Rob Fisher (British musician)
His sleek keyboard melodies on 'Always Something There to Remind Me' helped define the sophisticated sound of 80s synth-pop.
1956–1999 (age 43)·British keyboardist and songwriter·Birthday: November 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
Rob Fisher was the quiet craftsman behind some of the 1980s' most impeccably polished pop moments. As half of the duo Naked Eyes, his elegant keyboard arrangements and programming transformed the Burt Bacharach classic 'Always Something There to Remind Me' into a synth-pop standard, its sequencer pulse and melodic sheen dominating airwaves. After Naked Eyes disbanded, he formed Climie Fisher with vocalist Simon Climie, achieving another major hit with the soulful 'Love Changes (Everything).' Fisher's talent lay in his ability to blend the emotional warmth of traditional songwriting with the crisp, modern possibilities of synthesizers and drum machines. His career, though cut short by his untimely death, left a lasting mark on the sound of sophisticated pop in that decade, proving that machines could carry profound feeling.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Rob was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Rob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Rob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
1999Died at 43
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
Key Achievements
- Co-wrote and produced Naked Eyes' synth-pop hit 'Always Something There to Remind Me,' a top 10 hit in the US in 1983.
- Co-formed the duo Climie Fisher, scoring an international hit with 'Love Changes (Everything)' in 1988.
- His keyboard work helped define the clean, melodic production style characteristic of early 80s British synth-pop.
Did You Know?
He attended the prestigious Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire, England.
His pre-fame band in school was called Cirrus.
The name 'Naked Eyes' was taken from a line in the Talking Heads song 'Psycho Killer.'
“A great pop song is a perfect machine made of melody and emotion.”
