Peter Byrne, frontman of Naked Eyes, has died. He was 74.
The singer and songwriter, who co-founded the synth-pop duo, died peacefully in Los Angeles on Monday following a brief illness, according to a press release provided to Billboard announcing his death.
He is survived by his three children, Merlin, Dylan and Chloe; and his ex-wife, Elena.
Born in North London, Byrne formed Naked Eyes with keyboardist Rob Fisher and signed with EMI Records in 1982.
Their debut album, released in the UK as Burning Bridges and in the US as Naked Eyes, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and reached a peak of No. 32 on the Billboard 200 in 1983.
The duo’s biggest success came with its synth-pop interpretation of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Always Something There to Remind Me, which climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.
Fisher died in 1999 at the age of 42 due to complications following surgery for bowel cancer.
Byrne continued on with the Naked Eyes’ legacy, writing, recording and touring in the US and internationally. He last performed live with Naked Eyes on 6 June at the Totally ’80s Pool Party in Las Vegas.
