Peter Byrne Dead: Naked Eyes Singer Was 74

Peter Byrne, the singer and songwriter for the band Naked Eyes who scored 1980s hits with “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises,” died peacefully in Los Angeles, California, on Monday, September 14, after a brief illness. He was 74.

His death was announced on the band’s official website.

One of the most popular, if fleeting, British New Wave bands of MTV’s golden era, Naked Eyes was founded in 1982 by Byrne and keyboardist Rob Fisher, who had been college friends in their native Bath, England, and had performed together in a band called Neon from 1979 to 1982. (That band also included Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, who would go on to form Tears for Fears.)

Within two years Naked Eyes had scored four Top 40 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100. The highest charting was “Always Something There to Remind Me” which peaked at #8 during the summer of 1983. A cover of the 1963 song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, the Byrne-Fisher demo of “Always Something There to Remind Me” was strong enough to convince EMI Records to sign the duo that would become Naked Eyes.

The band had three subsequent top 40 hits, the most successful of which was “Promises, Promises,” written by Byrne and Fisher and not to be confused with the Bacharach-David song of the same title that was a hit for Warwick. Both songs were included on the band’s debut 1983 album Burning Bridges, as was a third, less successful single “When the Lights Go Out.”

The band’s second album, 1984’s Fuel For The Fire, featured a modest hit “(What) In the Name of Love,” but failed to match the success of the debut album, prompting Naked Eyes to disband (the group never toured). Fisher died in 1999 at the age of 42 following cancer surgery.

Born June 9, 1952, in Bath, Byrne continued writing, recording and touring following Fisher’s death, releasing the solo album The Real Illusion in 2001 under Pete Byrne, followed by two albums under the Naked Eyes name: Fumbling with the Covers in 2007 and Disguise the Limit in 2021. A remaster of the original Naked Eyes self-titled album was release in 2025.

In 2008 Byrne’s Naked Eyes too, part in the U.S. “Regeneration” tour with Belinda Carlisle, ABC and the Human League, and in 2024 joined a similarly ’80s themed tour of the U.S. and Canada with Wang Chung, Men Without Hats and The Motels.

Outside of Naked Eyes, Byrne’s work included providing backing vocals on Stevie Wonder’s 1985 hit “Part-Time Lover,” as well as songwriting for film and television. He wrote the song “I Am The Cute One” in 1993 for the Olsen Twins.

Byrne is survived by his siblings Eileen, Sandy, Carol and Steve; children Merlin, Dylan, and Chloe; and ex-wife Elena. A private service will be held for the family.

Listen to “Promises, Promises” and “Always Something There To Remind Me” below: