Billy Don't Be a Hero to ride out and seek reinforcements. (This suggests mounted infantry and a lack of modern two-way radio communications.) In the end, the heartbroken woman throws away the official letter notifying her of Billy's "heroic" death. Paper Lace's version of "Billy Don't Be a Hero" reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 16 March 1974, and did likewise in Australia, where it spent eight weeks at the top spot. Thereafter, Bo Donaldson's and the Heywoods's version reached No. 1 in the U.S. on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on 15 June 1974, but was dubbed into French for Canada. The
I Don't Want to Be a Hero reluctant to release the single in the U.S. because of its anti-war stance. The song makes references to conscription and propaganda. The international music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan. In 1988, Japanese singer Yōko Nagayama covered the song, "反逆のヒーロー". I Don't Want to Be a Hero "I Don't Want to be a Hero" is a 1987 song by the British band Johnny Hates Jazz. It reached #11 in the UK top 40 in August 1987 spending 10 weeks on the chart. It is taken from their #1 album "Turn Back the Clock". The song was written