Credit To The Nation

Credit To The Nation were a British hip hop group formed in the early 1990s by Matthew (Matty) David Hanson with his friends Tyrone and Kelvin while all three were still teenagers in the West Midlands. Under the name of MC Fusion, Hanson became the group’s frontman and main creative force, while Tyrone and Kelvin took on the role of dancers (and occasional vocalists) under the names of T-Swing and Mista-G. Although they took strong inspiration from American acts such as Public Enemy, Credit to the Nation made no attempt to disguise their origins as second/third generation black Britons from the English Midlands: they rapped and sang in their own native accents (Brummie and West Indian patois), frequently dealt with British lyrical concerns and integrated pop and ragga aspects into their music. Thegroup were noted for fusing a conscious hip-hop style with political elements taken from the British left-wing and anarchist movements. Following their initial split in 1998, the band reformed in 2011.

Links To Peel
In 1992 Credit to the Nation recorded what would become their best-known song, "Call It What You Want", which sampled the iconic opening guitar riff from Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The band released the single via Ruggabugger (a local independent Midlands label), pressing an initial run of 1000 7" singles. The single came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who played it on his show on BBC Radio One. Within a week, the band had a three-album deal with One Little Indian (the label of Björk and The Shamen) who had heard the show and promptly bought the rights to the single from Ruggabugger.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1993 Festive Fifty: Call It What You Want #24
 * 1993 Festive Fifty: Hear No Bullshit (with Chumbawamba) #12
 * 1993 Festive Fifty: Enough Is Enough (with Chumbawamba) #01

Sessions
1. Recorded: 1994-02-17. Broadcast: 05 March 1994
 * Mr Ego Trip / Pressure / Come Dancing / Sowing The Seeds Of Hatred

Live
Recorded at Glastonbury Festival: 1994-06-26. Broadcast: 08 July 1994
 * 1) Puppet
 * 2) Teenage Sensation
 * 3) Come Dancing
 * 4) Mr Ego Trip
 * 5) Pump Your Fist
 * 6) Call It What You Want

Other Shows Played
(The list below was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive. Please add further information if known.)

1993 1994 1999 Others 
 * 21 August 1993: 'Hear No Bullshit (On Fire Mix) (12"-Enough Is Enough)' (with Chumbawamba) (One Little Indian)
 * 27 August 1993 (BFBS): Enough Is Enough (12") One Little Indian (with Chumbawamba)
 * 27 August 1993: ‘Hear No Bullshit (12 inch – Enough Is Enough)’ (One Little Indian) (with Chumbawamba)
 * Peel Summer 1993: Hear No Bullshit (On Fire Mix) (12" - Enough Is Enough) One Little Indian (with Chumbawamba)
 * 28 August 1993: ‘Enough Is Enough (12 inch)’ (One Little Indian) (with Chumbawamba)
 * 06 September 1993 (Ö3): 'Hear No Bullshit (12"-Enough Is Enough)' (One Little Indian) (with Chumbawamba)
 * 25 December 1993: 'Call It What You Want (CD single)' (One Little Indian) FF #24
 * 25 December 1993: 'Hear No Bullshit-On Fire Mix (CD single)' (One Little Indian) (with Chumbawamba) FF #12 (JP: 'My favourite chorus of the year, anyway, no doubt about that.')
 * 25 December 1993: 'Enough Is Enough (CD single)' (One Little Indian) (with Chumbawamba) FF #01 (JP: 'Frankly, it's hard to imagine a more appropriate number one to the Festive Fifty in this depraved year. If only pop songs made some difference....Thanks very much for listening to all of this, and I'm sorry, Mark, for overrunning by a few seconds into your programme.')
 * Peel December 1993: 'Call It What You Want (CD single)' (One Little Indian)
 * February 1994 (3) (BBC World Service): Teenage Sensation (12") One Little Indian
 * 11 February 1994: ‘Teenage Sensation (Radio Friendly) (CD - Teenage Sensation)' (One Little Indian)
 * 18 March 1994: ‘Filth (CD - Take Dis)’ (One Little Indian)
 * 01 April 1994: ‘Ole Him Selector (CD - Take Dis)’ (One Little Indian)
 * 08 April 1994: 'Ole Him Selector' (LP 'Take Dis') One Little Indian
 * 29 April 1994: ‘Mr Ego Trip (12 inch – Sowing The Seeds Of Hatred )’ One Little Indian
 * 13 May 1994: ‘Mr Ego Trip (CD Single - Sowing The Seeds Of Hatred )’ One Little Indian
 * 09 July 1994: ‘Come Dancing (Various Artists CD - Volume Ten )’ Volume
 * 22 July 1994: ‘Come Dancing (Various Artists CD - Volume Ten )’ Volume
 * 23 July 1994 (BBC World Service): Come Dancing (v/a album - Volume Ten) Volume
 * 01 August 1994 (Ö3): 'Come Dancing (Compilation CD-Volume Ten)' (Volume)
 * 31 August 1999: Enough Is Enough (12") One Little Indian (with Chumbawamba)
 * Peel Out In The States: Enough Is Enough (12") One Little Indian (with Chumbawamba)