Naked Eyes: Rob Fisher
and Pete Byrne
|
Always Something
There to Remind Us: An Interview with Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes
by David Chiu
It seems like not a day goes by without
hearing the familiar tune of "Always Something There to
Remind Me," covered by the British synth duo Naked Eyes.
Their biggest hit from 1983 still remains the best covered version
of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David love song and that lays in the
fact that it is not only played on '80s music programming shows
but also on mainstream radio as well. In fact, as this piece
was being written, guess what came on the radio? Coincidence?
I don't think so.
A lot of acts came and went during the
synth pop '80s, leaving nothing but a novelty song and big bad
hair. However Naked Eyes-the duo of vocalist Pete Byrne and keyboardist
Rob Fisher made some substantial music and had some hits during
their short time together. Though the music relied heavily on
beats and electronic quirks played to dazzling effect by Fisher,
it was Byrne's yearning vocals and honest lyrics about the trials
and tribulations of relationships made the music resonate more.
Naked Eyes was formed in the late '70s
by Byrne and Fisher from the ashes of their old group Neon (which
featured members of future group Tears for Fears). Utilizing
the technology of the time, the two crafted elaborate electronic
pop music that was melodic and danceable. Their 1983 US debut
album Naked Eyes (in the UK it was called Burning Bridges)
not only contained their breakthrough hit Always, but another
devastating relationship song "Promises Promises."
Accompanied by some eye-catching videos in frequent rotation
on MTV, those two songs turned Naked Eyes into a hot act in 1983.
However, that brush with success was short-lived
when Naked Eyes released Fuel for the fire in 1984. Aside from
"[What ]In the Name of Love," the album never quite
caught on with the public, and soon afterwards, the duo quietly
broke up. The Los Angeles based Byrne did some session work while
back in England, Fisher hooked up with Simon Climie to form Climie
Fisher, who had a hit song in 1988 called "Love Changes
Everything."
Slowly but surely, the duo reconnected
in the late '90s and started writing and recording songs as Naked
Eyes, with enough material to fill an album. At the time, Fisher
was seriously ill. In a cruel twist of fate, as Byrne approved
the deal with the record company the day before, Fisher passed
away in August 1999.
Byrne continue to work in music albeit
as a solo artist. Having recorded a full lengther called The
Real Illusion, he is now working on a covers album with him
on guitar. Byrne also went into the vaults for what turned out
to be a new collection of Naked Eyes rarities. Entitled Everything
and More and released in late October 2002, it contained
remixes of "Promises, Promises" (featuring vocals of
an unknown singer and hanger on named Madonna), "Always...",
"[What] in the Name of Love," as well as the early
singles when they were Neon. And Byrne is not finished--he promised
the long-awaited collection of new Naked Eyes songs that he and
Fisher were working on for release in 2003.
Affable and outgoing, Byrne spoke from
his base in Los Angeles about the duo's music, that encounter
with Ms. M, and his future plans.
How long did it take to have this new
collection of rare Naked Eyes tracks out after so many years?
It took longer than I thought, it was such
a big project. But it turned out quite nicely. It was fun doing
it.
One of the key highlights in this collection
are Madonna's vocals on the "Promises, Promises" remixes.
How did you and Rob hook up with her and Jellybean Benitez?
Jellybean was introduced to us through
our management. They were in New York, and we came over and did
a couple of remixes with him. And he was going out with Madonna.
She would come to the studio everyday and hang out basically.
It was suggested that she do this sexy
voice over thing (laughs). She did it and that was the end of
it. We never released it. It was something I've always wanted
to delve into. I had to go to Abbey Road and Los Angeles to get
all the stuff together. Nobody knew anything about the mixes.
I think it's really cool. They sound bright, so that;s what the
record company thought. In retrospect...they sound great.
Another key thing her are the tracks
when you and Rob were Neon. What are your feelings about hearing
these songs after all these years, and are you impressed how
Naked Eyes' sound evolved from Neon.
I had the masters in in my car for about
two months. I basically go to those tracks at the end because
they have so much character. They were done when synthesizers
were really in their infancy. Rob used to play all that stuff
by hand. And they kind of had a garage feel to them. Listening
to them now, I love them. They're just full of attitude--it sort
of shines through. The innocence of youth...it was just amazing
in retrospect.
What inspired you to cover what is considered
your memorable song "Always Something There to Remind Me?"
Rob and I just kind of had it with bands.
We went into a studio and we started recording the songs we've
been writing. At some point we thought Why don;t we do a cover
just for fun. We were working in the studio for 12-15 hours a
day. It was a very exciting time. There were a couple of songs
from the '60s that I love that we could do a good version of.
