Hungry Like the Wolf
"Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album, Rio (1982). The song was released on 4 May 1982 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom, and 8 June 1982 in the United States. It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Hungry Like the Wolf"
"Careless Memories" (live)
- 4 May 1982 (UK)
- 7 June 1982 (US)
- 3 December 1982 (US re-release)
Early 1982
- 3:23 (single version)
- 4:11 (US album remix)
- 5:14 (night version)
The music video for "Hungry Like the Wolf" was directed by Russell Mulcahy and filmed in Sri Lanka. Although the band initially failed to break into the US market, MTV placed the "Hungry Like the Wolf" video into heavy rotation. Subsequently, the group gained much exposure; the song peaked at the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983, and Duran Duran became an international sensation. The video won the first Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1984.
The 2015 song "Hey Everybody!" by 5 Seconds of Summer contains elements from "Hungry Like the Wolf", who were given a writing credit on the song.[4]
Writing and recording[edit]
"Hungry Like the Wolf" was written and recorded on a Saturday in the spring of 1982, at the basement studios of EMI's London headquarters.[5][6] The song was built throughout the day as each band member arrived, and by the evening it was essentially complete.[7]
"That track came from fiddling with the new technology that was starting to come in," guitarist Andy Taylor said in an interview with Blender magazine.[5]
Rhodes came up with an idea for the backing track in the car while he was going to the studio.[6] He started playing with the Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard, while lead vocalist Simon Le Bon was working with the lyrics.[6] The lyrics were inspired by Little Red Riding Hood,[5] and the repeating of the word "do" at the end of each verse takes its melody from the instrumentals in Gordon Lightfoot's song "If You Could Read My Mind."[8] Andy Taylor worked out a Marc Bolan-ish guitar part, a very Marshall-sounding Les Paul guitar lick that was added to the track. Then the bass and drums were added, and the whole track was finished that day, including Le Bon's vocal melody and lyrics.[5] The laugh at the beginning of the song and the moans during the song's fade-out were performed and recorded live by Rhodes' girlfriend at the time.[9]
The group re-recorded the song for the Rio album a few months later at London's AIR Studios with producer Colin Thurston,[7] who also recorded the hits "Too Shy" for Kajagoogoo and "I Want Candy" for Bow Wow Wow. Andy Taylor remembers: "He was a great organizer and arranger, we gave him far more ideas and music than the track actually needed, and he was important in the process of whittling them down to the essential elements." Thurston and the band decided to keep the demo's original electronic backing track and just re-record the other instruments and vocals.[5]
John Taylor has stated that he "[doesn't] really know" what the lyrics mean, speculating that the song is probably about "meeting girls" and/or "wanting to have sex with someone."[10]
Critical reception[edit]
In a 2003 review of the Singles Box Set 1981–1985, Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork Media said that "singles don't come much stronger than 'Hungry Like the Wolf,'" praising its "bubbly keys around a slashing guitar riff," adding that the song "show[s] off how Duran Duran was a band, not just a synthesizer."[11] Jon Pareles from The New York Times said the song "put an oblique, sometimes apocalyptic spin on pop romance in the verses but kept the choruses clear and catchy, never disguising their pop intentions," adding that the "posing was always a little preposterous, but no less enjoyable for that."[12]
AllMusic's Ned Raggett said the song "blended a tight, guitar-heavy groove with electronic production and a series of instant hooks," adding that it was one of Rio's "biggest smashes" that "open[ed] the door in America for the New Romantic/synth rock crossover."[13] Stewart Mason, also from AllMusic, called "Hungry Like the Wolf" a "spectacular pop single" and "the finest song Duran Duran ever wrote," adding that it was a "much more kinetic and exciting song than earlier flop singles like 'Planet Earth'."[14]
In 2006, VH1 ranked "Hungry Like the Wolf" No. 3 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's."[15] In 2021, Rolling Stone listed the song at No. 398 on "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."[16]
Chart performance[edit]
"Hungry Like the Wolf" was released in the United Kingdom on 4 May 1982; the next week the song debuted at No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart,[28] and six weeks later it reached its peak at No. 5,[29] remaining six weeks in the top 10, and 12 weeks in total.[30] The release of the single helped Rio reach No. 2 on the albums chart.[28] In Ireland, the single entered the chart on 23 May 1982 and reached No. 4 on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming the band's first top-10 hit in that country.[31]
Despite achieving commercial success with several top hits in the United Kingdom, the band failed to enter in the US market. Their debut studio album did not chart and failed to yield a hit single. "Hungry Like the Wolf" was released in the United States on 7 June 1982 but did not chart. At first, US radio were reluctant to play the song, but influential stations such as KROQ in Los Angeles championed the band, hosting an in-person artist album signing at a Licorice Pizza in Canoga Park, California, to build support for the act. On the first day of New York-based WLIR's run as a modern-rock station, "Hungry Like the Wolf" aired in morning drive, with John DeBella as host. It gained national popularity, however, only when the newly emerging MTV began playing the accompanying music video in heavy rotation; the exposure pushed "Hungry Like the Wolf" onto AOR playlists.[32] The song entered Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in August 1982 and reached the top of the chart in January 1983.[33]
Following the release of the Carnival EP in September and the David Kershenbaum remaster of Rio in November, the Kershenbaum remix of "Hungry Like the Wolf" was released as a single on 3 December 1982.[14] "Hungry Like the Wolf" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1982 at number 77,[34] peaking at No. 3 on 26 March 1983, and remaining 23 weeks on the chart.[35] Ten years later, in March 1993, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[36] In Canada, the song debuted at No. 48 on the RPM singles chart on 22 January 1983,[37] reaching the top of the chart for one week on 19 March 1983,[38] staying on the chart for 19 weeks,[39] and ending in the 10th position of the 1983 year-end chart.[40] It was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in April 1983.[41]