"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 (UK) | |||
Studio | T.W. Studios (Fulham) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Martin Rushent | |||
The Stranglers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"No More Heroes" on YouTube |
"No More Heroes" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released as a single from their album No More Heroes. It is one of the group's most successful singles, having peaked at No. 8 [1] [2] in the UK Singles Chart. [3] It is featured regularly in greatest hits, punk and new wave compilation albums.
The song's lyrics refer to several historical figures, starting with the Ukrainian Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky who "got an ice pick / that made his ears burn". [4] The second verse reels off "dear old Lenny", that is, the stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce; "the Great Elmyra", identified by Cornwell as painter and art forger Elmyr de Hory; [5] and the fictional character Sancho Panza from the novel Don Quixote . [6] The playwright William Shakespeare and the Roman emperor Nero complete the list.
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 (1978).
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. [7]
A cover version of the song by Violent Femmes featured in the movie Mystery Men (1999), 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 ninth solo studio album Monster (2018), along with acoustic versions of nine other Stranglers songs. It also featured in Episode 1 of Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy.
The video game series No More Heroes is named after this song and the album. [8]
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 8 |
The Stranglers are an English rock band. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene.
"Golden Brown" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released as a 7-inch single on EMI's Liberty label in 1982. Noted for its distinctive harpsichord instrumentation, it was the second single released from the band's sixth studio album La Folie (1981). The single peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest-charting single in the country. It has also been recorded by many other artists.
"Peaches" is the second single by the Stranglers, taken from their debut studio album Rattus Norvegicus (1977). Notable for its distinctive bassline, the track peaked at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
No More Heroes is the second studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 23 September 1977, through record label United Artists in most of the world and A&M in the United States, five months after their debut album, Rattus Norvegicus.
The Raven is the fourth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers, released on 21 September 1979, through record label United Artists.
Rattus Norvegicus is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Stranglers, released on 15 April 1977.
Black and White is the third studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 12 May 1978, through record label United Artists in most of the world and A&M in America.
The Gospel According to the Meninblack is the fifth album by English rock band the Stranglers, an esoteric concept album released 9 February 1981 on the Liberty label. The album deals with conspiratorial ideas surrounding alien visitations to Earth, the sinister governmental men in black, and the involvement of these elements in well-known biblical narratives. This was not the first time the Stranglers had used this concept; "Meninblack" on the earlier The Raven album and subsequent 1980 single-release "Who Wants the World?" had also explored it.
La folie is the sixth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 9 November 1981, through the EMI record label Liberty.
Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times, with Frischmann and Welch being the only members who remained in Elastica from its formation to its dissolution.
Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the Stranglers, Cornwell has recorded a further ten solo studio albums and continues to record and perform live.
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Barry "Baz" Warne is the current guitarist and vocalist of The Stranglers.
"Always the Sun" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, first released as a single on 6 October 1986, the second single from the band's ninth studio album Dreamtime (1986). A remixed version was released as a single on 24 December 1990. Both versions were Top 30 hits in the United Kingdom. "Always the Sun" was released in October 1986 in four different formats: a seven-inch single, shaped seven-inch picture disc, twelve-inch single, and as a double seven-inch single pack.
"Hanging Around" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Hugh Cornwell, and is notable for its driving bassline and its lyrics about urban alienation.
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"Waking Up" is a song by Britpop group Elastica. It was released as a single in February 1995 and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It preceded the release of their self-titled debut album, which came out the following month.
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