Craig David tells us why we DON'T want to miss his upcoming tour 'Hold That Thought'
He's on tour next month
Like most artists, Craig David has had to postpone his tour due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Now that his scheduled tour is about to start, he joined Fleur East, James and Matt on Hits Radio Breakfast to tell the team what we can expect from it, and we won't be disappointed.
Revealing that he felt for fans after he had to reschedule his dates, Craig said he can't wait to get back on the road. Now that he's had more time to work on his tour, he said he's put more songs in the show.
"I think now I've got a really round-bodied show that feels like I've got the day ones on there," he explained, going on to reveal that he has some of his early music as well as new tracks from his upcoming album.
"I've got a really nice balance," he said.
Craig also revealed that his tour will include some TS5 action, which will be great for fans of the '7 Days' singer. Not giving away too much, Craig said, he has a way to include it which is "quite exciting for people."
What is TS5?
Before Craig released his first album more than 20 years ago, he used to DJ in clubs, MCing and singing, so he's brought that all back into his TS5 set. The name comes from an apartment (Tower Suite 5), he used to have in Miami where he used to hold house parties.
During his TS5 set you can expect to see Craig come out of the DJ booth, sing and mix songs.
When is Craig David on tour?
Craig David's 'Hold The Thought' tour starts on 7th April 2022. These dates were previously postponed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Craig David 'Hold That Thought' UK Arena tour dates:
APRIL 2022
Nottingham Motorpoint Arena - Thu 7th
Birmingham Utilita Arena - Sat 9th
Birmingham Resorts World Arena - Sun 10th
Plymouth Pavilions - Tue 12th
Brighton Centre - Wed 13th
London, The O2 - Sat 16th
London, The O2 - Sun 17th
Bournemouth BIC - Tue 19th
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena - Wed 20th
Leeds First Direct Arena - Fri 22nd
Manchester AO Arena - Sat 23rd
Liverpool M&S Bank Arena - Sun 24th
Hull Bonus Arena - Tue 26th
Glasgow O2 Academy - Thu 28th
Newcastle O2 City Hall - Fri 29th
Buy tickets from Aloud.com
During the interview, Craig also took part in the TikTok Throwback Challenge, take a look at his attempt here...
Craig has been releasing music for over 20 years and revealed he thinks he's more childlike now than he's ever been! "I feel like I'm back at that place where I don't sweat at the small stuff, I'm just out there having fun. I just want to go out there and give the best performances, like I used to when I first started," he told Fleur, James and Matt.
You can hear Craig David's songs on Hits Radio.
Now take a look through Craig David's career:
1991 - 'Re-Rewind'
Music is definitely in Craig David's blood. As a child, he was surrounded by music. His father George even played bass in a reggae band.
Despite being well-known in the underground MC world in the 90s and writing songs for British group Damage, Craig David only got his big break in 1999 when he featured on the track 'Re-Rewind' by garage duo Artful Dodger.
The song reached Number 2 in the charts and Craig soon became a household name.
2000 - 'Fill Me In'
In 2000, Craig released one of his greatest tunes to date, 'Fill Me In', and it was his first! The garage banger soared to the top of the charts.
2000 - First album 'Born To Do It'
Craig's debut album 'Born To Do It' was released 14th August 2000 by Wildstar Records. It went to Number 1 and eventually went 6x Platinum. It also achieved major success in the US, selling over a million copies.
Hosting smash singles including '7 Days' and 'Walking Away', the album placed Craig at the top and earned him three Ivor Novello Awards as well as six BRIT Award nominations in 2001.
Later in April 2009, MTV viewers voted 'Born to Do It' as number 2 on their 'Greatest Album of All-Time' poll. What an accolade!
2002 - 'Slicker Than Your Average'
Craig's first album was definitely hard to beat and his second, 'Slicker Than Your Average', was released in 2002. It had huge hits, 'What's Your Flava?', 'Hidden Agenda' and 'Rise & Fall' and reached Number 4 in the charts.
2005 - Change of sound and third album 'The Story Goes...'
In 2005, Craig announced that he had signed with Warner Music and put together his third album, 'The Story Goes...'. His sound shifted slightly and he began exploring more contemporary R&B. His song 'All The Way' put him back in the Top 3 in the charts and the album still did well.
2007 - 'Trust Me'
Craig switched up his look on his fourth album 'Trust Me'. He successfully sought permission from David Bowie to sample his 1983 Number 1 single 'Let's Dance'. The single was a top ten hit but his fourth record didn't perform as well as his first three.
