Naked Eyes Singer Pete Byrne (‘Always Something There to Remind Me’) Dies

Pete Byrne in the video for Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There to Remind Me.”

Pete Byrne, the singer and songwriter for the English group Naked Eyes, best known for their 1983 hit synth-pop cover of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song “Always Something There to Remind Me,” has died. The news of his passing at age 74 on Sept. 14, 2026, after a brief illness, in Los Angeles, Calif., was announced today (Sept. 23) on the new wave band’s social media platforms.

Byrne formed the group in ’82 along with his college friend, Rob Fisher. Though they barely scraped the U.K. singles chart, it was the much-covered Bacharach-David track—originally titled “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” when Dionne Warwick first demo’d it in 1963—that earned them success in the U.S., where it reached #8 on the Hot 100. A follow-up single, “Promises, Promises,” from their debut album, written by Byrne and Fisher, peaked just outside the U.S. top ten, at #11.

Byrne was born in Islington, North London, on June 9, 1952. From the obituary shared on the band’s Facebook page: His early music projects began in Bath, England, and included a duo with Jeff Starrs from 1976 to 1977, and the band Studio from 1977 to 1979 with Clive Wright, Stash Huchrack, and Richard Fenton. From 1979 to 1982, Byrne was in the band Neon which included Fisher, as well as future Tears for Fears members Neil Taylor, Manny Elias, Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal.

Byrne and Fisher signed as Naked Eyes with EMI Records in 1982. Their 1983 debut album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with producer Tony Mansfield and released as Burning Bridges in the UK, and as self-titled Naked Eyes in the U.S. A second album, Fuel for the Fire, followed in 1984. The duo broke up shortly thereafter.

Byrne’s work outside Naked Eyes included serving as one of the backing vocalists on Stevie Wonder’s 1985 hit, “Part-Time Lover,” as well as songwriting for film, television, and even writing “I Am the Cute One” for child stars Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen’s Our First Video.

After Fisher died in 1999, Byrne continued writing, recording, and touring throughout the U.S. and internationally. He released The Real Illusion as a solo album in 2001, followed by the Naked Eyes albums Fumbling with the Covers in 2007, Disguise the Limit in 2021, and a remaster of the original Naked Eyes self-titled album in 2025. Their recordings are available here.

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