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Craig, are you the first international R'n'B
superstar pin-up to come from Southampton?
Maybe, ha ha! You know, it's not really all going
on in Southampton. But that's where I met [songwriting
partner] Mark Hill from Artful Dodger. I was 15
and we were both DJing in Juice. I was playing
R'n'B downstairs and he was playing garage upstairs.
That's how we hooked up.
Are we likely to see you back behind the decks?
I would still like to do it. But now I've found
a better way to express myself with the singing/songwriting
thing. I'm really a melody and lyrics guy but,
because of my Djing, I've got very strong beliefs
about how the beats should be.
So it's not you doing the melodies and Artful
Dodger doing the beats then?
No, Mark heard some of my songs when we hooked
up. But I've been writing since I was 15. And
Mark's classically trained. He played with the
Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra. He played the cymbals!
How come Re-Rewind, your song with Artful
Dodger, came out before any solo music?
There was always going to be a solo career for
Craig David. It just happened that I was about
to sign my record deal and Re-Rewind blew up.
The record company were like, 'brilliant!'
Why do you think UK garage has become so massive?
There's an energy in UK Garage that just can't
be overlooked. When those big basslines come in,
people just want to explode to it. With Re-Rewind,
people were just waiting for the bassline. But
garalso got really strong songs.
Seven Days finds you in romantic mood. But
tell us, Craig, what would be your perfect night
out with a l-l-lady?
First I'd take this beautiful lady out for a
meal. We'd sit down, chat and enjoy ourselves.
Then we'd go and watch whatever was the happening
movie at the time. She'd drive me home and I'd
say goodnight and 'thanks for a nice night'. It's
not very wild? No, I'm into very chilled nights
out.
Tell us a secret.
You can always seduce Craig David with a caramel
and vanilla cheesecake. If you put one in front
of me I'm just not able to hold myself back.
— 06.07.00
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