Weak Become Heroes was the third single from The Streets debut album Original Pirate Material. The song harkens back to Streets frontman Mike Skinners first clubbing days in 1995 and paean to the many people harvested the rave culture that Mike so fondly recalls in the song.
The song itself is economical, but hits the perfect notes. Skinner, being the honest lad that he is, has no problem telling us that that 'same piano loops over and over'. That piano loop, is a pretty looping four-note progression that presides over the two faces of the song.
The first refrain soundtracks Skinners first youthful dalliance's with Ecstacy, and the piano perfectly highlights Skinners lyrics about the joy of new experiences, the expectation for the future and friendships that seem like they'll last forever. It also works on the flipside too, as the second half of the song wistfully recalls the inevitable comedown and the realization that that future he so looked forward too has passed all too quickly (I'm five years older, the piano loops over and over).
Eventually the party had to stop, as he finally laments 'things have changed since I walked from that crowd'. He finishes the song by saluting the DJ's that scored his drug-fuelled teenage years, with shout outs to luminaries like Danny Rampling and Nicky Holloway before finally giving 'a big middle finger' to the Criminal Justice Bill, a rectionary law that sort to solve problems that weren't really there.
In a 2002 interview, Skinner detailed his drinking habits, noting that he would start with two pints of Kronenburg before settling into Brandy. It was just Mike being Mike, but it also showed that the out of control youth was behind him, just like the song said. On the record and off, Skinner kept it real. Later years have seen his celebrity grow and his youthful honesty inevitably retreat, but 'Weak Become Heroes' was a moment when he could clearly see his past whilst being in complete enjoying his more controlled present.
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