No More Heroes (album)

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, five months after their debut album, Rattus Norvegicus.

No More Heroes
Studio album by
The Stranglers
Released23 September 1977
RecordedJuly 1977
StudioT.W. Studios, Fulham, England
GenrePunk rock, new wave, post-punk
Length43:04[1]
LabelUnited Artists
ProducerMartin Rushent
The Stranglers chronology
Rattus Norvegicus
(1977)		 No More Heroes
(1977)		 Black and White
(1978)
Singles from No More Heroes
  1. "No More Heroes"
    Released: 1977
  2. "Something Better Change"
    Released: 22 July 1977

Background

No More Heroes was produced by Martin Rushent. The album consists of new material with three songs left over from the Rattus Norvegicus sessions ("Something Better Change", "Bitching" and "Peasant in the Big Shitty").

The album cover features a photo of a wreath placed on a coffin with the tails of several rats (the Stranglers' trademark). The brass plaque on the album cover was engraved by Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound.[2]

Two singles were released from the album: "No More Heroes", and a double A-side of "Something Better Change" and the non-album track "Straighten Out". A further non-album single was released later that year: "5 Minutes".

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Record Collector[5]

No More Heroes has been praised by retrospective critics. AllMusic called No More Heroes "faster, nastier and better [than Rattus Norvegicus]. "At this point the Stranglers were on top of their game, and the ferocity and anger that suffuses this record would never be repeated."[3] Trouser Press wrote that No More Heroes "continues in the same vein [as Rattus Norvegicus], but drops whatever hint of restraint may have been in force the first time around. Rude words and adult themes abound, with no punches pulled, from the blatant sexism of "Bring on the Nubiles" to the sarcastic attack on racism ("I Feel Like a Wog") to the suicide of a friend ("Dagenham Dave"). Despite the increased virulence, the music is even better than on the debut, introducing pop stylings that would later become a more common aspect of the Stranglers' character", finishing the review with "No More Heroes is easily [the Stranglers'] best album."[6]

In 2000 it was voted number 427 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Stranglers (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black).

Side A
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."I Feel Like a Wog"Hugh Cornwell3:16
2."Bitching"Jean-Jacques Burnel4:25
3."Dead Ringer"Dave Greenfield2:46
4."Dagenham Dave"Jean-Jacques Burnel3:18
5."Bring on the Nubiles"Hugh Cornwell2:15
6."Something Better Change"Jean-Jacques Burnel3:35
Side B
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."No More Heroes"Hugh Cornwell3:27
2."Peasant in the Big Shitty"Dave Greenfield3:25
3."Burning Up Time"Jean-Jacques Burnel2:25
4."English Towns"Hugh Cornwell2:13
5."School Mam"Hugh Cornwell6:52
2001 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Straighten Out"2:46
13."5 Minutes"3:18
14."Rok It to the Moon"2:47

Charts and certifications
Chart Peak

Position

 Certifications

(sales thresholds)

UK Albums Chart[8] 2 UK: Gold[9]
Australian Charts 79
Dutch Charts[10] 20
Single Chart Peak

Position

"Something Better Change" UK Singles Chart[11] 9
Irish Charts 29
"No More Heroes" UK Singles Chart 8
Dutch Charts[12] 25

Personnel

References
  1. Album page on Allmusic.com
  2. The Freakier Zone. 29 September 2012. BBC 6.
  3. Dougan, John. "No More Heroes – The Stranglers". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  5. Peacock, Tim (April 2018). "The Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According To The Meninblack, La Folie". Record Collector. No. 478. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  6. Robbins, Ira. "Stranglers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 157. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  8. "Rattus Norvegicus". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  9. "Stranglers - No More Heroes". bpi. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  10. "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  11. "Stranglers". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
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