No More Heroes (The Stranglers song)

"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 in the UK Singles Chart. 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". 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; and the fictional character Sancho Panza from the novel Don Quixote. 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.

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 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.

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)	8

References

^ Monger, James Christopher. Various Artists - Playlist: New Wave (2008) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
"Official Charts Company - The Stranglers - No More Heroes". Archive.is. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
^ Everyhit.com (NB Enter either Stranglers in "Name of artist" and/or No More Heroes in "Title of Song" for details
Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
Listen to New Wave Rock
Hugh Cornwell, Jim Drury The Stranglers: Song by Song 2011 "What about the Great Elmyra? He was a master forger who lived in Majorca. Orson Welles made a documentary which featured him called F For Fake. When he died the art world realised how extensive his forging was."
"How depth of heroes has been confused with crass celebrity". The Irish Times. 16 April 2011.
"Stylus Magazine: Elastica". Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
"SUDA51, Game Creator (No More Heroes, Killer7) - toco toco". YouTube. 1 Aug 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
"The Stranglers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.

External links

No More Heroes at Discogs (list of releases)

v t e The Stranglers
Jean-Jacques Burnel Baz Warne Jim Macaulay Toby Hounsham Jet Black Hugh Cornwell Hans Wärmling Dave Greenfield John Ellis Paul Roberts
Studio albums	Rattus Norvegicus No More Heroes Black and White The Raven The Gospel According to the Meninblack La folie Feline Aural Sculpture Dreamtime 10 Stranglers in the Night About Time Written in Red Coup de Grace Norfolk Coast Suite XVI Giants Dark Matters
Live albums	Live at the Hope and Anchor Live (X Cert) All Live and All of the Night Saturday Night, Sunday Morning The Stranglers and Friends – Live in Concert Friday the Thirteenth Live at the Hammersmith Odeon '81 Live at the Apollo Apollo Revisited Coast to Coast: Live on Tour Live at the Apollo 2010 (DVD & CD)
Compilations	IV The Collection 1977–1982 Off the Beaten Track Singles (The UA Years) Greatest Hits 1977–1990 The Early Years '74 '75 '76 Rare Live and Unreleased Strangled from Birth and Beyond The Sessions The Hit Men Collection The Stranglers The Masters Lies and Deception Peaches: The Very Best of The Stranglers Rarities (2002) Out of the Black Sweet Smell of Success – Best of the Epic Years Live 'n' Sleazy Gold The Very Best of The Stranglers Decades Apart
Singles	"(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" "Peaches" "Something Better Change" "No More Heroes" "5 Minutes" "Nice 'n' Sleazy" "Walk On By" "Duchess" "Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" "Bear Cage" "Who Wants the World?" "Thrown Away" "Let Me Introduce You to the Family" "Golden Brown" "La Folie" "Strange Little Girl" "European Female" "Skin Deep" "No Mercy" "Always the Sun" "All Day and All of the Night" "96 Tears" "Always the Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix)" "Golden Brown" (Re-issue) "Lies and Deception" "Big Thing Coming" "Spectre of Love"
Other songs	"Goodbye Toulouse" "Hanging Around" "Tramp"
DVD releases	The Collection 1977–1982 Live At Alexandra Palace Friday the Thirteenth Euro Live On Stage on Screen Rattus at the Roundhouse Live at the Apollo 2010
Related	Discography Soulsec Celia and the Mutations

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