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After revolutionising the world’s perception of urban music and emerging as one of the most innovative British artists in years, 24 year old Craig David is back to prove his success story is only just beginning. He has already sold an incredible 13 million records, played sell out concerts around the world and counts the likes of P. Diddy, Missy Elliott , Stevie Wonder , Bono , Beyonce Knowles and Eminem among his fans.
Along the way, he has also picked up two Grammy nominations, two MTV Awards and an incredible six MOBOs and six IvorNovello’s, including songwriter of the year. Challenging accepted boundaries between musical genres and demands we listen with fresh ears. Now, five years on from the release of his first groundbreaking album, he will release his soulful third album,‘The Story Goes…
’It is all a lifelong dream come true for Craig. Brought up on Southampton’s Holyrood Estate, he spent hours watching his bassist father rehearse with his reggae band and started begging his mum for decks at the tender age of 13. “Getting them was monumental for me even though she got me what she thought was cool, instead of the proper decks I wanted,” Craig remembers today. “It’s like when you ask for Nike Air Max and your mum comes back with Gola. It worked out for the better, though, because I had to work even harder to try make it work on those decks while I saved up to get the ones I wanted to start making proper mix CD’s.” Undeterred, he was soon selling his CD’s in local barber shops and anywhere else that would take them, slipping the odd track of his own into the mix. “I was getting £10, cash in hand, and they cost about £1.50 to make. If I was on £8.50 a record now, I’d be laughing!” Craig jokes. “
While playing local clubs and pirate radios, Craig co-wrote and sung on the Artful Dodger’s chart topping hit ‘Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)’ and became the face of the burgeoning UK garage scene almost overnight. “’Rewind’ opened the doors for not only me but for a lot of other artists,” Craig says. “For the first time, there was an artist who people could take seriously and then, when I released ‘Fill Me In’, they could see we were doing it properly and a record company had put money into it.”
The single, released in March 2000, made Craig the youngest ever British male to score a number one, setting the stage perfectly for his debut album, ‘Born To Do It’, later the same year. “The next thing I knew it was all happening. The album was number one and it was selling off the shelf. The fact I travelled the whole world off one album was insane. It was an amazing time.”
With the award-winning album achieving platinum or multi-platinum status in over 20 countries worldwide,Craig headed off to charm America too. They didn’t know what had hit them. “It was a weird one. I went over there not knowing what to expect and it all came about almost effortlessly in a lot of respects. It was hard graft trying to get them to understand the record but when it started to go, it really did start to move. I was amazed at how segregated music is in America and the politics between black and white music at radio. It was even suggested that I fire my white guitar player Fraser T Smith and replace him with a black musician. Thankfully black radio did play my records and Fraser continued to play guitar for me but it was a real eye opener and a massive learning curve for me”During a tireless 18month tour of the States, Craig earned the respect of even his hardest-to-impress peers. Usher, QuincyJones and Beyonce all declared themselves fans while P. Diddy came over to introduce himself one night in a Miami restaurant. “He gave me his number and said, let’s do something,” Craig recounts. “You grow up playing someone’s musicand the next thing you know, they’re tapping you on the shoulder. Don’t get me wrong, it still weirds me out a little!
One of the most flattering things was when Jennifer Lopez said in an interview that she made out to certain songs of mine in the bedroom.You sort of think, you’re making out with the wrong person! I’ll give you a personal rendition! It proves to me, though, that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, people can appreciate music. That gives me the confidence to keep on writing and doingmy best.”
Craig’s second album, ‘Slicker Than Your Average’, was equally well-received. Faced with the pressure of living up to the phenomenal success of ‘Born To Do It‘, he started to experiment a little more with his sound, testing our expectations even further by alongside Mark Hill working with the likes of north London record producers Ignorants and the Norweigen team Soulshock & Karlin.
The album’s centre piece a stunning duet with Sting proved just how versatile Craig’s voice and influences were, netting him yet another number one and being named “the heavyweight collaboration of the year” by TheTimes. It catapulted him into yet another year of touring, including sold-out dates all over the world and a performance at thefamous Montreux Jazz Festival. “I didn’t expect any of this to happen,” Craig explains. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think wow, this is absolutely incredible. It really does blow me away.”
