Craig David reveals which royal is a secret fan 👀
We weren't expecting that
Craig David joined Fleur East, James and Matt this morning to talk about his new tour 'Hold That Thought'. He also spoke about receiving an MBE, taking his mum to the ceremony at Windsor Castle, and meeting Prince Charles.
Back in December 2021, Craig David received an MBE for services to music, the singer told Fleur and the team what it was like to attend the ceremony at Windsor Castle with his mum and meet Prince Charles.
Craig even revealed that Prince Charles is a fan and always pressing for his new music! Admitting that they've met a few times, he revealed that he often asks: "What's the new thing? I like that!" Craig said.
"He's like, 'cool, I know about 'Fill Me In' and '7 Days', I like this, but what's the new stuff man?'."
The singer, then went on to reveal the song he thinks would be Prince Charles' favourite song, and he chose his 2017 song 'I Know You' featuring Bastille, saying: "This is the future king's dedication, he wanted to put it out there let you all know that he knows you."
Craig also told how he was so proud to receive the honour saying: "It was amazing, for me, being able to be there with my mum, in Windsor Castle to see where the Queen resides."
The '7 Days' singer went to say how he admired how the Prince gave everyone time, despite Craig being 50th in line, Prince Charles still had time to chat to him. "He listened to everyone and he heard their story, and he spoke to them. It wasn't like I got rushed through."
He continued: "Just to have my mum there thinking, from a working class family from Southampton, now in Windsor Castle, seeing her son get an MBE is just crazy."
Craig will be on tour later this year, after his original tour was postponed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. He told the team that fans can expect a fantastic mixture of old and new tracks from his upcoming album.
The singer is known for more than two decades of music, including songs such as 'Fill Me In', '7 Days', 'Walking Away' and 'Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)'.
You can hear songs by Craig David 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 🎧