Who Needs Actions When You Got Words

Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
Studio album by Plan B
Released	26 June 2006
Recorded	2005–2006 Miloco Studios, London
Genre	Hip hop, acoustic, Hardcore hip hop, Conscious hip hop
Length	62:48
Label	679
Producer	Plan B, Fraser T. Smith, Paul Epworth, Eliot James, Sam Williams, The Nextmen, The Earlies (co.), Jonathan Quarmby (add.), Kevin Bacon (add.)
Plan B chronology
Who Needs Actions When You Got Words (2006) The Defamation of Strickland Banks (2010)
Singles from Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
"Sick 2 Def" / "No Good" Released: 5 December 2005 "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)" Released: 3 July 2006

Who Needs Actions When You Got Words is the debut album from UK rapper Plan B.

Writing and recording

The title comes from a line in the Meat Puppets song Plateau, famously covered by Nirvana on their 1994 album MTV Unplugged in New York.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
NME	[4]
Pitchfork Media	(7.5/10) [5]
PopMatters	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

The album reached and peaked at #30 in the UK album chart when it was released in June 2006. It received very favourable reviews from critics in the hip-hop, indie and mainstream communities. In 2006, Q Magazine rated the album 64th in their 100 Best Albums of 2006. In February 2010, about 3 and a half years after its release the album was certified Silver by British Phonographic Industry for selling over 60,000 copies.

Track listing

CD track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Kidz"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith	Fraser T. Smith	4:07
2.	"Sick 2 Def"	Ben Drew	Fraser T. Smith	4:44
3.	"No Good"	Ben Drew, James Edward Bratton, Kelly Charles, Paul Epworth	Paul Epworth	4:56
4.	"Dead and Buried"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith	Fraser T. Smith, Plan B	4:39
5.	"Mama (Loves a Crackhead)"	Ben Drew, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen	Plan B, Jonathan Quarmby (add.), Kevin Bacon (add.)	3:57
6.	"Charmaine"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith, Jerry Fuller	Fraser T. Smith, Plan B	3:46
7.	"I Don't Hate You"	Ben Drew	Plan B	5:15
8.	"Everyday"	Ben Drew, Elliot James	Eliot James, Plan B	4:24
9.	"Tough Love"	Ben Drew	Plan B	5:03
10.	"Where Ya From?"	Ben Drew, Paul Epworth	Plan B, Paul Epworth (co.)	3:43
11.	"No More Eatin'"	Ben Drew	Plan B, The Earlies (co.)	4:41
12.	"Missing Links"	Ben Drew	Plan B	3:53
13.	"Couldn't Get Along"	Ben Drew, Sam Williams	Plan B, Sam Williams	5:44
14.	"Who Needs Actions When You Got Words"	Ben Drew, Brad Ellis, Dominic Betmead	Plan B, The Nextmen	3:53
Total length:				62:48

Digital download bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Rakin' the Dead"	Ben Drew	ALX	4:34

UK iTunes/Japan bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Rakin' the Dead"	Ben Drew	ALX	4:34
16.	"Breakdown"	Ben Drew	Plan B, The Earlies	4:53

LP track listing

The LP version of Who Needs Actions When You Got Words was released as a double-12" Vinyl and bonus 7" Vinyl disc containing 14 tracks in total. Some tracks are in a slightly different order than the CD release and the LP also includes "Breakdown" and The Earlies version of "Sick 2 Def" in place of the acoustic version. It does not include "Everyday".

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Kidz"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith	Fraser T. Smith	4:07
2.	"Sick 2 Def"	Ben Drew	Plan B, The Earlies	4:34
3.	"No Good"	Ben Drew, James Edward Bratton, Kelly Charles, Paul Epworth	Paul Epworth	4:56

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
4.	"Mama (Loves a Crackhead)"	Ben Drew, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen	Plan B, Jonathan Quarmby, Kevin Bacon	3:57
5.	"Charmaine"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith, Jerry Fuller	Fraser T. Smith, Plan B	3:46
6.	"I Don't Hate You"	Ben Drew	Plan B	5:15

Side three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
7.	"Tough Love"	Ben Drew	Plan B	5:03
8.	"Where Ya From?"	Ben Drew, Paul Epworth	Plan B, Paul Epworth	3:43
9.	"Couldn't Get Along"	Ben Drew, Sam Williams	Plan B, Sam Williams	5:44

