Topping the UK chart with his latest album, Following My Intuition, was especially pleasing for Southampton-born R&B singer/rapper Craig David. His first number one since his 2000 debut album, Born To Do It, 35-year-old Craig’s success signifies a full recovery from a time when he became the laughing stock of many British music fans.
His career could hardly have begun better. Craig’s first appearances were as the featured vocalist on Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) and Woman Trouble, two massive hit singles for UK garage duo Artful Dodger.
This provided Craig with the perfect promotion for his own output. His first two singles, Fill Me In and 7 Days, topped the UK chart and were enormous hits throughout the world. When Born To Do It became an even bigger world-wide hit, it looked like Craig was destined for international superstardom.
Although not quite as successful, his work remained hugely popular over the following few years. Things began to turn sour after he was viciously lampooned by the writer/comedian Leigh Francis on his Channel 4 television show, Bo’ Selecta!
“I didn’t mind at first and actually felt quite flattered that Leigh should find me an interesting enough person to caricature,” Craig stated. “I even appeared on the programme although I’d be lying if I said I was totally happy about this. By that time, the Craig David stuff was starting to get beyond a joke. I thought by meeting Leigh and being on the show, he might realise I wasn’t such a bad guy and tone it down.
“That didn’t happen. Things actually got worse. I’d have people recognise me in the street. Instead of saying hello and asking for an autograph as had happened in the past, they’d shout out Craig Daaavid in the broad northern accent that Leigh used for the caricature. Even the show title came from Re-Rewind. It felt like myself, my work, everything was being ridiculed.”
Bo’ Selecta! ended in 2006. Despite his fears, Craig’s career had not been ruined but it had been marred. His records still sold well but in nothing like the numbers achieved by his early hits.
“The stuff on Bo’ Selecta! had basically made people think of me as uncool. They might enjoy my songs but wouldn’t buy them because of the concern that friends might make fun of them for liking music by the guy who got ridiculed on the TV show. Thankfully, I still had a lot of fans who cared much more about my music than my image.”
The much reduced sales of Trust Me and, particularly, Signed Sealed Delivered saw Craig reach the nadir of his career. It would take six and a half years of remedial work before he hit number one with Following My Intuition.
“With hindsight, releasing Signed Sealed Delivered was probably a mistake. There was just one original song, This Could Be Love. Two more were partly new but sampled other R&B songs while every other track on the album was a cover of classic R&B songs.
“My intention was to sing the songs exactly as the original artists had done. It was my homage to them but this drew a lot of criticism. People thought I should have done my own interpretation of each song.”
The rehabilitation of Craig’s career and image began in 2011. He was among the celebrities who walked 100 kilometres across a Kenyan desert to raise money for charity. He also performed in the Michael Jackson Tribute Concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
The following years saw Craig work on numerous collaborations with dance music artists and create DJ sets for British radio stations. An appearance on Radio 1Xtra led to a collaboration with London rapper Big Narstie. Their track, When The Bassline Drops, was Craig’s first single as a lead artist for five and a half years. It peaked at number ten on the UK chart.
More hit singles were released before the success of Following My Intuition confirmed Craig’s return to the top table of British music.
“It’s incredible to realise it was 16 years ago when I last had a number one album. It’s like two generations connecting with the same music. The people who have been with me since I started in 1999 and the new crew who are just discovering me. I can’t say a big enough thank you to all of them.”

IN BRIEF
BTS

Psy made UK chart history in 2012 as the first Korean artist to top the singles listings with his global hit, Gangnam Style. His 2013 follow-up, Gentleman, also made the top ten.
But none of Psy’s albums made any impression on the British chart. The honour of becoming the first Korean act to enter the UK albums chart has fallen to seven-piece boy band BTS. Their second studio LP, Wings, has so far peaked at number 62.
Music fans in other western nations have also displayed an appreciation for K-pop’s latest phenomenon. Wings has sold well in numerous countries reaching number 16 in Canada and entering the Billboard 200 at number 26.
The video for lead single, Blood, Sweat & Tears, became the fastest K-pop promo by a group to reach ten million YouTube views. It did so in less than 42 hours easily beating the previous record of 55 hours held by Girls’ Generation with their 2013 smash, I Got a Boy.
The Blood, Sweat & Tears video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9f-TEutc

One Direction

The members of One Direction are beginning to establish themselves as solo artists.
In September, the announcement was made that Niall Horan had signed a solo deal with Capitol Records. His debut single, the acoustic ballad This Town, was released just a few weeks later. It has peaked at number nine in Britain and number 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The black and white live performance video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNBlfyYHu80
Liam Payne has already been active as a songwriter, producer and remixer, most notably in the field of dance music. He has also collaborated on tracks with Juicy J, DJ Mustard, Miguel and Wiz Khalifa. His own solo releases seem to be in the offing. Liam already had a deal with Capitol and has now signed to Republic Records in America.
Harry Styles has a three-album deal with Columbia Records. He has also made his feature film acting debut in Dunkirk which is scheduled for release on July 21, 2017.
Only Louis Tomlinson has yet to pursue a solo career. However, he has created his own record label, Triple Strings Ltd., and has reportedly written some songs with Liam Payne.

Bob Dylan

Many of the literati establishment are probably astonished by the selection of Bob Dylan to receive the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature.
Bob is the first singer/songwriter to win the award and may well be the only member of his profession to have even been considered as a possible candidate. What the great contemporary writers thought of the choice is open to question but the Nobel academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, had no doubts.
“He is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition,” she said. “He created new poetic expressions written in the great American song tradition. He is also a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler. For 54 years now, he has been at it and reinventing himself, constantly creating a new identity.”
Bob has yet to respond to the award. The only acknowledgement was posted on his Facebook page which Bob does not personally maintain. He should receive the Nobel Prize, which also carries a purse of around 900,000 USD, at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10.

The Last Shadow Puppets

The Last Shadow Puppets have announced details of their forthcoming six-song EP. The Dream Synopsis will be released on December 2. It features new versions of album favourites, Aviation and the title-track, along with covers of songs originally recorded by Jacques Dutronc, The Fall, Glaxo Babies and Leonard Cohen.
The covers were performed by the band during their concert tour this past summer. The EP’s lead single, the cover of Leonard Cohen’s Is This What You Wanted, has just been issued. The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8LtrwbEUow