Plan B | |
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 Plan B in 2012, during filming foriLL Manors | |
| Background information | |
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| Born | Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew (1983-10-22)22 October 1983 (age 42)[citation needed] London, England |
| Origin | Forest Gate, East London, England |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
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Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew, better known by his stage namePlan 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 asoul andR&B album, and debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart. He has also collaborated with other artists such asChase & Status, most notably on the 2009 top ten single "End Credits".
Drew has also had a successful film career as an actor, with roles inAdulthood (2008),Harry Brown (2009),4.3.2.1. (2010) andThe Sweeney (2012). In 2012, he released the filmIll Manors, which he wrote and directed. He also made the music, and released a Plan Bsoundtrack album, which became his second number-one album.
Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew[citation needed] was raised in London. His mother worked for a local authority and his father, Paul Ballance, played in apunk rock band called the Warm Jets during the 1970s.[1] He was five months old when his father walked out on the family, and six years old when his father "disappeared completely".[2] 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."[3] He is a fan ofArsenal.[4]
From 11, Drew attended theAnglo European School inIngatestone, Essex. He later transferred toTom Hood School,[5] before being expelled and sent to TunmarshPupil Referral Unit inNewham, London, for children unable to attend mainstream school.[6] He finally left school with threeGCSEs. He taught himself how to play guitar at 14, first playingBlur andOasis songs with friends,[7] then going on to write his ownR&B love songs. At 18, feeling uncomfortable with R&B, he turned towardsrap andhip hop and wrote "Kidz", inspired by themurder of Damilola Taylor.
Drew explained his stage name during an appearance onUSA Today in 2007, stating, "The whole reason for calling myself Plan B was that I was doing this sweet-boyJustin Timberlake shit, but I never felt comfortable... when I started rapping, it was easier for me to feel comfortable."[8]
Plan B has said that his work had been influence byJohn Cooper Clarke.[9]
Plan B first appeared with the track "Cap Back", produced by DJ Wonder (formerly ofRoll Deep), on thegrimecompilation albumRun the Road (2005).[10] His firstsingle "Kidz"/"Dead and Buried" was also released in 2005 as a limited edition7" vinyl on his ownlabel Pet Cemetery Records. He soon gained arecording contract with679 Recordings and released his seconddouble A-side single "Sick 2 Def"/"No Good", filming his debut music video for "No Good".[11]
In early 2006, Plan B released a video-onlydownload single for "Missing Links", which later had to be re-recorded because he did not gainsample permission fromRadiohead for the use of "Pyramid Song".[11] He also released his firstmixtapeIt's Time 4 Plan B with the May 2006 issue ofHip Hop Connection magazine.[10] On 23 June 2006, Plan B made his first television appearance onLater... with Jools Holland, performing anacoustic version of "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)".[11] His début albumWho Needs Actions When You Got Words was recorded with producersPaul Epworth,Fraser T Smith andthe Earlies, and was released 26 June 2006, charting the following week at number thirty on theUK Albums Chart.[12] The album gained positive reviews from most critics, including a five-star review fromThe Guardian'sAlexis Petridis.[13] In July 2006, "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)" was released as a single, becoming the first Plan B song to appear on theUK Singles Chart, peaking at number forty one.[12] In 2006, Paul Epworth and Plan B collaborated again on the track "More Is Enough" byEpic Man (Paul Epworth).[10]
After touring throughout 2006, playing atfestivals such asReading and Leeds, a music video was filmed for "No More Eatin'" to accompany the release of Plan B'sLive 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 theRemixes EP (which included theHadouken!remix of "No More Eatin'").[10] During his January–February 2007 tour (which included support fromProfessor Green,Example,Killa Kela and Hadouken!), Plan B released his second mixtapePaint It Blacker, containingbootleg recordings of songs by artists such asthe Rolling Stones,Nirvana,Radiohead,Coldplay,Leonard Cohen andJosé González with producersSem, Beni G from the Mixologists andAmir Amor.[10] 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" (featuringbeatboxer Kila Kella). Also in 2007, Plan B featured on songs by other artists such as Professor Green, Killa Kela, Skrein, Shameless andthe Mitchell Brothers.[10]
With a supporting role in the filmAdulthood (2008), Plan B recorded three songs for the film's soundtrack – "End in the Streets", "On It 08" withAdam Deacon and "I Need Love" featuringRaleigh Ritchie. Plan B also featured on theChase & Status single "Pieces", which topped theUK Dance Chart in 2008 and peaked at number seventy on theUK Singles Chart.[12] In 2009, Plan B recorded "Shifty" withRiz MC andSway,[10] which was lifted from the soundtrack to Eran Creevy's filmShifty (2009), starring Riz Ahmed (Riz MC) andDaniel Mays. Also in 2009, Plan B played Noel Winters inHarry Brown, and achieved his first Top ten hit single with "End Credits",[12] another collaboration with Chase & Status which featured in the soundtrack forHarry Brown.
