B-side "In the Shadows" Length 3:29 | Format 7" vinyl Label United Artists | |
Released September 1977 (1977-09) (UK) Genre New wave, punk rock, post-punk | ||
"No More Heroes" is a single by The Stranglers from the eponymous album No More Heroes. It is one of the Stranglers' most successful singles (featuring regularly both in greatest hits and punk/New Wave compilation albums), peaking at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
The lyrics refer to several historical figures, including Elmyr de Hory, Leon Trotsky, Lenny Bruce, Sancho Panza and William Shakespeare.
At the time of the single's release, the B-side "In the Shadows" was a non-album track, but it appeared on the Stranglers' next studio album, Black and White. In 1995 the band's publishers threatened legal action against Elastica, arguing that their single "Waking Up" borrowed elements of "No More Heroes". Elastica eventually settled out of court.
A cover of the song by Violent Femmes featured in the movie Mystery Men, and was also heard in two episodes of the BBC show Ashes to Ashes: Episode 1 of Series 1 and Episode 4 of Series 3; it was included in the soundtrack to Series 1.