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Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew (born 22 October 1983), better known by his stage name Plan B, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and filmmaker. He first emerged as a rapper, releasing his debut album, '' Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'', in 2006. His second studio album, '' The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' (2010), was a
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...
and R&B album, and debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. He has also collaborated with other artists such as
Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...
, most notably on the 2009 top ten single "
End Credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
". Drew has also had a successful film career as an actor, with roles in ''
Adulthood An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
'' (2008), '' Harry Brown'' (2009), ''
4.3.2.1. ''4.3.2.1.'' (which stands for "4 girls, 3 days, 2 cities, 1 chance") is a 2010 British crime thriller film directed by Noel Clarke and Mark Davis, written by Clarke and starring Emma Roberts, Tamsin Egerton, Ophelia Lovibond, Shanika-Warre ...
'' (2010) and ''
The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...
'' (2012). In 2012, he released the film '' Ill Manors'', which he wrote and directed and made the music for, accompanied by a Plan B soundtrack album which became his second number one album.


Early life

Drew was raised in London; his mother worked for a local authority and his father, Paul Ballance, played in a punk rock band called the Warm Jets during the 1970s. He was five months old when his father walked out on the family, and six years old when his father "disappeared completely". Growing up, Drew felt isolated, stating, "We weren't working class but we weren't middle class, we were in the void in-between. I've always felt like a social outcast." He is a fan of
Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...
From 11, Drew attended the
Anglo European School Anglo European School is a self-governing, co-educational international academy school situated in Ingatestone, Essex. It is a school for boys and girls of all abilities, with 1,306 pupils aged 11 to 19. It was the first state school in Britain ...
in Ingatestone, Essex. He later transferred to
Tom Hood School Buxton School (formerly Cann Hall Primary School and Tom Hood School) is a mixed all-through school located in Leytonstone, London, England. The school was formed on 1 January 2010 from an amalgamation of Cann Hall Primary School and Tom H ...
before being expelled and sent to Tunmarsh Pupil Referral Unit in
Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...
, London, for children unable to attend mainstream school. He finally left school with three
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...
s. He taught himself how to play guitar at 14, first playing Blur and
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentR&B love songs. At 18, feeling uncomfortable with R&B, he turned towards rap and hip hop and wrote "Kidz", inspired by the
murder of Damilola Taylor On 27 November 2000, ten-year-old Nigerian schoolboy Damilola Taylor was killed in London, in what became one of the United Kingdom's most high-profile killings. Two brothers who were 12 and 13 at the time of the killing were convicted of mansla ...
. Drew explained his stage name during an appearance on ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'' in 2007, stating, "The whole reason for calling myself Plan B was that I was doing this sweet-boy Justin Timberlake shit, but I never felt comfortable... when I started rapping, it was easier for me to feel comfortable."


