I went onto Discogs recently to pick up a decent second-hand copy of this #9 chart single from 1977, specifically to have it included in this weekly series where a piece of vinyl is put onto the now year-old turntable and put through a wee bit of chicanery to come out at a higher rip than is normally offered up.
mp3: The Stranglers – No More Heroes
The least you could do is give it a listen…..(at this point author should insert winking emoji…..)
No More Heroes was further evidence that the positively ancient Stranglers weren’t really a punk or new wave band, no matter how much the PR folk at United Artists would like to have you believe. Yes, the pace and energy of the song had a fair bit in common with their younger contemporaries, but the extended organ solo, courtesy of Dave Greenfield (RIP), brings more than a hint of prog-rock elements to the proceedings, in much the same way as Dave Formula did with the recent offerings from Magazine.
The thing is, it has somehow managed to age much better than many other singles from the era, testament in part to the way the band wrote the song, but also to the production skills of Martin Rushent, who would go on to weave his magic with many others but none more successfully than The Human League and the multi-million selling, Dare.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
The Stranglers, I guess, stood outside garage, prog, punk and new wave, while flirting like a modern-day, media-needy coquette. They were punted to me as punk. I wasn’t having it.
Looking back the band were, for me, just ‘there’ but clearly much-enjoyed by many. Maybe they were a pop band? There are many songs I enjoy – No More Heroes being one of them – a fan, I am not but they caught my attention on a number of occasions.
The Stranglers … not easy to define.
Quality song
SC
No, not easy to define but easy to like. It’s true that Rushent’s production made a difference in that the instrumentation was truly separated–lots of space between the low and high ends, and the vocals up front and center. A song that aged well enough for Elastica to rip it off nearly 20 years later.
Any song the names ‘Leon Trotsky’ has got a head start for me, although I guess that ages it more than anything.
One of the greatest singles of all time
To see them play this live is such a joy.
JJ banging his bass to tease the crowd as a starter then the memories come flooding back ( can still just about pogo for all its glorious length )