A is for... Artful Dodger

Craig David's big break came in late 1999 when after being massive in the clubs, Rewind by the Artful Dodger got a full release and major airplay on UK radio. Artful Dodger are Mark Hill and Pete Devereux and also hail from David's home town of Southampton. Craig met Mark while DJing in the clubs and the two wrote the track that would eventually become Rewind. Since his solo success Craig has also contributed a cameo to Artful Dodger's third hit Woman Trouble. Although it seems like a little of luck that Craig was in at the start of the commercial success of Garage, he believes it has as much to do with hard work.

B is for... Born To Do It

Lyrics

Born To Do It, Craig's first solo album, was released in the UK on August 14th and instantly made no 1. It has gone on to be no 1 in many other countries including Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Malaysia. More R&B than garage the album reveals the smoothness and dexterity of his vocal talents as well as his strong song-writing skills. The title may seem a little arrogant but is actually taken from Craig's favourite film while growing up Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In that the candy man is asked how he makes such great candy. But rather than explain he just replies that you wouldn't ask a fish how it swims or a bird how it flies because they were "born to do it".

C is for... Can't Be Messing 'Round

Lyrics

One of the outstanding tracks from Born To Do It and certainly the fastest is Can't Be Messing 'Round. The track was included with the Seven Days single as Stop Messing Around. The lyrics deal with Craig shrugging off the advances of a girl because he has another girl he wants to be true too. Since becoming famous Craig has been too busy for a girlfriend - he also finds that a lot of women are more attracted to his celebrity and aren't genuinely interested in him. MTV tried to set him up with Samantha Mumba but both are just starting out and need to take time with their careers first...

D is for... Seven Days

Lyrics

Craig's follow up to the no 1 Fill Me In was another big success, the spanish guitar flavoured Seven Days. As well as a catchy chorus and smooth-talking lyric the song came with a good-looking video. With more than a nod to Groundhog Day, Craig keeps waking up on the same Monday. His attempts to make a date with a girl keep running into trouble but with each new day he gets closer to his goal. The best bit is when Craig pauses the video from within, re-rewinds to just before his latest mistake and steps back into the film. The song debuted at no 1 in the UK on July 30th, 2000 and went on to be a hit around the world. Incidently Craig relates the story in the song while getting his hair cut. His present style is done by a guy called Five and only lasts a few days before getting messed up. That's why we see him in hats so often!

F is for... Follow Me

Lyrics

Craig's favourite track from the album, because it has the best production values, is Follow Me. Many reviewers however dissed the artist a bit for this song as it portrays Craig as a Casanova and at such a young age what would he know about these things... It's a cool track nevertheless and no doubt many of his female fans would follow him to his bedroom if they could...

G is for... Garage

Garage probably began in 1995 when Armand van Helden first starting mixing house and drum'n'bass. Other artists followed suit including Rip and MJ Cole. Two-step Garage began to appear in late 1997 and by 1999 artists like Artful Dodger, Shanks and Bigfoot and DJ Luck and MC Neat began to get airplay and eventually full commercial success. The underground scene has moved on and is still evolving. Craig David is not really considered a garage artist - his main thing is R&B but there's no doubt the success of the movement has been important to his career too...

H is for... Human

Lyrics

Encouraged by his mother a 15-year-old Craig entered a Write a Song For Damage competition which he won. As a result he wrote the lyrics to the b-side of the band's Wonderful Tonight which was called I'm Ready. While in the studio Craig also recorded a cover version of the Human League classic Human which became his first record. When he first appeared on the Radio 1 Jo Whiley show the week that Fill Me In was released he performed Human live so it was a bit of a surprise when it didn't appear on his album... However it is included as part of the Walking Away single and it sounds like the original vinyl cut (nice crackle at the beginning, Craig...)

I is for... Fill Me In

Lyrics

The song that launched Craig David's solo career was Fill Me In. Musically it's an astonishing mix of a two-step chorus with R&B verses but more than that lyrically it takes an everyday teenage situation of lovers sneaking behind parents' backs and puts it into a song that's fresh, and almost conversational in its construction. The video started with Craig performing in the sort of set-up he must have been used to in his pirate radio days, and continues by portraying the story in the song. It also includes a few shots of Craig walking the ledge outside his girlfriend's window. The single debuted at no 1 in the UK on 9th April and caused quite a stir in the industry. Since then the music press have been branding him the future of UK music and rightly so. At the 2000 Music Of Black Origin awards (MOBOs) the song won Best R&B Act and Best UK Single and Craig also received the award for Best UK Newcomer.

K is for... Keanu Reeves

All three of Craig's videos so far have showed a degree of acting skill and when asked about his plans in this direction he says that music is his only preoccupation at the moment. In the long term however he would like to get into acting. One of his favourite actors is Keanu Reeves with The Matrix and Devil's Advocate being two of his favourite films.

L is for... Last Night

Lyrics

Developed from the original song that Rewind came from, Last Night is a more melodic and smooth version of the track. It also includes a cool rap and sounds more like MJ Cole than Artful Dodger.

N is for... Brit Nominations

The 2001 Brits (the UK equivalent of the US Grammies) should have proven to be good for Craig David as he had received the most nominations ever in the history of the event. The previous record-holders were Blur in 1996. The categories Craig was nominated for were Best British Album (main competition Radiohead and Coldplay), Best British Dance Act (Artful Dodger are also in the running), Best British Male (could Craig beat Robbie Williams?), R&B/Urban (which surely had Craig's name on it already), and Best British Single and Best British Video (both for '7 days'). The ceremony was on February 26th, and sadly our boy received no honour although he did perform at the event. Maybe it proves what an all-round entertainer he is - whatever, I'm sure a long career will provide plenty of prizes...

R is for... Rendezvous

The final single released from Born To Do It in the UK is Rendezvous which hit the shops on 19th March. On the first CD the main track is backed by a live edition of Walking Away and No More by Guru on which Craig sings the chorus. The second CD includes several remixes. Can it knock Hear'Say off the top? Probably not, but it should be his fourth solo Top 10 in a row... The video features two Craigs - the smooth ladies-man from Seven Days and the cool street guy from Fill Me In both vying for the attentions of the same girl. Which one wins? And what does he say to his losing half in the end? Answers on a postcard to...

S is for... Southampton

Craig Ashley David was born in Southampton on May 5th 1981 to parents Tina and George. He was a good student at Bellemoor Secondary School achieving many GCSE passes including his favourite subject History, and while there he took part in a number of plays and school concerts. However his first love has always been music, and especially R&B artists like Terence Trent D'Arby, Michael Jackson, R Kelly and Donell Jones. He began writing his own material at twelve and at fifteen began MCing at the local club his father was chairman of. He teamed up with DJ Flash and the pair also did spots on pirate radio station PCRS 106.5FM. In time he got interested in the Garage scene and soon met another local boy Mark Hill, one half of Artful Dodger, who encouraged him to develop his own songs...

W is for... Walking Away

Lyrics

Craig David's third solo single was Walking Away, released on November 20th in the UK. The song came with another good-looking video which showed Craig stepping out his car in busy traffic and walking away from a girlfriend who's giving him grief. As he walks the noisy city fades to be replaced by a quiet forest... The song is a soulful ballad and did well to debut at no 3 against tough opposition from Madonna, Ronan Keating and Destiny's Child...

This page is currently under construction. Come back over the next few days to see the finished site! In the meantime check out the completed gallery and lyrics sections.