Music career


2005–2009: Early career and debut album

Plan B first appeared with the track "Cap Back", produced by DJ Wonder (formerly of
Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, " Good Times" and " Green L ...
), on the grime compilation album '' Run the Road'' (2005). His first single "Kidz"/"Dead and Buried" was also released in 2005 as a limited edition 7" vinyl on his own
label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...
Pet Cemetery Records. He soon gained a
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with 679 Recordings and released his second
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
single "Sick 2 Def"/"No Good", filming his debut music video for "No Good". In early 2006, Plan B released a video-only
download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remo ...
single for "Missing Links", which later had to be re-recorded because he did not gain sample permission from Radiohead for the use of " Pyramid Song". He also released his first mixtape '' It's Time 4 Plan B'' with the May 2006 issue of '' Hip Hop Connection'' magazine. On 23 June 2006, Plan B made his first television appearance on '' Later... with Jools Holland'', performing an acoustic version of " Mama (Loves a Crackhead)". His début album '' Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'' was recorded with producers
Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...
, Fraser T Smith and the Earlies, and was released 26 June 2006, charting the following week at number thirty on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. The album gained positive reviews from most critics, including a five-star review from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
s Alexis Petridis. In July 2006, "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)" was released as a single, becoming the first Plan B song to appear on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, peaking at number forty one. In 2006, Paul Epworth and Plan B collaborated again on the track "More Is Enough" by Epic Man (Paul Epworth). After touring throughout 2006, playing at
festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holida ...
such as
Reading and Leeds The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
, a music video was filmed for "No More Eatin'" to accompany the release of Plan B's ''Live at The Pet Cemetery EP'' on 30 October 2006 (including a new version of "No More Eatin'" and two b-sides). On 11 December 2006, he released the ''Remixes'' EP (which included the Hadouken!
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of "No More Eatin'"). During his January–February 2007 tour (which included support from
Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...
,
Example Example may refer to: * '' exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example" * .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet ** example.com, example.net, example.org, e ...
,
Killa Kela Killa Kela (born Lee Potter) is a British beatboxer and rapper from West Sussex. Career Killa Kela’s career started in 1997 when he formed a 10 collective strong U.K Hip Hop crew called 360 Physicals; composed of MC’s DJ’s and graffi ...
and Hadouken!), Plan B released his second mixtape ''
Paint It Blacker The discography of British rapper and songwriter Plan B (musician), Plan B consists of three studio albums, one soundtrack album, two mixtapes, three extended plays and eighteen Single (music), singles. Plan B released his first single, the dou ...
'', containing bootleg recordings of songs by artists such as
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...
, Radiohead,
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey (manager), Phil H ...
,
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
and José González with producers Sem, Beni G from the Mixologists and Amir Amor. In 2007, Plan B re-released the song "No Good" with new remixes, and a music video was filmed for the b-side "Bizness Woman" (featuring
beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.
Kila Kella). Also in 2007, Plan B featured on songs by other artists such as Professor Green, Killa Kela, Skrein, Shameless and the Mitchell Brothers. With a supporting role in the film ''
Adulthood An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
'' (2008), Plan B recorded three songs for the film's soundtrack – "End in the Streets", "On It 08" with Adam Deacon and "I Need Love" featuring
Raleigh Ritchie Jacob Basil Anderson (born 18 June 1990) is a British actor and musician. As an actor, he is known for his roles as Grey Worm in ''Game of Thrones'' and Louis de Pointe du Lac in '' Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire'', and his recurrin ...
. Plan B also featured on the
Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...
single "
Pieces Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * P ...
", which topped the
UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...
in 2008 and peaked at number seventy on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. In 2009, Plan B recorded " Shifty" with
Riz MC Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...
and
Sway Sway may refer to: Places * Sway, Hampshire, a village and civil parish in the New Forest in England ** Sway railway station, serving the village People * Sway (British musician) (born 1983), British hip hop/grime singer * Sway Calloway (born 1 ...
, which was lifted from the soundtrack to Eran Creevy's film '' Shifty'' (2009), starring Riz Ahmed (Riz MC) and
Daniel Mays Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor. Early life Born in Epping, Essex, the third of four boys, Mays was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Acad ...
. Also in 2009, Plan B played Noel Winters in '' Harry Brown'', and achieved his first Top ten hit single with "
End Credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
", another collaboration with Chase & Status which featured in the soundtrack for ''Harry Brown''.


