Hungry Like the Wolf

"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. The song was built throughout the day as each band member arrived, and by the evening it was essentially complete. "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. Rhodes came up with an idea for the backing track in the car while he was going to the studio. Andy Taylor worked out a Marc Bolan-ish guitar part, a very Marshall-sounding Les Paul guitar lick that was added to the track. The bass and drums were then added, and the whole track was finished that day, including Le Bon's vocal melody and lyrics. The group re-recorded the song for the Rio album a few months later at London's AIR Studios with producer Colin Thurston, ==Critical reception==

Upon its release in May 1982 it received a poor reception in Smash Hits magazine. "[T]his seems curiously lifeless even by their own standards", reviewer Dave Rimmer wrote, "The wolf of the title appears to be a character who hunts women. Charming." Retrospectively, it has been praised as one of Duran Duran's best songs. 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". 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." 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". 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'." In 2024, The Guardian music journalist Alexis Petridis ranked it Duran Duran's third best song, writing: "The appealingly cocky sound of a band intent on conquering America, certain they know how to do it. Hungry Like the Wolf has been polished until virtually every sound on it feels like a hook: the synth arpeggio, the guitar riff, the verses that sound like choruses, the spoken-word asides." In 2006, VH1 ranked "Hungry Like the Wolf" No. 3 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's". In 2021, Rolling Stone listed the song at No. 398 on "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and in 2022, at No. 5 on their list "100 Best Songs of 1982". ==Music video==

In 1982, music video director Russell Mulcahy, who had directed the band's first video, "Planet Earth", was brought back to make the music video for "Hungry Like the Wolf" and two other songs for the band's 1983 video album. The band had a vision of jungles and exotic women, and Mulcahy suggested Sri Lanka, a country he had just visited. the band made a stopover there in April, en route to a scheduled Australian tour. As it was described in the pop culture book The 1980s, the video was lush and cinematic, with shots of jungles, rivers, elephants, cafes and marketplaces evoking the atmosphere of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Andy Taylor, who contracted a stomach virus serious enough to require hospitalisation from accidentally drinking water in the lagoon during the shoot, describes the storyline as "Indiana Jones is horny and wants to get laid." In the video, lead vocalist Simon Le Bon's head rises in slow motion out of the river as rain pours down, evoking a scene in Apocalypse Now (1979). He then chases a tiger-like woman played by Bermuda model Sheila Ming-Burgess, from open markets in the city through obstacles in the jungle. During the chase, Le Bon has his face mopped by a young boy and overturns a bar room table, culminating in a final chase and struggle in a jungle clearing, which is sexually suggestive. In the meantime, the other band members hunt for Le Bon. and was 11th on the century-end MTV "100 Greatest Videos Ever Made". It won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 26th Grammy Awards in February 1984, making it the first video to ever win that award. In 2001, VH1 rated it 31st on the "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos". ==Chart performance==

"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, and six weeks later it reached its peak at No. 5, The release of the single helped Rio reach No. 2 on the albums chart. 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. The song entered Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in August 1982 and reached the top of the chart in January 1983. peaking at No. 3 on 26 March 1983, and remaining 23 weeks on the chart. Ten years later, in March 1993, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). reaching the top of the chart for one week on 19 March 1983, and ending in the 10th position of the 1983 year-end chart. It was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in April 1983. ==Legacy==

"Hungry Like the Wolf" remains one of Duran Duran's most popular songs and a fan favourite. As of October 2021, it was the band's most streamed song in the UK, with 40.4 million streams. ==In popular culture==

The song was a key element in the trial of Diane Downs, who was accused of shooting her three children on 19 May 1983, on an isolated road in Oregon. Downs said a stranger attempted to carjack and shot her kids. Downs's daughter, Cheryl, 7, died as a result of the injuries; Danny, aged 3, was paralysed from the waist down; Christie, 8, had suffered a disabling stroke. "Hungry Like the Wolf" was a favourite song of Diane and her kids, and Christie testified that the song was playing as her mother shot all three of her children. The song was played for jurors during the trial, and Downs unnerved spectators as she mouthed the words and gently bobbed along to the music. Author Ann Rule wrote in her book Small Sacrifices, "Christie has one remarkably clear memory. She was positive that the tape was still playing, even as the shots were fired. 'Hungry Like the Wolf' wailed inside the car, keening lyrics of thwarted lust." Lead prosecutor Fred Hugi believed the song "had given Diane the courage to do whatever she had to do to get [her lover] back," Rule wrote. In 1984, Downs was convicted of one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and two counts of criminal assault and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. ==Formats and track listings==

7": EMI / EMI 5295 United Kingdom • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (single version) – 3:27 • "Careless Memories" (live) – 4:11 (recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 17 December 1981) 12": EMI / 12 EMI 5295 United Kingdom • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (night version) – 5:14 • "Careless Memories" (live) – 4:11 (recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 17 December 1981) 7": Harvest / B 5134 United States • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (130 B.P.M. single version) – 3:23 • "Careless Memories" (live) – 4:11 (recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 17 December 1981) • Initial US release 7": Harvest / B 5195 United States • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (night version) – 5:14 • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (US album remix) – 4:11 • US re-release • Track 2 remixed by David Kershenbaum === CD: Part of Singles Box Set 1981–1985 === • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (single version) – 3:27 • "Careless Memories" (live) – 4:11 (recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 17 December 1981) • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (129 B.P.M. night version) – 5:09 CD: Part of Rio (2009 Limited Edition) (CD1) • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (US album remix) – 4:11 CD: Part of Rio (2009 Limited Edition) (CD2) • "Hungry Like the Wolf" (129 B.P.M. night version) – 5:09 ==Personnel==

• Simon Le Bon – lead vocals • Nick Rhodes – keyboards • John Taylor – bass guitar, background vocals • Roger Taylor – drums, percussion • Andy Taylor – lead guitar, background vocals • Colin Thurston – producer and engineer • David Kershenbaum – remixing ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==