Hungry Like the Wolf

What makes *Hungry Like the Wolf* sound so distinctive is the way it was constructed. The original idea emerged on a spring Saturday in 1982, at EMI studios in London. Nick Rhodes, one of the songwriters, had a spark while driving to the studio, experimenting with a Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard. The rhythmic foundation was built with a Roland 808 drum machine connected to a sequencer, creating a pattern that felt fresh and novel for the time. Simon Le Bon, the vocalist, worked on the lyrics, drawing inspiration from the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Even the repetition of the word "do" at the end of each verse echoes the melody of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind." Andy Taylor contributed a guitar riff with a powerful sound, very characteristic of a Les Paul with Marshall amplification, in the style of Marc Bolan. All of this, along with the bass and drums, was completed in a single day, including vocals and lyrics. Even the initial laughter and the murmurs at the end were recorded live by Rhodes' then-girlfriend.

Months later, the band returned to AIR studios in London to record the definitive version for the album Rio (1982), under the production of Colin Thurston. Thurston, who also worked with Kajagoogoo and Bow Wow Wow, was key to refining all the ideas the band brought. They decided to keep the electronic foundation of the original demo and re-record the instruments and vocals. Despite the initial reception in Smash Hits magazine not being enthusiastic, with one critic describing it as "curiously lifeless," the song found its way. The music video, filmed in Sri Lanka and directed by Russell Mulcahy, was fundamental. Although Duran Duran had not yet managed to establish themselves in the US market, the intensive rotation of the video on MTV opened doors for them. This propelled Hungry Like the Wolf to reach third place on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983, catapulting the band to international fame. The impact of the video was such that it won the first Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1984.