Side four
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
10.	"No More Eatin'"	Ben Drew	Plan B, The Earlies	4:41
11.	"Missing Links"	Ben Drew	Plan B	3:53
12.	"Who Needs Actions When You Got Words"	Ben Drew, Brad Ellis, Dominic Betmead	Plan B, The Nextmen	3:53

Side five
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Everyday"	Ben Drew, Elliot James	Elliot James, Plan B	4:24

Side six
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Dead and Buried"	Ben Drew, Fraser T. Smith	Fraser T. Smith, Plan B	4:39

Singles

"Kidz" / "Dead and Buried" was released in 2005 as a 7" vinyl promotional single. The single was limited to 500 copies and released on Plan B's own record label Pet Cemetery Records.

"Sick 2 Def" / "No Good" was released in December 2005 as digital download and 7" vinyl/CD single. It was Plan B's first single on 679 Recordings and his first music video was filmed for "No Good".

"Missing Links" was released on 17 April 2006 as a video-only download single because of refused sample permission for the use of "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead.

"Mama (Loves A Crackhead)" was released in July 2006. The single was released in multiple formats and was his first song to appear on the UK Singles Chart at No. 41.

"No More Eatin" was filmed as a music video and was used as the lead track from Live at The Pet Cemetery EP (2006) and the Remixes EP (2006).

"No Good" was re-released in February 2007 as a digital download and 12" maxi-single. The lead track had been remixed by Jeremy Wheatley and a music video was filmed for the b-side "Bizness Woman" (featuring Killa Kela).

Personnel

• Plan B - vocal, guitar, producer, mixing, art direction^[1]

Production

• Fraser T. Smith – producer, mixing
• Paul Epworth – producer, mixing
• Elliott James – producer, engineer, mixing
• Sam Williams – producer, mixing
• The Nextmen – producer
• The Earlies – co-producers
• Jonathan Quarmby – additional producer, mixing
• Kevin Bacon – additional producer, mixing
• Finn Eiles – engineer, mixing
• Jimmy Robertson – engineer, mixing
• Tesfa Pitt – engineer, programming
• Alan O'Connell – engineer
• Tom Knott – engineer
• Analog Kid – drum programming
• Brad Ellis – drum programming, mixing
• Dominic Betmead – mixing
• John Davis – mastering

Additional musicians

• NY – backing vocals, additional vocals
• Akatriel – additional vocals
• Randolph Matthews – backing vocals
• Andrew Smith – guitar
• Tom Knott – guitar
• Jamie King – guitar
• Dominic Betmead – guitar, turntables
• Andy Sheldrake – bass
• Christian Madden – keyboard
• Cassell the Beatmaker – drums
• Richard Young – drums
• Harry Escott – cello
• Kai Fish – cello
• Elliott James – cello, piano
• Alex Berry – double bass
• Beni G – turntables

Other personnel

• Ben Drury – design, additional photography, art direction
• Neil Gavin – photography
• Ben Sansbury – graphic design
• Dan Stacey – A&R
• Nicky Stein – legal

Sample credits

• "No Good" incorporates elements of "You're No Good for Me" by James Edward Bratton and Kelly Charles.
• "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)" incorporates elements of "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen.
• "Charmaine" incorporates elements "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap.

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	26 June 2006	679	CD	5051011497926
			2xLP + 7"	505101149791

Chart performance

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	30

Certifications

Country	Certification
United Kingdom	Silver[2]

Use in media

• "Everyday" featured on the soundtrack to London to Brighton (2006).