That was one, and the other was that Dusty Springfield song "You
Don't Have to Say You Love Me." We made a demo of "Always
Something There to Remind Me" and played it for EMI. They
loved it. ["Always Something There to Remind Me"] got
a life of its own.
What is the story behind "Promises,
Promises"? It sounds like it was inspired from real life?
It's kind of weird because that song to
me was such a throwaway. We wrote that in an afternoon and it
was one of those songs [that][ didn't require a lot of thought
went into it. We recorded the album not knowing which tracks
were really going to be a single and "Promises" was
just another song as far as I was concerned. But I've been doing
the guitar version of it [with guitar] and the lyrics were really
strong, and the people identify it. The lyrics really hold up.
Rob and I used to work everyday. We were very prolific. It was
just from experience, I really think.
Another great song is "(What) In
the Name of Love," which was remixed to much greater effect
by Arthur Baker? How was it like working with him?
Arthur's incredible producer and mixer.
The original version with just Rob and I--we recorded it in our
own studio but it was really a demo. And we needed a B-side for
"Promises" in England, and we went into Abbey Road
and [recorded] it for the B-side. We were doing the second album
Arthur wanted something that was a little more of a dance groove
to it. We suggested that track--the thing was totally recorded
to quite an incredible effect.
So why did you guys break up after the
Fuel for the Fire album?
After living and writing together 24 hours
a day for four or five years...we needed a break from each other.
Record companies change, people that sign you move on, new people
come in.
What did you do in the meanwhile, as
Rob hooked up with Simon Climie as Climie Fisher?
I did some stuff with Stevie Wonder [on
"Part-Time Lover"] and worked with his producer. That
was really exciting. It was a great experience.
So what brought about you and Rob reuniting
again? Did you guys write and record new material before Rob
passed away?
A friend Neil Taylor, who played guitar
for us and later for Tears for Fears--he came out to Los Angeles
and he ran into Rob, and Rob had some ideas. I had to go to London
and I called Rob. We got together and we started working together
again. It was like the old days. We enjoyed working with each
other so much. We worked really well together. It was difficult
to work with Rob toward the end because he was in failing health.
We got a lot of stuff in the can that I'm going through.
Are most of the new tracks finished?
Pretty much, perhaps a little more. Some
of the stuff is pretty complete. They sound pretty good.
There was a song on your MP3 site called
"No Ordinary Girl," a lush ballad, which musically
sounds worlds apart from what most people think of Naked Eyes
sound. Can you explain something about that song and will that
ever be committed on disc?
I love that song, It was one of the songs
that would have been in our new album. We were happy to put that
one out, along with "I Just Can't Get Over Losing You"
and "I Can't Make You Mine." I 'm hoping to get this
out in the spring.
What else can we expect on the new album?
I may include [some of those early demos]
depending on the quality of them.
Any chance that your first two albums
Naked Eyes (Burning Bridges in the US) and Fuel for
the Fire will be reissued on CD?
It's always a slow process. I would love
to see those albums in their original form an remix them for
DVD audio. In reality we're talking about three or four years
away.
How do you explain the chemistry between
you and Rob?
We both insisted on the best from each
other. We were brutal with each other, if he had an idea and
I thought it was rubbish, and I would hell him, And he did the
same with me. (laughs) We just tried to impress each other with
what we could do.
You have already recorded a solo album
The Real Illusion and you are now working on an album of covers
I've been doing this version of "Promises
Promises" for 18 months now, which came about by accident.
I started playing it on guitar one day and I as sort of shocked
because it was never written on guitar. I went into a guitar
shop one day and ended buying the most beautiful guitar they
had. Now I thought I got this amazing guitar I might as well
[use it]
There are a couple of covers of my own
songs as well [like] Willie Dixon's song that I always love.
I recorded this Beatles song called "Cry Baby Cry"
from the White Album. and I 'm doing an Elvis Costello
song called "Man Out of Time," just a song I really
like . I've got about eight or ten songs I'm getting to.
Have you reconciled the fact that most
people will think of Naked Eyes forever as a synth pop bands
of the '80s? Do you look at those times with fondness or nostalgia?
I don't mind that. In Los Angeles, they
play ["Always Something There to Remind Me"] a lot,
not like on an '80s show. We get played in all the mainstream
pop stations here. Although I do look back and enjoy being part
of some synth New Wave thing, our plan was to just write songs
and not really be a part of anything. The songs stood the test
of time and it's still played on the radio. I'm very pleased
with the way things turned out.
http://www.pjbmusic.com
|
