Pete Byrne, Naked Eyes frontman, dies at 74

Pete Byrne, vocalist for the British new wave band Naked Eyes, has died at 74. 

He passed away peacefully in Los Angeles on September 14 following a brief illness, according to a press release.

Byrne founded Naked Eyes in 1982 alongside his college friend, keyboardist Rob Fisher, after the two had previously played together in the short-lived British group Neon, which also included future Tears for Fears members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. 

Naked Eyes released two studio albums, 1983's Burning Bridges (titled simply Naked Eyes in the U.S.) and 1984's Fuel for the Fire, together producing four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: their signature synth-pop cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Always Something There to Remind Me, which reached No. 8 and remains the song the duo is best remembered for, along with Promises, Promises, When the Lights Go Out and (What) In the Name of Love. 

Their debut album reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200, boosted in part by heavy MTV rotation during the network's early years.

Naked Eyes broke up following their second album, and Fisher died in 1999 at age 42 following cancer surgery. 

Byrne relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked as a session musician and songwriter, contributing backing vocals to Stevie Wonder's 1985 hit Part-Time Lover and writing music for film and television, including I Am the Cute One for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's 1993 video project, Our First Video. 

He released a solo album, The Real Illusion, in 2001, drawing partly on unreleased material he'd written with Fisher for a planned third Naked Eyes album.

In 2005, Byrne revived Naked Eyes as both a touring and recording act, releasing Fumbling with the Covers in 2007 and Disguise the Limit in 2021, along with a 2025 remaster of the band's original self-titled album.

According to Setlist.fm, the group's final performance came on June 6, 2026, at the Totally '80s Pool Party in Las Vegas. 

Byrne is survived by his siblings Eileen, Sandy, Carol and Steve; his three children, Merlin, Dylan and Chloe; and his ex-wife, Elena.