Craig David
Craig Ashley David MBE (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, Born to Do It, was released in 2000, after which he has released a further five studio albums and worked with a variety of artists such as Sting, Tinchy Stryder, Big Narstie, Kano and Jay Sean. David has 20 UK top 40 singles, and seven UK top 40 albums, selling over 15 million records worldwide as a solo artist.
Craig David
Craig Ashley David
5 May 1981
Southampton, Hampshire, England
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- rapper
- author
- MC
1997–present
- Wildstar
- Teacup
- Warner Bros.
- UMTV
- Atlantic
- Reprise
- UMPG
- Insanity
- Speakerbox
- BMG
- RCA (former)
- Independent (current)
David has been nominated for fourteen Brit Awards: five times for Best British Male, and twice receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.[2][3]
Early life[edit]
David was born in Southampton, Hampshire,[4] the only child of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter,[5][6] and grew up in the Holyrood estate.[7] David's father is Afro-Grenadian and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother a convert to Judaism.[8] David's parents separated when he was eight and he was brought up by his mother.[9]
He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College. David was bullied by other students at school. He wrote and released the song "Johnny" in 2005 about his memories of being bullied.[10][11][12][13]
David's father, George David, played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a B-side to British group Damage's cover of "Wonderful Tonight", on the track "I'm Ready". He then started doing vocals for the UK garage duo Artful Dodger, on tracks such as "Something" and "What Ya Gonna Do".
Wildstar Records first became aware of David when the artist's then manager Paul Widger met the label's co-owner Colin Lester and played some of his music.[14] Lester later told HitQuarters that he was particularly impressed by the first song he heard, "Walking Away", saying "That was an absolute stand-out ... It struck me that any seventeen-year-old that could write a song like this had huge potential."[14] The Wildstar boss was further won over when, on later visiting the artist's home in Southampton, he found David's tiny bedroom stacked from floor to ceiling with 12" vinyl records, commenting: "That convinced me he was the real deal and not just some kid acting out the part."[14] At that point Lester offered him a development deal with his label. When Lester later heard the song "7 Days", he said he immediately heard a number-one record and promoted the contract to an album deal the same day.[14]
1999–2003: Born to Do It and Slicker Than Your Average[edit]
The song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)", from the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit number two on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "Fill Me In", released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records, topped the UK chart and was the first of a string of four top 10 singles from his debut album Born to Do It, which eventually sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.[15] The song "Key to My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured in the award-winning Warner Bros. animated film Osmosis Jones.
The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and Mark Hill of Artful Dodger, led to the United States release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Born to Do It was released in the United States on 17 July 2001, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 1 million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the top 10 in the U.S.; although "Walking Away", which had reached number 3 in the UK and number 5 in Australia, missed the top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there.
In April 2009, MTV viewers voted Born to Do It as number 2 on their "Greatest Album of All Time" poll, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller.[16]
The follow-up album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002. The album's first four singles continued David's streak of top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at number 15 in 2003. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S. Although "What's Your Flava?" and "Rise & Fall" (duet with Sting) received airplay on the urban contemporary and soft adult contemporary formats, they did not make the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs or Adult Contemporary charts. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the Rhythmic Top 40 chart (number 32), Mainstream Top 40 chart (number 24) and the Top 40 Tracks chart (number 37). According to the RIAA, Slicker Than Your Average was certified gold in the U.S.
David also commented that the album title could be looked at in two different ways: "On the one hand, it's coming across like I'm arrogant. On the other hand, it's saying I have a lot more composure on the album.""[17]
The album was leaked onto the internet prior to its official release but David was not too bothered as he felt it "spreads the word".
Caricature on Bo' Selecta![edit]
David was frequently caricatured by comedian Leigh Francis on the British TV comedy show Bo' Selecta!; the show's title itself being a reference to his song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)". Although many other celebrities lampooned in the series appreciated the jokes and even appeared in the series themselves, David—the series' most prominently mocked target—did not enjoy the attention, remarking that the public were no longer taking him seriously.[67] Speaking to The Sunday Times in 2007, David said that "The whole Bo' Selecta! thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. ... Inside it was absolutely pissing me off and hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out".[68]
Although he made an appearance himself on the programme (as the pseudo-fictional tribute act "Craig Davis"),[69] he regretted it. However, he has also denied that his career had been ruined as a result of the show, and has said that he was satisfied with his musical output over the years.[70][71]
In a 2015 interview with the Daily Mirror, David stated that he had no hard feelings towards Francis, explaining how he had seen him at a wedding and given him a hug, assuring him they were "cool". He further explained in the interview that it was his PR team who suggested that he "play hurt" by the caricature.[72] He reiterated this stance on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2016 and explained that, contrary to popular belief, he had not fled the UK to escape negative attention brought about from the show.[73]
In June 2020, Francis apologised for his portrayal of David (among other black and mixed race celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Mel B and Trisha Goddard) in the show as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd protests, stating that "I want to say sorry for any upset I caused whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David or Trisha Goddard... all people who I am a big fan of."[74] Bo' Selecta! was removed from the video on demand service All 4 later that same month for similar reasons.[75]
David raised the topic again in October 2022. "Every sketch felt personal", he told The Times. "It felt like a vendetta and when it got a following, it became something that affected me. People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy. When he put blackface on, that was being racist. We can all apologise when on the back foot. Has he reached out to any of the people he did on his show? He hasn't reached out to me. Has he gone to communities to talk about bullying? Racism? And to be educated? You can only ask him."[76]
Personal life and activism[edit]
David is Jewish.[77]
He is an avid supporter of Southampton F.C., his hometown football team.[78]
On 24 March 2010 (World Tuberculosis Day), the World Health Organization appointed Craig David as a Goodwill Ambassador against tuberculosis. His first activity in this role was to travel to South Africa to learn more about tuberculosis, where he met people suffering from the disease and those who have recovered, and scientists who have dedicated their lives to fighting tuberculosis. David stated that his mission is to help overcome the social stigma of TB in order to combat the disease.[79] He has also been criticised by Action on Smoking and Health in 2013 for appearing in another Big Tobacco–funded appearance in Penang, Malaysia, where Japan Tobacco International sponsored a concert.[80]
In January 2021 it was announced that Craig David would appear in an esports series in a campaign with McLaren and British American Tobacco (BAT) in order to enable them to reach their customers "in new, exciting and engaging ways" to push the nicotine pouch brand VELO. He appears in the series alongside other UK stars including presenter Rory Reid and Fred Sirieix.[81]
In October 2022, David released a track titled "Better Days (I Came by Train)" in association with Trainline to encourage use of trains instead of flying or driving to lower CO2 emissions and save the planet.[82]
Headlining