2009–2014: Strickland Banks era and ''Ill Manors''

Plan B's second album and film '' The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' was released on 12 April 2010. The lead single from the album, "
Stay Too Long "Stay Too Long" is the first single from British musician Plan B's second album ''The Defamation of Strickland Banks''. The single was released on 8 January 2010. Drum and bass group Pendulum also produced a remix, their first in three years, whi ...
", reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The next single from the album, "Love Goes Down", was accompanied by an official music video featuring Andy Crane, Paul Young, Abbey M. Butler, Vicky McClure and
Kaya Scodelario Kaya Rose Scodelario-Davis (née Humphrey; born 13 March 1992) is an English actress best known for her roles as Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' (2007–2010, 2013), and Teresa in the ''Maze Runner'' film series (2014–2018). Ot ...
, which had its own premiere on 16 November 2010. He supported
Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
on the second night of his solo shows at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
on 26 March 2010, and played in Bangor at the
Radio 1 Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
on 23 May 2010 on the New Music We Trust stage. He performed a duet of " I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" with
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
as part of Elton's
BBC Electric Proms The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms (formerly the BBC Electric Proms) was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006–2010. On 31 January 2011, the BBC announced that the event would be discontinued with immediate effec ...
performance at
the Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...
in London in October 2010. On 16 February 2011, Drew won Best British Male at the
Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
. Later that year he announced that he was working on a new album called ''The Ballad of Belmarsh'', which was to be a hip-hop
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...
telling the story of Plan B's alter-ego, Strickland Banks. Work on the album was later put on hold to focus on the film ''Ill Manors'' and it was ultimately shelved completely. In March 2012, he released the single and video for " Ill Manors", a song (containing a sample from Peter Fox's " Alles neu") which deals with the
2011 London Riots The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. Thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England, which saw looting, arson, as well as mass deployment of police and ...
, and which was described by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' as "the first great mainstream protest song in years". A soundtrack album and film of the same name (Drew's first as both writer and director) were released in June 2012, followed by three more singles: "
Lost My Way "Lost My Way" is a hip hop song performed by English singer-songwriter Plan B. The track was released in the United Kingdom on 2 July 2012 as the second promotional single from the ''Ill Manors'' soundtrack, a film which Plan B also directed. A ...
", "
Deepest Shame "Deepest Shame" is a hip-hop song composed and performed by British rapper Plan B (musician), Plan B. The track was released in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2012 as the third official single from the ''Ill Manors (album), ill Manors'' soundtr ...
" and " Playing with Fire". In July 2012, Drew issued an apology after he appeared on the cover of ''Shortlist'' magazine wearing a
t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...
featuring white supremacist rock band
Skrewdriver Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, Skrewdriver changed into a white supremacist rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their origina ...
. Drew produced "Pray for Love" by Kwabs, released on 6 May 2014.


2017–present: ''Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose''

On 18 May 2017, Drew released his first single in 5 years titled "In the Name of Man" and announced that he had been in the studio recording an album via
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. The album, ''
Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose ''Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose'' is the third studio album by English singer and rapper Plan B. It was released on 4 May 2018 by Atlantic Records and 679 Artists. Background In 2010, Plan B released his second studio album '' The Defama ...
'', was released on 13 April 2018. He said in an interview that this album is less hip-hop orientated than his first two albums "....because I feel that I'm not being honest with myself if I'm living the high life and I'm trying to rap about the other side of things". Drew said that he had taken time off from the music industry to focus on fatherhood, and also to connect with friends and family he says he felt alienated from after the release of ''Ill Manors''. "I felt spiritually lost at the end of ''Ill Manors''. I hadn't seen my family, really, since 2009. Certain friendships were just completely dissolving. I'd always felt like I was fighting to be taken seriously, fighting for recognition, and suddenly I had it all, and I thought, 'Shit, I've got nothing to fight for.'"


