Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes Takes Final Bow; Yes, It’s Vegas-Related
We were sorry to hear about the passing of Pete Byrne, singer and co-founder of the 1980s synth-pop duo Naked Eyes. He died Sept. 14, 2026, in L.A. at age 74 following a brief illness.
Byrne’s passing hit us hard for a couple of reasons. First, his music. He had a couple of immortal hits in the 1980s, the most magical musical era ever. The two you may remember are “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises.”
The other reason is we took photos of Byrne at a show at Fremont Street Experience on July 23, 2011. One is being shared around the world because we donated it to Wikipedia at some point. We wanted to share it and talk about Byrne for a moment, if that’s cool.
Byrne formed Naked Eyes with Rob Fisher in 1982. Fisher passed in 1999.
The pair had four Billboard Hot 100 hits.
Here’s a little “Always Something There to Remind Me.”
Today we learned “Always Something There to Remind Me” was a cover of a Burt Bacharach song.
Burt Bacharach, of course, is famous for being in “Austin Powers.” Bonus: Great location.
We have no idea why we attended the Pete Byrne show at Fremont Street Experience, other than the fact we loved his songs and those of another band onstage that night, Wang Chung. We would later take photos of dozens of performers in our role as Digital Marketing Manager for Fremont Street Experience, but we didn’t start that gig until 2014.
The Naked Eyes show was part of Fremont Street Experience’s “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely ’80s” summer promotion, “a 100-day celebration of the decade” hosted by the original MTV VJ.
Byrne interacted with a kid onstage, maybe one of his sons?
Beyond Wang Chung, Pete Byrne was part of a line-up that over a series of nights included Terri Nunn & Berlin, Dale Bozzio & Missing Persons, ABC, Colin Hay of Men at Work, Loverboy, Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, Men Without Hats and Howard Jones.
Also known as our musical glory hole.
Here’s “Promises, Promises.”
We don’t recall meeting Pete Byrne, but we’d later hang out with Wang Chung after a show at The Pub at Monte Carlo on Sept. 4, 2010, as part of Monte Carlo’s “Concert Series at The Pub.” They were just so nice.
We are not just rambling here despite lots of evidence to the contrary. The Pub at Monte Carlo (now Park MGM) closed permanently on Oct. 3, 2016. See? Vegas history.
Here’s a shot of Wang Chung’s Nick Feldman and Jack Hues, who shared the stage with Naked Eyes at Fremont Street Experience.
That’s it. We just wanted to say farewell to Pete Byrne, someone responsible for music that will endure far beyond his too-short life.
We also wanted to share some photos you haven’t seen elsewhere.
Ultimately, everything is Vegas-related.
Leave your thoughts on “Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes Takes Final Bow; Yes, It’s Vegas-Related”