pete Byrne", ''Newsday'', 15 October 2013] that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The band had four US top 40 singles.
The group's first hit, "
Always Something There to Remind Me
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo (music), demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me ...
", was a cover of the
Burt Bacharach/
Hal David
Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick.
Early life
David ...
standard. The band had subsequent hits with more of their own compositions, "
Promises, Promises", "When the Lights Go Out", and "(What) In the Name of Love".
History
Naked Eyes was formed by
Pete Byrne
Peter James Byrne (born 9 June 1954) is an English recording artist, and lead singer for the pop/ new wave duo Naked Eyes, during the earlier years of the 1980s. He is well known for his 1983 cover version of "Always Something There to Remi ...
and
Rob Fisher. The two had formerly been part of a band called
Neon, with future members of
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...
.
Naked Eyes were one of the first bands to make significant use of the
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
sampling synthesizer on a
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
.
The debut album ''
Burning Bridges'' was produced by
Tony Mansfield, along with the follow-up album ''
Fuel for the Fire'', which also featured two titles produced by
Arthur Baker. Their second and third
singles, "Promises, Promises" (the 12" mix of which features vocals from
Madonna) and "When the Lights Go Out", were also hit singles in the United States.
Following the release of the band's second album, Byrne moved to California. He performed on
Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover", sang backgrounds with
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and the ...
and Princess Stephanie, and wrote and produced for the
Olsen twins. Fisher also explored other projects, doing sessions in London and forming
Climie Fisher
Climie Fisher were a British pop duo formed by vocalist Simon Climie and former Naked Eyes keyboardist Rob Fisher. In 1987–88, they had two international hit singles: " Rise to the Occasion" and "Love Changes (Everything)".
Career
Simon Cl ...
with Simon Climie.
The group never toured due to the technical difficulties of recreating their studio sound in concert.
[
Rob Fisher died on 25 August 1999, age 42, following surgery for bowel cancer.
Byrne released a solo album ''The Real Illusion'' in 2001, which featured some of the last tracks he wrote with Fisher for a proposed third Naked Eyes album. In 2005, Byrne put a band together to play Naked Eyes shows, and has been touring regularly since. In 2007, Naked Eyes released ''Fumbling with the Covers'', an acoustic album which consisted of covers of ]Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
and Elvis Costello, among others, along with the Naked Eyes hits.
In the summer of 2008, Naked Eyes completed a US tour along with Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Raised in ...
, ABC and the Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
. Naked Eyes did a US tour with the Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...
, Scandal and the Motels
The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In ...
in 2014 and has been touring each summer since; Naked Eyes' 2020 tour was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 related restrictions.
On 8 June 2021, Naked Eyes released its latest album, ''Disguise the Limit''.
Discography
Studio albums
*'' Burning Bridges'' (1983) US #32,
/ref>
Compilation albums
*''The Best of Naked Eyes'' (1991)
*''Promises, Promises (The Very Best of Naked Eyes)'' (1994)
*''Naked Eyes / Spandau Ballet – Back 2 Back Hits'' (1998)
*''Everything and More'' (2002)
Singles
Music videos
* "Always Something There to Remind Me
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo (music), demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me ...
" (1982)
* " Promises, Promises" (1983)
* "Voices in My Head" (1983)
* "When the Lights Go Out" (1983)
* "(What) In the Name of Love" (1984)
* "Cry Baby Cry
"Cry Baby Cry" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The coda of the son ...
" (2007)
References
External links
*
Naked Eyes discographyQ&A with the Naked Eyes' Pete Byrne
John Hood for the '' Miami New Times'' 6 July 2009
A Chat with Pete Byrne
2008
{{Authority control
English pop rock music groups
English new wave musical groups
English synth-pop groups
English musical duos
British synth-pop new wave groups
Male musical duos
New wave duos
Musical groups established in 1982
1982 establishments in England
Musical groups from Somerset
Second British Invasion artists