Naked Eyes
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Naked Eyes | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Bath, England |
Genres | New wave, synthpop, pop rock |
Years active | 1982–84, 2007–present |
Labels | EMI, Parlophone, Oglio |
Members | Pete Byrne |
Past members | Rob Fisher |
Website | Naked Eyes homepage |
Naked Eyes are a British new wave band[1] that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The band had four US top 40 singles, but had little commercial success in their homeland
Their first hit, "Always Something There to Remind Me", was a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David standard. The band had subsequent hits with their own compositions, "Promises, Promises", "When the Lights Go Out", and "(What) In the Name of Love" in the United States.
History
Naked Eyes was formed by two college friends from Bath, England. The band features Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. The two had formerly played in a band called Neon, which also featured future members of Tears for Fears.[citation needed]
Naked Eyes was one of the first bands to make significant use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer on a recording.[citation needed]
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 and performed session work. 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.[citation needed] 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, aged 42, following surgery for bowel cancer.[2]
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 some 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. In the summer of 2014, Naked Eyes did a US tour with The Go-Go's, Scandal and The Motels.[citation needed]
Discography
Studio albums
- Burning Bridges (1983) US #32[3]
- Fuel for the Fire (1984) US #83[3]
- Fumbling with the Covers (2007)
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
Title | Release | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US Dance |
US AC |
CA | AU | NZ [4] |
UK [5] | |||
"Always Something There to Remind Me" | 1983 | 8 | 37 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 59 | Burning Bridges/Naked Eyes |
"Voices in My Head" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Promises, Promises" | 11 | 32 | 19 | 13 | — | 15 | 95 | ||
"When the Lights Go Out" | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"(What) In the Name of Love" | 1984 | 39 | 35 | — | 77 | — | — | — | Fuel for the Fire |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Music videos
- "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" (2007)
References
- ^ a b "All Eyes on Pete Byrne" Newsday 15 October 2013
- ^ Michael Anderson. The Ultimate 80's Music Book. p. 24.
- ^ a b https://www.billboard.com/music/naked-eyes/chart-history/billboard-200
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Naked Eyes – Always Something There To Remind Me". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 387. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
- Official website
- Naked Eyes discography
- Q&A with the Naked Eyes' Pete Byrne John Hood for the Miami New Times 6 July 2009
- A Chat with Pete Byrne, 2008