2007 also saw him team up with UK grime legend Kano for their collaboration 'This Is The Girl' that sampled Jay Z's song 'Big Pimpin'.
2008 - 2009 Greatest Hits and new direction
In 2008, still quite early on in his career, Craig released a Greatest Hits album, full of his best known hits as well a new song 'Where's Your Love' featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora.
Craig then signed another new record with Universal Motown and released sixth album 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'. It featured covers of classics from Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Al Green.
In 2009, he moved to Miami and took a break. Craig bought a luxurious all-white penthouse in the sunny city, and began taking major interest in body-building and getting into shape.
Although he didn't go on an official hiatus, Craig reportedly resented the caricature of himself on Leigh Francis' TV show Bo' Selecta!, in which he was frequently parodied.
Craig told The Sunday Times in 2007: "The whole Bo' Selecta! thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. It was hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out."
2011 - The Craig David comeback and TS5
Craig started making his way back to the mainstream in 2011 when his DJ name TS5 started uploaded the sets to Soundcloud, and on the back of this success Craig embarked on a huge world tour that took him all over the globe.
TS5 remains hugely successful to this day, taking Craig everywhere from Ibiza to Glastonbury.
In January 2013, David announced on Twitter that he had signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, he then took his TS5 shows on tour.
In 2015, Craig appeared on The X Factor and performed his breakthrough single 'Re-Rewind' with Reggie 'n' Bollie.
In 2016, he signed with Sony and was preparing for the ultimate comeback.
2016 - 'Following My Intuition'
Craig's comeback single 'When The Bassline Drops', featuring Big Narstie, flew straight into the Top 10.
In September 2016, he dropped his long-awaited comeback album 'Following My Intuition' and it was his first album to hit Number 1 since his debut 'Born To Do It'. He then headed on tour and played almost every festival under the sun.
2017 - 'The Time Is Now'
In 2017, Craig announced the release of the seventh studio album, 'The Time Is Now', which was released in January 2018 and featured hits like 'Heartline' and 'I Know You' featuring Bastille.
2019 - 2020 New songs and Love Island
Two years later, he released 'Do You Miss Me Much' and 'When You Know What Love Is' - which he performed in the Love Island villa during a guest DJ slot.
2021 - New music tease
In October 2021, Craig surprised fans and told them a collaboration 'Who You Are' which saw join forces with Grammy-nominated artist and acclaimed songwriter MNEK.
He's also hinted at a new album.
2021 - Craig David received an MBE from Prince Charles
In December 2021, Craig David received an MBE at Windsor Castle from Prince Charles. The singer too to Instagram to share some photos of him receiving the award telling his fans: 'As I sit here after a beautiful day with my mum at Windsor Castle 🏰 I just wanna say thank you to everyone that has played a part in my career to date & to everyone that supports me & enriches my life. I'm so grateful & I Love You ❤️💫 xxx'
2022 - Craig Davi performs at the Platinum Party at the Palace
Craig David was among the talented artists who performed at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee celebrations on 4th June.
After his performance, he took to Instagram to say: 'After the last few years we've all had to face our own challenges individually & collectively, but in that time I've seen so many acts of courage, humility & grace from all of You that makes an occasion like this even more special to be a part of' (sic)
2022 - Craig releases his eighth album
On 30th September 2022, Craig released his eighth studio album, celebrating 22 years of his epic career! Aptly names '22', the album included tracks such as 'DNA' with Galantis, 'Who You Are' with MNEK and 'My Heart's Been Waiting for You' with Duvall.
2022 - Craig David's first book
In September 2022, Craig David announced he would be releasing his first book called What's Your Vibe?. The book covers this whole career and was released on 6th October of that year.
2024 - Love Island: All Stars performance
Craig delivered an incredible performance in the Love Island: All Stars villa in February 2024, delighting Islanders including superfan Anton Danyluk. Craig was also joined by Wes Nelson, with the pair teaming up for an epic performance of their collab 'Abracadabra'.
2024 - Craig David announces 'Commitment Tour 2025'
Craig David announced dates across the UK as part of his 'Commitment Tour 2025', starting in Leeds on 2nd February, he will end in London on 20th February.
Now read:
Everything you ever needed to know about Craig David 🎶
Craig David's biggest hits from 'Fill Me In' to 'Who You Are'
Craig David's impressive career timeline 🎧