The Headhunters

The Headhunters are a group from Buffalo associated with hard rock, jazz-funk, fusion and funk. The name is used by more than one act, but the Buffalo group is identified with Terry Sullivan of The Restless. They are active as an ended act.

Overview

The Headhunters name is also used by several other bands, including a US jazz-funk fusion group linked to Herbie Hancock, a side project of Swedish rock group Ultima Thule, and an Australian band from Sydney active in 1980, 1984 and 1988. The Buffalo act is the one associated with hard rock and rock.

Releases and style

The Buffalo Headhunters release material on Shout Records in the early 1980s. Their output includes four singles and an LP titled Industrial Warfare. The album is described as being in the style of bands such as Killing Joke and Chrome.

Line-up and association

The group is linked with Terry Sullivan of The Restless. Beyond that, the available information does not give a fuller personnel history for this Buffalo version of the band.

Other acts using the name

The best-known Headhunters are the US jazz-funk fusion band originally assembled by Herbie Hancock for his 1973 album Head Hunters. That group retains Bennie Maupin from Hancock’s earlier sextet, with Paul Jackson as the only other constant member across later recordings and concerts. The original lineup also includes Bill Summers and Harvey Mason, while Mike Clark later takes over drums for Thrust in 1974. The band continues working with Hancock through the 1970s, records Survival of the Fittest in 1975 without him, and later reunites with him for Return of the Headhunters in 1998. Jackson, Clark and Summers also continue recording and performing as The Headhunters, based in New Orleans, with Victor Atkins or Robert Walter replacing Hancock on keyboards. That later version releases Evolution Revolution on Basin Street Records in 2003 and backs saxophonist Rebecca Barry on her 2005 album Rebecca Barry and the Headhunters.

There is also an Australian Headhunters from Sydney, featuring musicians including Todd and Marc Hunter of Dragon and Kevin Borich, which releases at least one album and single. A British act with the same name also appears on Shout Records in the early 1980s.