Naked Eyes

Naked Eyes are an English new wave band[1] that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The band had four US top 40 singles.

Not to be confused with Naked eye.
Naked Eyes
Background information
OriginBath, England, United Kingdom
Genres
Years active1982–1984, 2006–present
Labels
Associated actsNeon
WebsiteNaked Eyes homepage
MembersPete Byrne
Past membersRob Fisher

The group's first hit, "Always Something There to Remind Me", was a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal 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 were formed by Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher. The two had formerly been part of a band called Neon, with future members of Tears for Fears.[2]

Naked Eyes were one of the first bands to make significant use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer on a recording.

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 and Princess Stephanie, and wrote and produced for the Olsen twins.[3] Fisher also explored other projects, doing sessions in London and forming Climie Fisher with Simon Climie.

The group never toured due to the technical difficulties of recreating their studio sound in concert.[1]

Rob Fisher died on 25 August 1999, age 42, following surgery for bowel cancer.[4]

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, The Beatles 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, ABC and the Human League. Naked Eyes did a US tour with the Go-Go's, Scandal and the Motels in 2014 and has been touring each summer since; Naked Eyes' 2020 tour has been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.[5]

Discography

Studio albums

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
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[8]		 AUS
[7]		 CAN NZ
[9]		 US US
AC		 US
Dance
"Always Something There to Remind Me" 1983 59 7 8 2 8 31 37 Burning Bridges/Naked Eyes
"Voices in My Head" — — — — — — —
"Promises, Promises" 95 — 13 15 11 19 32
"When the Lights Go Out" — — — — 37 — —
"(What) In the Name of Love" 1984 — — 77 — 39 — 35 Fuel for the Fire
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

References
  1. "All Eyes on Pete Byrne", Newsday, 15 October 2013
  2. "Naked Eyes interview". Discog.info. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. "I Am the Cute One - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  4. Michael Anderson. The Ultimate 80's Music Book. p. 24. ISBN 9781409209041.
  5. "Tour". Nakedeyesmusic.com. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  6. "Naked Eyes Chart History | Billboard". 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 213. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 387. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. Steffen Hung. "Naked Eyes – Always Something There To Remind Me". Charts.nz. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
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