Naked Eyes ~ Always Something There To Remind Me 1982 Extended Meow Mix

The British New Wave bands were so varied in sound and mission but they all had one thing in common, the incorporation of disco instead of rock and roll, use of electronic sounds and songs that were full of catchy hooks.

The band known as Neon was composed of Rob Fisher, Pete Byrne, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. It split into two with Fisher and Byrne forming Naked Eyes then Orzabal and Smith forming Tears For Fears. Using a Fairlight Synthesizer, they were able to parlay their electronic odes into chart gold in the US, but never attained the same popularity in their home country the UK.

The first single released was "Always Something There To Remind Me" a cover of the Bacharach/David song originally performed by Lou Johnson (#49, 1964). Naked Eyes first cut a demo of the song as Byrne had always loved the song and put together a new arrangement that was presented to EMI who signed the duo in the UK. Using the famous Abbey Road studios that the Beatles used, the session was interrupted by an invitation to join the party downstairs where Paul McCartney and many other recording artists were gathered.

After the duo left the party in the early morning hours, they returned to the studio and Byrne did his vocals in one take, the first time he had ever done so. The song was released in January of 1983 and in June peaked at #8 on the Hot100. Their next single was "Promises, Promises" an original composition that peaked at #11.

Further waxings failed due to not touring to support their music and attracted diminishing returns. After a second album, they went on hiatus. Byrne moved to LA and became a session voclaist collaborating with Stevie Wonder and Rita Coolidge.

Fisher met Simon Climie and formed Climie Fisher who had a hit of their own, "Love Changes Everything" (#23, 1988). Rob Fisher passed away on August 25, 1999 due to complications from surgery for bowel cancer. Byrne carried on the Naked Eyes, releasing a few of the songs Fisher and he completed before his death. The last I heard of them was in 2008 when they joined other 80's superstars like Belinda Carlisle, ABC and The Human League. They also toured with The Go-Go's, Scandal and The Motels in 2014.