No More Heroes (album)

No More Heroes
Studio album by The Stranglers
Released	23 September 1977
Recorded	July 1977 at TW Studios, Fulham. Mixed at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London
Genre	Punk rock, Post-punk
Length	44:25
Label	United Artists
Producer	Martin Rushent
The Stranglers chronology
Rattus Norvegicus (1977) No More Heroes (1977) Black and White (1978)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

No More Heroes is the second album by The Stranglers, produced by Martin Rushent, and released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). It featured a photo of a wreath placed on a coffin with the tails of several rats (the Stranglers' 'trademark').

The album became one of the band's highest charting releases, peaking at no.2^[2] on the UK album chart, and stayed in the chart for 18 weeks.

History and structure

The album consists of various recordings left over from the session for their Rattus Norvegicus album, along with new material. In his book The Stranglers: Song by Song, guitarist Hugh Cornwell noted the fact that the first three tracks on the record are all sung by different lead vocalists, a trait it shares with Revolver by The Beatles.

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" b/w "Rok It to the Moon". The album was reissued as a remastered CD in 2001, which included the additional tracks from these singles.

The album's title track became one of the band's most popular hits. Its lyrics include references to Leon Trotsky, Sancho Panza, Lenny Bruce and Elmyr de Hory.

Track listing

1. "I Feel Like a Wog"† (3:18)
2. "Bitching"‡ (4:26)
3. "Dead Ringer"§ (2:46)
4. "Dagenham Dave"‡ (3:19)
5. "Bring on the Nubiles"† (2:16)
6. "Something Better Change"‡ (3:37)
7. "No More Heroes"† (3:29)
8. "Peasant in the Big Shitty"§ (3:27)
9. "Burning Up Time"‡ (2:25)
10. "English Towns"† (2:12)
11. "School Mam"† (7:10)

2001 bonus tracks

12. "Straighten Out"† (2:46)
13. "Five Minutes"‡ (3:18)
14. "Rok It to the Moon"† (2:47)

Personnel

The Stranglers

• Hugh Cornwell: guitars, lead† and backing vocals
• J.J. Burnel: bass guitar, lead‡ and backing vocals
• Dave Greenfield: keyboards (Hammond L100 Organ, Hohner Cembalet electric piano, Minimoog synthesizer), lead§ and backing vocals
• Jet Black: drums, percussion

Production

• Alan Winstanley: engineer
• Nigel Brooke-Harte: mixing and assistant engineer
• Doug Bennett: mixing engineer
• Tim Chacksfield: project supervision
• Eamonn O'Keefe: solarisation
• Trevor Rogers: photography
• The Red Room: artwork design
• Paul Henry: art direction, sleeve design

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ chartstats.com: No More Heroes (album)

External links

• Stranglers early success: the making of Rattus Norvegicus/No More Heroes; interviews with JJ Burnel and Jet Black plus publicist Alan Edwards, producer Martin Rushent, music writers Chas de Whalley and Barry Cain