The Eighties Online

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was a superbly produced pop single with a highly effective guitar hook and was the seventh hit in the U.K. for the west country synth-pop duo who took their name and a good deal of their lyrical inspiration from a book on primal scream therapy.

The first US hit from Tears for Fears went straight to number one as did the follow up single "Shout", which was more mainstream pop than their gloomy earlier material and was therefore somewhat more US friendly.

In 1985 acts from the UK would hold the number one spot on the billboard singles charts for an impressive 25 weeks. And with 24 albums on the charts in the mid-1980s, 1985 ended up being a top year for 80s music. This was all part of the British Invasion of the US music charts that reached it's peak in 1985.

In 1986, however, there were only eight weeks of singles from UK British artists topping the singles charts and only two albums from UK artists on the album charts.

Hungry Like The Wolf was the fourth top 20 hit in the group's native UK and the song that introduced Duran Duran to America, ushering in a string of hits and hordes of female admirers.

This potent, extended sexual metaphor was a timely and unique combination of tough rock-guitar licks and frenetic beats, worthy of post-disco dance floors. It also turned out to have an extended shelf life once the world embraced Duran Duran as a pop sensation.

Director Russell Mulcahy took Duran Duran to picturesque Sri Lanka to shoot the adventurous video for the song, which most memorably features the thrilling tension of lead singer Simon LeBon pursued through a by a painted she-wolf in heat.

The quintet, which was originally made up of Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor with the addition of Simon LeBon, fast became teen idols around the world, especially as the MTV audience devoured the exotic video.

The video was considerably more exciting and action-packed than much of the competing material at the time. In 1984, "Hungry Like The Wolf" won the Grammy for Best Video Shortform and made a noteworthy contribution towards Duran Duran's second honor that year, for Best Video Album.