By 2004, Craig finally had a chance to take stock and reassess his life. He bought a house in London, relished every moment decorating it and finally stayed in one place long enough to start going out with his friends again. It was a revelation for him.
After working solidly for nearly four years, Craig had a chance to refocus on his song writing and take time getting it right.“There’s a momentum that goes with releasing a record but it was really important for me not to rush this one. The secondalbum was right off the back of the first and I just got back in the studio and worked, full speed ahead. This one was moreabout chilling for a minute and seeing what happened.”When it was time to start writing songs in earnest, Craig returned to the studio with long-time collaborator Mark Hill and the pair realised all that mattered this time around was creating great songs. “We have a lot to prove,” Craig admits,” and ourapproach with this album has been like the first one in a lot of respects. There was such a long period of time between albums,it felt really natural. With Mark and I, the production is just the icing on the cake. A lot of people put so much effort into their production but there’s no real song there. I try to stay away from that. I’ve really taken a lot of time to make sure the songs areat the forefront.”
The result is a startlingly honest, soulful record where Craig’s personality and experiences take centre stage. In taking time out he has rediscovered what moves him, what makes him get on the dance floor and what has shaped the person he is now and all that is translated into a powerfully emotive album, fittingly titled ‘The Story Goes…’. “
Vocally I’ve matured and I know my strengths and my weaknesses so I can really tap into it and get the best out of myself performance-wise. There’s a lot of personal stuff on this album that I probably wouldn’t have said before because I didn’t have the confidence to say it. Sometimes songs are about a chapter in your life or a time and place and they touch on things other people can relate to aswell, and that’s what makes an album exciting.”
With the focus firmly on songs, his smoothly striking vocals, lyrics about love, life and nights out partying are truly a reflectionof the last two years of Craig’s life and the man behind the hits and headlines. With the bulk of the album being produced by Mark Hill, Craig has also collaborated with American producers The Underdogs and written and produced with Rick Nowles, ‘The Story Goes…’ moves seamlessly from the lovelorn pleas of ‘My Love Don’t Stop’ to the gently affecting ‘Johnny’,where Craig explores the difficult issue of bullying at school. “I wanted to write about that awful feeling of travelling back and forwards to school, knowing there was someone waiting there all the time to cause you harm. It all fell into place for me writing about it and I knew it was something I could talk about because it is something I directly experienced a form of at school.
You feel like you’re in a black hole when it’s happening and you don’t know what to do, like in the lyrics of Johnny it is important to talk to someone even if, like is the problem in his case, they’re not listening. It’s a massive issue and I don’t have the answers to it but I wanted to highlight it and bring it out into the open, it’s a type of exorcism for me.
”Other songs were inspired by more recent events. The slick disco beats of ‘All The Way’ were a consequence of Craig’s nights out partying, knowing that for the first time in years he didn’t have to get up and work in the morning; while the beautiful ’I’m Sorry’ is a mesmerizing tale of lost love and broken hearts. “I was in a relationship for ten months,” Craig says,“and it got to the point where we were having too many arguments and we were coming to the end of the road. Then she turned round and said, you know what? It doesn’t matter because I don’t really love you any more.
There’s nothing you can say to someone who says that! If I had been in love with her, it would have broken me but it came as a blessing in disguise. From that moment, it inspired me.”
Ultimately, ‘The Story Goes…’ is an album from someone who has seen the world and lived out their wildest dreams but knows that, in the end, all that really matters is a great song and an honest heart. “Every album is a chapter in my life but this one really captures the essence of me. I’m not trying to prove anything to people or make anyone happy, I just feel like I can let loose, step up a gear and say check this. I have been blessed with this wonderful life and the ability to make music, something which I’m very grateful for and a position I will never knowingly abuse”.
Craig David’s new album, ‘The Story Goes…’ is out now, on Warner Records.
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