Film career


Acting

After previously appearing in Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard's short film ''Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches)'' in 2005, Drew's first major film role was as a supporting character (Dabs) in
Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is a British actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in '' Doctor Who'' (2005–2010), he played Sam in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), '' ...
's ''
Adulthood An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
'' (2008). His song "Kidz" was previously included in the soundtrack to ''
Kidulthood ''Kidulthood'' (stylised as ''KiDULTHOOD'') is a 2006 British crime drama film directed by Menhaj Huda and written by Noel Clarke, who appeared in the film alongside Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Adam Deacon, Jaime Winstone, Femi Oyeniran, Mad ...
'' (2006), which led to Drew being cast in the sequel. In 2009, Drew had another supporting role as Noel Winters in the Daniel Barber film '' Harry Brown'', starring
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
. In 2010, Drew appeared in Noel Clarke's film ''
4.3.2.1. ''4.3.2.1.'' (which stands for "4 girls, 3 days, 2 cities, 1 chance") is a 2010 British crime thriller film directed by Noel Clarke and Mark Davis, written by Clarke and starring Emma Roberts, Tamsin Egerton, Ophelia Lovibond, Shanika-Warre ...
''. Drew's most recent role has been co-starring in ''
The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...
'' film, based on the 1970s British TV show of the same name, alongside
Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...
, playing the role of George Carter. The film was released on 12 September 2012 and went straight in at number 1 in the box office charts.


Directing

Drew expressed an interest in working in film early in his music career. In an interview about ''Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'', he said: "We're still promoting this album and I've started work on the next one, but I'm really getting into film at the moment. I'm writing this script, and I really want to find some time to focus on it, I really feel that's what I'm destined to be doing". In 2008, Drew directed his first short film ''Michelle'', which starred Adam Deacon and Ed Skrein. He also directed the music video for "
Pieces Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * P ...
" (his collaboration with
Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...
). Drew began production on his first full-length feature film, '' Ill Manors'', in September 2010. Speaking in March 2010 to UK soul-writer Pete Lewis (Deputy Editor of the award-winning
Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as '' NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a ...
), Drew described 'Ill Manors': "It's a hip hop, music-based feature film which has six short stories that all kinda mix together to make one BIG story – and each mini-story will be represented by a different hip hop track. It'll all be narrated by me, and it'll actually be the reverse of 'The Defamation Of Strickland Banks' – in that with 'Ill Manors', the film will come out first and the soundtrack will come afterwards. And again the soundtrack will be a film for the blind, in that you'll be able to listen to it and it'll tell you the story of the film."


Advertising

In June 2011, Hewlett-Packard signed up Plan B as part of their advertising campaign for their
Beats Audio Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exec ...
laptops, using a short film exclusive to UK cinemas which showed Plan B with his band in a recording studio deconstructing the song "She Said", which had been a UK chart success a year earlier. Subsequently, in its 24 June issue, the British satirical magazine ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism ...
'' made reference to the ad in its Ad Nauseam column, voicing the magazine's view that Plan B's involvement in the commercial seemed to be at odds with his comments at the
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
regarding music promotion, where he criticised what "…has to go on in order to get your music to get played to the masses" (in reference to his own US stage tour just prior to the awards). In July 2011, Bulmer's Cider announced that they had signed up Plan B to promote their product, releasing an advert which depicted a live performance by Plan B.


Discography

;Studio albums * '' Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'' (2006) * '' The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' (2010) * ''
Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose ''Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose'' is the third studio album by English singer and rapper Plan B. It was released on 4 May 2018 by Atlantic Records and 679 Artists. Background In 2010, Plan B released his second studio album '' The Defama ...
'' (2018)


Filmography


Awards and nominations


Tours

*
Who Needs Actions When You Got Words Tour ''Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'' is the debut studio album released by British rapper and songwriter Plan B on 26 June 2006. The album was recorded with producers such as Fraser T Smith, Paul Epworth, The Earlies and The Nextmen. Th ...
(2006–2007) * The Defamation of Strickland Banks Tour (2010–2011) * Ill Manors Tour (Grindhouse Tour) (2012–2013) * Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose Tour (2018)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plan B Living people 679 Artists artists Asylum Records artists Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Cordless Recordings artists English male film actors English film directors English pop guitarists English male guitarists English male rappers English male singer-songwriters English soul singers British hip hop singers Ivor Novello Award winners Mercury Records artists Rappers from London Singers from London Warner Records artists 1983 births