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No More Heroes (album)

No More Heroes
Studio album by
the Stranglers
Released23 September 1977
RecordedJanuary–February 1977, June–July 1977[1][2]
StudioT.W. Studios (Fulham)
Genre
Length38:01
LabelUnited Artists (UK)
A&M (US)
ProducerMartin Rushent
The Stranglers chronology
Rattus Norvegicus
(1977) 		No More Heroes
(1977) 		Black and White
(1978)
Singles from No More Heroes
  1. "Something Better Change"
    Released: 22 July 1977
  2. "No More Heroes"
    Released: 16 September 1977

No More Heroes is the second album by English rock band the Stranglers. It was released on 23 September 1977,[3] 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. It reached number 2 in the UK Album Charts[4] and was certified gold there.

In 2000 it was voted number 427 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[5]

Background

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No More Heroes was produced by Martin Rushent. The album consists of new material with four songs left over from the Rattus Norvegicus sessions ("Something Better Change", "Bitching", "Peasant in the Big Shitty" and "School Mam").[6]Cornell said "It helped having songs that were hanging over from Rattus, they felt just as good. Add a few more and then suddenly, hey presto, you’ve got the second album.” The opening track "I Feel Like a Wog" was controversial for its reference to golliwogs which Cornell used “for shock effect, but it was to put across a feeling." and despite lots of people "misunderstanding it" he said "a couple of black guys came back after one show and said: ‘We get it.’ That made me feel good.”. He admitted that the band deliberately tried "to wind people up", particularly with the track "Bring on the Nubiles", which is known for its sexual nature. He said the band found "it was entertaining [...], fun and really harmless. People might say: ‘How can you say that’s harmless?’ But we weren’t trying to upset people. We were in the sweet shop and we were helping ourselves. We’d realised that we could upset people, so let’s go to town, let’s really upset them.” He also felt that they "definitely couldn’t get away with that now." saying "We got away with murder.”[7]

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.[8]This cover was rushed as it was a last minute choice, with the original sleeve allegedly depicting Jean-Jacques Burnell alone on the tomb of Leon Trotsky, which was abandoned due to the other members' dissatisfaction of it not featuring the whole band.[7]

Two singles were released from the album: the title track, and a double A-side of "Something Better Change" and the non-album track "Straighten Out".

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[11]
Record Collector[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]

Contemporary reception was largely positive, with many finding it to be an improvement over their debut.

The Oakland Tribune likened the band to "Capt. Beefheart backed by the Ramones."[14] The Guardian noted that "a good organ sound and distinctive vocal tricks [keep] off the encroaching monotony."[15]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."[16]

John Dougan of 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."[9] Record Collector praised the album, calling" the adrenalised anti-racist message of I Feel Like A Wog and its timeless titular song" the highlights, and said the album had an "essential status" but found it to be "hobbled by the puerile Bring On The Nubiles and Cornwell’s tedious School Mam".[17]

Track listing

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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"Burnel3:18
5."Bring on the Nubiles"Cornwell2:15
6."Something Better Change"Burnel3:35
Side B
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
7."No More Heroes"Cornwell3:27
8."Peasant in the Big Shitty"Greenfield3:25
9."Burning Up Time"Burnel2:25
10."English Towns"Cornwell2:13
11."School Mam"Cornwell6:52
Total length:38:01
1987 CD reissue bonus track (EMI)
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
12."5 Minutes" (Non-album single, 1978)Burnel3:18
Total length:41:19
1996 CD reissue bonus disc (EMI)
  • Disc one as per original album
Disc two
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Straighten Out" (Double A-side with "Something Better Change")Cornwell2:46
2."5 Minutes" 3:18
3."Rok It to the Moon" (B-side to "5 Minutes")Cornwell2:47
Total length:8:51
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks (EMI)
No.TitleLength
12."Straighten Out"2:46
13."5 Minutes"3:18
14."Rok It to the Moon"2:47
Total length:47:09
2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
(Associated recordings)
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
12."Straighten Out" 2:46
13."In the Shadows" (B-side to "No More Heroes")Cornwell4:37
14."5 Minutes" 3:17
15."Rok It to the Moon" 2:47
16."No More Heroes" (Promo single edit) 2:56
Total length:54:52

Charts and certifications

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Weekly charts

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Chart Peak

Position

Certifications

(sales thresholds)

UK Albums Chart[18] 2 UK: Gold[19]
Australian Charts 79
Dutch Charts[20] 20

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1977) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 32

Singles

[edit]
Single Chart Peak

Position

"Something Better Change" UK singles chart[22] 9
Irish Charts 29
"No More Heroes" UK singles chart 8
Dutch Charts[23] 25

Personnel

[edit]
[edit]

The popular hack and slash video game series No More Heroes by Grasshopper Manufacture got its name from the album.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. pp. 19, 32–33. ISBN 978-0-9575700-4-7.
  2. ^ Carne, Owen (3 January 2018). "40th anniversary of 1977 – part 2". thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. ^ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-9575700-4-7.
  4. ^ "NO MORE HEROES". Official Charts. 8 October 1977. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 157. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  6. ^ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-9575700-4-7.
  7. ^ a b Wallpublished, Mick (30 March 2023). "The story of The Stranglers' controversial No More Heroes album: "We got away with murder"". Louder. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  8. ^ The Freakier Zone. 29 September 2012. BBC 6.
  9. ^ a b Dougan, John. "No More Heroes – The Stranglers". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  11. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 677.
  14. ^ "Rock & Jazz". Oakland Tribune. 13 November 1977. p. 16E.
  15. ^ Denselow, Robin (11 October 1977). "New punk for old". The Guardian. p. 8.
  16. ^ Robbins, Ira. "Stranglers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According To The Meninblack, La Folie - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Rattus Norvegicus". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Stranglers – No More Heroes". bpi. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  20. ^ "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week. 24 December 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  22. ^ "Stranglers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  23. ^ "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  24. ^ "What is No More Heroes based on?". Vintageisthenewold.com. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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