Plan B's second album and filmThe Defamation of Strickland Banks was released on 12 April 2010. The lead single from the album, "Stay Too Long", reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.[12] 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 andKaya Scodelario, which had its own premiere on 16 November 2010.[14] He supportedNoel Gallagher on the second night of his solo shows at theRoyal Albert Hall on 26 March 2010,[15] and played in Bangor at theRadio 1 Big Weekend 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" withElton John as part of Elton'sBBC Electric Proms performance atthe Roundhouse in London in October 2010.
On 16 February 2011, Drew won Best British Male at theBrit Awards. Later that year he announced that he was working on a new album calledThe Ballad of Belmarsh, which was to be a hip-hopconcept album telling the story of Plan B's alter-ego, Strickland Banks. Work on the album was later put on hold to focus on the filmIll Manors and it was ultimately shelved completely.
In March 2012, he released the single and video for "Ill Manors", a song (containing a sample fromPeter Fox's "Alles neu") which deals with the2011 London Riots, and which was described byThe Guardian as "the first great mainstream protest song in years".[16] Asoundtrack album andfilm of the same name (Drew's first as both writer and director) were released in June 2012,[17] followed by three more singles: "Lost My Way", "Deepest Shame" and "Playing with Fire". In July 2012, Drew issued an apology after he appeared on the cover ofShortlist magazine wearing at-shirt featuringwhite supremacist rock bandSkrewdriver.[18]
Drew produced "Pray for Love" by Kwabs, released on 6 May 2014.[19]
On 18 May 2017, Drew released his first single in five years, titled "In the Name of Man", and announced that he had been in the studio recording an album. The album,Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose, 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".[20] 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 ofIll Manors.[21]
After previously appearing inIain Forsyth and Jane Pollard's short filmWalking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches) in 2005,[22] Drew's first major film role was as a supporting character (Dabs) inNoel Clarke'sAdulthood (2008).[citation needed] His song "Kidz" was previously included in the soundtrack toKidulthood (2006), which led to Drew being cast in the sequel.
In 2009, Drew had another supporting role as Noel Winters in theDaniel Barber filmHarry Brown,[citation needed] starringMichael Caine andEmily Mortimer. In 2010, Drew appeared in Noel Clarke's film4.3.2.1..[citation needed] He co-starred in the 2012 filmThe Sweeney, based on the1970s British TV show of the same name, alongsideRay Winstone, 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.[23]
Drew expressed an interest in working in film early in his music career. In an interview aboutWho Needs Actions When You Got Words, he said:[24]
"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 filmMichelle,[25] which starredAdam Deacon andEd Skrein. He also directed the music video for "Pieces" (his collaboration withChase & Status).
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-winningBlues & Soul), Drew described 'Ill Manors':[26]
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.
In June 2011,Hewlett-Packard signed up Plan B as part of their advertising campaign for theirBeats Audio laptops,[27][28] 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.[29] Subsequently, in its 24 June issue, the British satirical magazinePrivate Eye made reference to the ad in its Ad Nauseam column,[30] voicing the magazine's view that Plan B's involvement in the commercial seemed to be at odds with his comments at theIvor Novello Awards 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).[31]
In July 2011,Bulmer's Cider announced that they had signed up Plan B to promote their product,[32] releasing an advert which depicted a live performance by Plan B.[33]
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adulthood | 2008 | Dabs | Credited as Ben Drew |
| Harry Brown | 2009 | Noel Winters | Credited as Ben Drew |
| 4.3.2.1. | 2010 | Terry | Credited as Ben Drew |
| Turnout | 2011 | John | Credited as Ben Drew |
| Ill Manors | 2012 | Taxi driver (cameo) | Also writer and director |
| The Sweeney | 2012 | DS George Carter | Credited as Ben Drew |
| Catch Me Daddy | TBA | Pre-production[34] | |
| The Devil's Dandruff | TBA | Jason Cook | Pre-production[35] |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches) | 2005 | Lead role | Short film |
| Michelle | 2008 | Himself, narrator | Short film Also director |
| "Sour Times"(byRiz MC) | 2009 | Himself (cameo) | Music video |
| "Let You Go"(byChase & Status feat. Mali) | 2010 | Drug dealer (cameo) | Music video |
| "2 Minute Silence"(byThe Royal British Legion) | 2010 | Himself (cameo) | Music video |
| "Raver" (byShy FX feat.Kano,Donaeo & Roses Gabor) | 2010 | Himself (cameo) | Music video |
| The Defamation of Strickland Banks | TBA | Strickland Banks | Short film In production Also director |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle | 2008 | Director | Short film |
| "Pieces"(byChase & Status feat. Plan B) | 2008 | Music video | |
| Ill Manors | 2012 | ||
| "Lost My Way"(by Plan B) | 2012 | Music video Also directed by Paul Caslin | |
| "Guess Again"(by Plan B) | 2018 | Writer | Music video |
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| Featured singles |
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