| Pete
Byrne - special video features
 It
seems that the 80's style bands are starting to make
a comeback in the clubs these days. The Fixx, Tears
For Fears, Duran Duran. And what about Naked Eyes? You
can say that Naked Eyes is back again! It's a real treat
when you listen to cool new mixes or even an acoustic
version of the original hits by the original member,
Pete Byrne!
A
key presence in the synth-pop movement of the early
'80s, the "New Romantic" duo Naked Eyes formed
in Britain in 1981. Comprised of former schoolmates
Pete Byrne (vocals) and Rob Fisher (keyboards), Naked
Eyes debuted in March 1983 with the LP Burning Bridges,
reissued in the U.S. a month later (minus several tracks)
as a self-titled effort. The lead single, a majestic
cover of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David perennial "Always
Something There to Remind Me," emerged as a hit
on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching the U.S. Top
Ten on the strength of its video, which received heavy
airplay on the fledgling MTV network.
Claris
Dodge interviews Pete Byrne - Broadband
Quick Time video
Watch
Pete play one of his songs in the studio
- Broadband
Quick Time video
"We
went to New York in the spring of '82 to meet with both
EMI and Polygram, and EMI made us the better offer.
We were looking for a name that suggested "two",
and 'Naked Eyes' just popped into my head," says
Byrne. The American follow-up "Promises, Promises"
was also a major hit. They followed this up with two
more top forty singles before parting ways. They reformed
in the 90's to record their third album, but Rob Fisher
tragically passed away before it could be completed.
Pete headed out to California, where he worked with
Gary Olazabal at Wonderland, sitting in and doing backgrounds
for Stevie Wonder on 'Part Time Lover' and writing and
recording with Brad Buxer (Michael Jackson).
 His
production and writing credits include the Olsen twins
"I am the Cute One" and the recently released
"Everthing and More", the Naked Eyes 12"
dance mix compilation, featuring "Promises Promises"
with Madonna. Current Credits: Pete recently released
a solo record called "The Real Illusion" and
is working on a collection of acoustic tracks called
"Fumbling with the Covers" This will include
the Naked Eyes hits along with songs from, The Beatles,
Stones, Dylan and Costello and will be released under
the Naked Eyes moniker. Pete is scheduled to be in NY
early next year for an In-studio acoustic guitar performance
video for VH1 Classics.
SPECIAL
thanks to Claris of StudioExpresso.com
for interviewing Pete and to ace camera man and editor
Johnny Jaskot of BabbleFish.com
for his excellent work. Many thanks to Pete for taking
the time to be featured and for kind permission to stream
his live performance. Pictures and text reproduced with
kind permission of StudioExpresso.com.
Contact: Claris
Dodge
Naked
Eyes WebSite
|
Mark
Wallis 
