Craig David is a name that will be on everyone's lips soon and his melodic, soulful voice will probably be resonating in many ears for years to come. (31/3/00)

As the singer on Southampton's leading producers Artful Dodger's worldwide smash hit ReRewind, at 18, Craig has rocketed to the top.

But it's all set to go off on Monday, with the release of Craig David's debut solo single Fill Me In. A prelude to his forthcoming album, which he is co-producing with

Artful Dodger's Mark Hill, Fill Me In is a melodic journey that tells an urban story overflowing with rich textured arrangements and is based on his own experiences.

Craig explains, "It's kind of an experience I had where I went round a girl's house and having to creep under her parents' noses. I wanted to bring that out in the lyrics."

He's been living in Southampton all his life and music and, in particular, singing, has always been his first loves.

"I was out there doing everything, MC-ing over my own songs at Rank Leisure venues in Portsmouth and

Bournemouth and Harry Limes," he says.

At 15, with added confidence, his mum pushed him to enter a national songwriting competition for Damage records, to produce a track on one of their singles. Craig wrote a song to their backing track and won. Unready was used as a double A side.

"It completely blew me away, as Damage was the big label at the time. On the other side was a cover of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight, which got to Number three."

His mum was a big fan of Terence Trent D'Arby which, alongside great songwriters like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and R Kelly, inspired him.

"As a DJ, with Trevor Nelson as my idol plus the innovative EZ, my mum was always abreast of the latest music before it was released. It was her perseverance that motivated me. I thought I'd made it after that track but it all died shortly after. But it gave me a taste of things to come."

He went to Bellemoor School and then Southampton City College studying electronics for two years - but Craig soon had other options.

"A manager from London started touting my demos around the record companies and as it was my love and passion, I had to pursue it," Craig says.

"DJing subsidised everything and I started to concentrate on the songwriting. After nine months of record companies, there were many deals on the table. I decided to

sign for a small record company, Wildstar, with a small roster, where I would be a priority."

Wildstar has plenty of experience breaking new acts and R&B prowess and although Craig David is renowned for his UK garage with Artful Dodger, his first love is R&B.

The Craig David album is pure R&B and will be released in the summer. When the Wildstar deal was signed, ReRewind was blowing up on the underground.

"The lyrics and the melody of ReRewind came from another track of mine called Last Night. I couldn't believe it made the charts - let alone number two!" he adds.

With radio playing such a major part in Craig's career, he also has a show on Capital Radio with Mark Hill.

"Artful Dodger in the mix with me singing vocals over the top is the setup. It's a straightup clubbing vibe which I love."

Craig still works from home in Southampton, writing melodies and lyrics before going to Mark Hill's to produce the backing track.

"He's producing most of the songs on the album as he has a good vibe having grown up with R&B. The album's finished with just a few tracks left to be mastered

down," adds Craig.

Tracks include Fill Me In, Walking Away, Re-Rewind, Seven Days and Rendezvous. And sound bytes are available on his website www.craigdavid.co.uk.

The future's bright for our rising star.

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