He used to be really popular and had some credibility for the first few years of his career. Was it all down to the Bo Selecta mask that he started to be viewed as a bit of a cheesebag or where did things go wrong?

I see he's taking the Seal route now and doing an album of covers. The guy is talented but I'd say this will flop as no one seems interested.

he is just so early 2000s.

Around the time he released this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIiYkJhva5M

He had his time and it's now gone.
I presume he's made a bagful of money so he should let it go now and do something else as nobody cares anymore.

I think it was because he moved away from the dance scene and had really started to weaken in the R&B scene. Personally I don't think he had a single "great" track on "Slicker Than Your Average". Most things before then, including "Born To Do It" was good and he was releasing separate great tracks around the same time as the dance/garage jam scene was quite live.

I will admit, he has had one or two decent songs here and there, but nothing touches his pre-2002 really. He jumped on the garage scene at the perfect time and then left that spot too early. All in all, it seems like a typical case.

Loving the beat box!

Changing tastes, he's really talented though.

I think it was when he started taking himself too seriously. He went over to America and blew it by trying to become too political. As a black artist he was marketed to Black America and they loved him at first but then this happened.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2480365.stm

I regularly visit several R&B music boards and plenty of people were pissed at him for that. Americans don't like been preached to by outsiders. In my opinion he should have said nothing but carried on with his regular guitarist without feeling the need to make the comment below.

"They can take their black guitarist and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. It shouldn't matter what colour or creed you are. Fraser plays licks that half those urban guys can't even fathom. They can lump it or leave it."

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...sm-604219.html

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot and pissing off your core audience in the biggest market in the world!

Sade who is absolutely adored by the US Black media and seen as a goddess by plenty of Black Americans was able to make it over there with her all white bandmates.

Just listened to 'Rewind' on youtube and found it hard to keep a straight face!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owKkSxGT8Ng

What's with the stupid lounge/ elevator music style backing beat? And the random "boing" noises, smashing glass, silenced gun sounds and car tyre screaching sound? and the playing stuff backwards thing just gets annoying.

Wtf does bo-selecta even mean? Why is the chorus guy putting on a silly voice? Why is the video so stupid?

I mean I remember thinking he was terrible at the time, but it's actually even worse than I remembered it!

And yes, I do think Bo-selecta ruined his crediblity! It's sad people who liked him decided not to because of that. I suppose that's how fickle the charts are. More than half of it appears to be down to credibility/ image. I think chart music is just so disposable like that- it's in one minute, out the other, like a fashion trend.

Personally, I don't care how credible or fashionable an artist is, if I like it, I like it and no comedy show could tell me otherwise, but then I always thought Craig David was sh*te and didn't need Bo-selecta to show me.

To be honest.... i was around 10 when he released his debut album, and well garage was the craze back then hence why it was such a success, also you cannot doubt the quality of 'Born To Do It'. Where I think he went wrong was, when he went to America changed his style and forgot about the UK. By the time he came back and made the effort in promotion it was to late, as he was being mocked on tv..... and the popularity decreased year by year. He had a good crack at a return with 'Trust Me' but it still will never measure upto the success he once had, which is a shame.

I'm sure 2-3 yrs ago Craig David did actually have a go at Avid Merrion in the media citing the 'Bo Selecta' depiction of CD for his waning popularity and fall from favour.

I'm sure AV's response to Craig was bollocks to him or something of that effect.

Lost the plot when he released "Slicker Than Your Average" (what an awful album title btw) with cringe songs like "What's your flava?" He just started to alienate his European fanbase. Of course Bo Selecta did him no favours either..I think people were embarrassed to like him after that as he became such a figure of ridicule.

He started flopping after Rewind

Craig can deny it all he likes, but Leigh Francis is largely responsible.

It's the curse of Leigh Francis. Everything connected with that show is doomed to failure - Craig David, Jackson, Mel B and Leigh Francis himself !

I didn't know about that, but it shows (to me anyway) that he has a lot of intergrity and principles, something that's not exactly abundant in the music world these days. Also, by refusing to dump his white guitarist to appease the black audience, he's not really preaching to anyone, he's making a stand and highlighting the small-mindedness of much of his audience. If The Libertines were told to dump their black drummer to appeal to white America, and they told them to f*ck off, I would say exactly the same.

If that story's true, then it seems to me that it's not so much that Americans don't like being preached to by outsiders that hurt his sales, but that black Americans don't like white people playing in 'Urban' bands. Says more about them than CG IMO - and I'm not a fan of his music.

I have no idea why Craig is going all soulful or whatever. I heard he was going to his roots which meant a garage album. He will badly flop and he isn't doing himself no favours really. His last album was quite jazzy and that was a pile of crap.

I prefered his third album. Quite poppy with elements of r&b.

His days were numbered when he started pissing his pants.
At least now he has more time to play with Kes.

You can discuss craig David and other artists here

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1237996

I used to have a CD of his 'Born to Do It'. Don't think I have it anymore.

Wow didn't know he said all this but it actually makes me respect him. I would have said the same thing if I was him.

Come on, he was a sadcase from word go, why do you think Leigh Francis took the piss out of him with the mask in the first place? Craig didn't mind it at first anyway, he had Leigh with him onstage as 'Craig' doing Rewind (Re-e-wind, when the crowd say 'Bo Selecta!' or however it goes...). Then later he blamed him.

What I think is that no-one quite got what kind of an artist he was. He didn't know himself. 'UK garage sensation' Craig David suddenly became too slick for everyone to care about. Talented guy but not marketable.

As with so many before him and so many after him, he was hyped up beyond his capabilities by the music media and industry.

I remember Pete Tong (the grandfather DJ) stating that he was a genious-erm well no, Steve Wonder yes, but thats pushing it-saying that he was probably signed to one of his labels.

He also became too full of himself as well-a similar fate befell Terrence Trent Darby after he caused a bit of a sensation in the late 80s.

A dear to say this but...

I do think a reality show could do him well

Monday, took you for a drink on Tuesday..we'll make it right by Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday and Saturday, chill on Sunday. Love that song.

Oh and Fill me in and Rewind.


Erm no idea why he started flopping...his songs after these weren't very good though. Like someone said he is so early 2000 when UK garage was at a high.