Tour

Who Needs Actions When You Got Words Tour
Tour by Plan B
Location	United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, United States, Australia
Associated album	Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
Start date	20 January 2010 (2010-01-20)
End date	4 September 2011 (2011-09-04)
Legs	5
Plan B tour chronology
Who Needs Actions When You Got Words Tour (2006–2007) The Defamation of Strickland Banks Tour (2010–2011)

Live band

• Plan B – vocals, guitar
• Tom Wright-Goss – guitar
• Andy Sheldrake – bass
• Richard Cassell – drums
• Beni G – DJ, turntables

Support acts

• Example (July 2006, January–February 2007)
• Professor Green (January–February 2007)
• Hadouken! (January–February 2007)
• Killa Kela (January–February 2007)

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Leg 1: United Kindgom
13 May 2006	Leeds	United Kingdom	The Faversham[A]
31 May 2006	London		The Macbeth
12 July 2006	Newcastle		Carling Academy Newcastle
13 July 2006	Glasgow		King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
14 July 2006	Birmingham		Carling Academy 2 Birmingham
15 July 2006	Liverpool		Carling Academy 2 Liverpool
18 July 2006	Nottingham		Rescue Rooms
19 July 2006	Manchester		Academy 3
21 July 2006	London		Mean Fiddler
22 July 2006	Bristol		Ashton Court[B]
23 July 2006	Brighton		Concord 2
Leg 2: Festivals
12 August 2006	Osaka	Japan	Intex Osaka[C]
13 August 2006	Chiba		Chiba Marine Stadium[C]
26 August 2006	Reading	United Kingdom	Little John's Farm[D]
27 August 2006	Leeds		Bramham Park[D]
28 August 2006	Edinburgh		The Liquid Room[E]
12 November 2006	Paris	France	La Cigale[F]
Leg 3: United Kingdom & Ireland
28 January 2007	Dublin	Ireland	The Village
30 January 2007	Preston	United Kingdom	53 Degrees
31 January 2007	Birmingham		Carling Academy 2 Birmingham
1 February 2007	Leeds		The Cockpit
2 February 2007	Glasgow		The Arches
3 February 2007	Sheffield		The Leadmill
7 February 2007	Manchester		Academy 2
8 February 2007	Cardiff		University Solus
9 February 2007	London		Shepherd's Bush Empire
10 February 2007	Bristol		Anson Rooms
12 February 2007	Cambridge		The Junction
13 February 2007	Liverpool		Carling Academy 2 Liverpool
14 February 2007	Norwich		Waterfront
15 February 2007	Southampton		University
22 February 2007	London		Fopp
Leg 4: United States
12 March 2007	New York City	United States	Joe's Pub
13 March 2007	Los Angeles		Cinespace
15 March 2007	Austin		Trinity Lounge[G]
16 March 2007			301 Chicon Street[G]
17 March 2007			Zero Degrees[G]
17 March 2007			Beauty Bar[G]
Leg 5: Australia
19 May 2007	London	United Kingdom	Scala
24 May 2007	Melbourne	Australia	Ding Dong Lounge
26 May 2007	Sydney		The Basement
Leg 6: Festivals
16 June 2007	London	United Kingdom	Hyde Park[H]
17 June 2007	Leeds		Harewood House[H]
21 June 2007	New York City	United States	Hiro Ballroom
23 June 2007	Pilton	United Kingdom	Worthy Farm[I]
29 June 2007	Istanbul	Turkey	Solar Beach[J]
8 July 2007	Balado	United Kingdom	Balado[K]
20 July 2007	Trenčín	Slovakia	Trenčín Airport[L]
4 August 2007	Faversham	United Kingdom	Mount Ephraim[M]
18 August 2007	Chelmsford		Hylands Park[N]
24 May 2007	Staffordshire		Weston Park[N]

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^[A] As part of Nasty Fest

^[B] As part of Ashton Court Festival

^[C] As part of Summer Sonic Festival

^[D] As part of Reading and Leeds Festivals

^[E] As part of T on the Fringe

^[F] As part of Les Inrocks Festival

^[G] As part of SXSW

^[H] As part of Wireless Festival

^[I] As part of Glastonbury Festival

^[J] As part of Radar Live Festival

^[K] As part of T in the Park

^[L] As part of Pohoda Festival

^[M] As part of Electric Gardens

^[N] As part of V Festival

References

1. ^ "Release: Who Needs Actions When You Got Words". Music Brainz. http://musicbrainz.org/release/88986f62-5d7b-4bcf-ab3e-9563a18aef62.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28. 
2. ^ "BPI > Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 

External links

• Official website
• Who Needs Actions When You Got Words at Allmusic
• Who Needs Actions When You Got Words at Discogs (list of releases)
• Who Needs Actions When You Got Words at Metacritic