"No More Heroes" is a song by The Stranglers, released as a single from their album of the same name. It is one of the group's most successful singles (featuring regularly both in greatest hits and punk/new wave compilation albums), having peaked at No. 8[1][2] in the UK Singles Chart.[3]
"No More Heroes" | ||||
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Single by The Stranglers | ||||
from the album No More Heroes | ||||
B-side | "In the Shadows" | |||
Released | September 1977 (1977-09) (UK) | |||
Genre | Punk rock, new wave | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Songwriter(s) | Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Jet Black | |||
Producer(s) | Martin Rushent | |||
The Stranglers singles chronology | ||||
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The song's lyrics refer to several historical figures, including the art forger Elmyr de Hory, the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, the comedian Lenny Bruce and the playwright William Shakespeare, and the fictional character Sancho Panza from the novel Don Quixote.[4]
At the time of the single's release, the B-side "In the Shadows" was a non-album track; however, it appeared on the Stranglers' next studio album, Black and White. The band's publishers threatened legal action against Elastica in 1995, arguing that their single "Waking Up" borrowed elements of "No More Heroes". Elastica eventually settled out of court.[5]
A cover of the song by Violent Femmes featured in the movie Mystery Men, and was also heard in two episodes of the BBC television series Ashes to Ashes: episode 1 of Series 1[2] and episode 4 of Series 3. It was included in the soundtrack to Series 1. The song was featured on the closing credits of TV series Zapped, Season 2, Episode 6. Former Stranglers member and song co-writer Hugh Cornwell released an acoustic version of the song on his 2018 album Monster, along with acoustic versions of nine other Stranglers songs. It also featured in Episode 1 of Season 3 of the Umbrella Academy during the fight with the Sparrow Academy.
The video game series No More Heroes is named after this song and the album.[6]
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC)[7] | 8 |
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