Maps of Music

The Hunter (1982)

Where the lyrics of The Hunter take you, and where it was really made.

Blondie's sixth album marked the band's last new music for seventeen years, and the group split within months of its release.

Key places

Recorded at The Hit Factory (1982)

Recording site The Hit Factory — The Hunter was recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City. Recording took place between December 1981 and February 1982. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Hunter: sixth studio album by American rock band Blondie
• Released May 24, 1982 by Chrysalis Records
• Blondie's last album of new material until 1999's No Exit
• Loosely a concept album on the theme of searching, hunting, or pursuing one's own Mt. Everest
• Released six months before the band splintered

Background

• Friction between members led the band to leave Frank Infante out of the new album's recording at first
• Infante began legal proceedings and was later reinstated after an out-of-court settlement
• Infante's name appears in the credits and he is pictured as a member of the group
• Debbie Harry has said in interviews that Infante's contributions to the finished record are minimal to non-existent
• For the North American tour in July and August 1982, Infante was replaced by session musician Eddie Martinez
• The song For Your Eyes Only was originally written for the 1981 James Bond film of the same name, but the producers chose another song and Blondie opted to release their own version here

Recording

• Recorded between December 1981 and February 1982
• Mike Chapman credited with production
• Doug Schwartz credited with engineering
• Line-up on the album: Clem Burke (drums), Jimmy Destri (keyboards), Nigel Harrison (bass), Debbie Harry (vocals), Frank Infante and Chris Stein (guitar)

Cover

• Photography by Brian Aris
• Cover illustration by Richard Raynis
• Lettering by Bruce Carleton and John Holmstrom, back cover illustration by Bruce Carleton

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein.
• Originally billed as Angel and the Snake, then Blondie and the Banzai Babies, shortened to Blondie by October 1974.
• The name came from truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry.
• Became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, part of the mid-1970s new wave scene.
• Debut album Blondie (1976) was not a commercial success; the band signed with Chrysalis Records in 1977.

Members

• Core members: Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Clem Burke (drums), Jimmy Destri (keyboards).
• Other former members included Gary Valentine, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Fred Smith.
• Clem Burke died of cancer on April 6, 2025.

Career

• Breakthrough came in Australia and the UK with Plastic Letters (1978) and the hit single "Denis".
• Parallel Lines (1978) became their most successful album, selling about 20 million copies worldwide; "Heart of Glass" topped the UK and US charts.
• Further hits included "Call Me", "The Tide Is High", and "Rapture", the first rap-featuring song to reach US number one.
• The band disbanded in 1982 after The Hunter, reformed in 1997, and had their sixth UK number one with "Maria" in 1999.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006; has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
• Pollinator (2017) peaked at number four in the UK; a new album, High Noon, is scheduled for February 26, 2027.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Hunter received a poor reception from music critics
• The Boston Phoenix: Deborah Frost criticized the band's pretensions and the lack of pop instincts
• AllMusic: William Ruhlmann said the album sounded like a contractual obligation, with funk-rock tracks and barely any melodies
• Trouser Press: critics saw the group's musical recombination as degenerating into sterile manipulation of styles
• Robert Christgau called it a lousy record by any standard

Reappraisal

• Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995): Rob Sheffield dismissed The Hunter and Autoamerican as bogged down in fussy art-rock
• The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): Marc Coleman and Ario Berger criticized its distracted content
• The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2011): Colin Larkin described it as a generally disappointing set that Harry completed under duress
• Overall, reviews ranged from mixed to negative

Records

• Peaked at No. 9 in the UK
• Peaked at No. 15 in Australia
• Peaked at No. 33 in the US
• Commercial sales were well below the band's previous three albums

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• For Your Eyes Only was first written for a 1981 James Bond film; the producers preferred another song, Blondie declined to re-record it, and that song went to Sheena Easton.
• Jimmy Destri wrote Danceway at Debbie Harry's request.
• English Boys is a tribute to the Beatles, recorded a year after John Lennon's assassination.
• The album closes with a cover of Smokey Robinson's The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game, first recorded by the Marvelettes in 1967.
• The band split six months after the album came out, and the planned European tour was cancelled.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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