''I'm No Hero'' is the 23rd

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, released in 1980. The album includes three hit singles, of which " Dreamin'" and " A Little in Love" were top 20 hits in both the UK and the US.

Background

Following the success of Richard's 1979 single " We Don't Talk Anymore", which was written and arranged by

Alan Tarney Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spenc ...

, the record company was keen to use his services again. For the follow-up album in 1980, Tarney was employed as producer for the entire album. This gave ''I'm No Hero'' a cohesive sound but was criticised at the time for being too unadventurous. The songs on the album were similar in style to "We Don't Talk Anymore", but it was also a success, generating two top 20 singles, while the album itself made the top five in the UK. With the lead single " Dreamin'" released in August 1980, the album came out a few weeks later. "Dreamin'" became a top 10 hit in both the UK and US, while the follow-up, " A Little in Love", released belatedly in January 1981, reached No.15 in the UK and No.17 in the US. The album itself reached No.4 in the UK Albums Chart, but due to the lack of singles, failed to sustain as lengthy a run in the top 75 as Richard's previous album, '' Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile''. The delayed release of the second single was due to the release of "Suddenly", a duet with

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

, taken from the '' Xanadu '' soundtrack. This was also a top 20 hit in the UK and US - making this Richard's most successful period in the American market. The album received positive reviews and kept Richard high in the charts during this, his revival period. It was also the last time he appeared in the US top 20. The track "Give a Little Bit More", which was co-written by Andy Hill, who was about to become famous as the writer and producer for Bucks Fizz, was released in some countries as a single, as was "In the Night" (not the same as the

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include " I Know Him So Well" (a chart-topping duet with Elaine Paige), " Answer Me" and " January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK ...

song which was released around that time and also produced by Tarney). "Give a Little Bit More" gave Richard a third hit from the album in the US, peaking at No. 41. This track was unreleased as a single in the UK, where it was covered by Johnny Logan in September 1980, but his version failed to chart. ''I'm No Hero'' was remastered and re-issued on compact disc in July 2001.

Track listing

All tracks written by

, except where noted. Side one # "Take Another Look" – 4:11 # "Anything I Can Do" – 4:01 # " A Little in Love" – 3:42 # "Here (So Doggone Blue)" – 3:50 # "Give a Little Bit More" ( Andy Hill, Jonathan Hodge) – 3:35 Side two # "In the Night" (Rod Bowkett) – 3:48 # "I'm No Hero" (

Trevor Spencer Trevor Spencer (born 21 May 1947 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian songwriter, record producer and drummer. He studied drums and percussion from the age of 10. By the age of 14, he was playing professionally in bands in Adelaide and Melbo ...

, Tarney) – 3:25 # " Dreamin'" (

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

, Tarney) – 3:40 # "A Heart Will Break" (Spencer, Tarney) – 3:59 # "Everyman" – 4:11 CD bonus tracks (2001 re-issue) # "

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

" ( Ian Ralph Samwell) – 3:12 # "Keep on Looking" – 3:40

Personnel

*Cliff Richard – vocals *

– bass guitar, guitars, arrangements *

– drums *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthes ...

Nick Glennie-Smith Nickolas Glennie-Smith is an English film score composer, Conducting, conductor, and musician who is a frequent collaborator with Hans Zimmer, contributing to scores including ''The Rock (film), The Rock'' (nominated for the Academy Awards, Acad ...

– keyboards

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

NOTES:
^ "Dreaming" also reached no.83 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' "Top 100 Singles of 1980" chart.
^^ "A Little in Love" also reached no. 33 on the Canadian ''RPM'' "Top 100 Singles of 1981" chart.
NR - not released

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Cliff Richard albums 1980 albums EMI Records albums Albums produced by Alan Tarney