CRAIG DAVID WORLDPOP INTERVIEW Fill Me In has shown that the Bo Selecta wasn't just a flash in the pan for Craig David. worldpop talks to the future of British Two-Step about his incredible rise to the top ... worldpop: How excited are you about being number one? Craig: I am over the moon, It's just amazing. Rewind did so well, and for my first solo single to go straight in at Number One has blown me away. I wasn't expecting it at all. I wanted to take my music to another level, but I never, ever expected my first single to go Number One because usually you build on singles until you get your special one. worldpop: When did you write the single? Craig: About three to four months after Rewind came out. I wanted to show people that there's a fusion between UK garage and R'n'B, and that they can be put into one track and you can hear the different sections. I just wanted to show people that it can be done. Fill Me In is a young scenario and a lot of people can relate too it. worldpop: What's Fill Me In all about? Craig: It's about a guy going round to his girlfriend's house and they're creeping around under her parents' noses. The dad's very overprotective of his young daughter! And basically the parents go out and the guy and his girlfriend are doing things that young people do, then the mum and dad come home early and the guy has to quickly jump out and hide on the window ledge until the dad leaves, then he goes back in and they're laughing and joking about it. It's about being on the edge and playing it dangerous. The whole content of the song is that dad saying 'Well, can you fill me in? Why were you creeping around late last night?'. He's asking all these questions and giving his daughter a good grilling, while the guy is escaping and going back to his house next door. worldpop: You said you wrote the song from personal experience, fill us in, have you been caught out by a girl's dad? Craig: I haven't, but the girl has. The dad's still on the case and is looking out for me. I think he's got more chance of finding me now I've been on TV a few times though! worldpop: Blimey, you'll have to keep on running! Craig: I'm running, believe me, I'm gonna keep on running. I have to stay on my toes! worldpop: How long does it take you to write a song like Fill Me In? Craig: It all depends, really. It's about sitting down and working out the whole structure and how I can bring something that's fresh and new lyrically. That's the one thing that's hard, especially if you've already got a storyline in your head and you've got to describe it. worldpop: When did you realise that you could sing and write your own music? Craig: I've always been doing it, but what really inspired me was when I went in for a competition to write a song for the band Damage. If you won, your song was going to be put on their next single. I wrote a song called I'm Ready and I won the competition and it was put on their single Wonderful Tonight which got to Number Three. It blew me away because I was only 15 at the time and I knew that thousands of people had gone in for the competition. From that day forward I took music very seriously and carried on writing songs. worldpop: Have you kept in touch with then Damage boys? Craig: I saw them not that long ago actually. It was at a TV show and they all came up and congratulated me on how everything was going. It was funny seeing them because the shoe was on the other foot. You know, I used to write for them and there I was getting the chance to do my own thing. It was really nice to see them again. worldpop: Do you feel very young to be in the business having a number one hit? Craig: I think people look at me and think '18 year-old Craig David'. I know I've got so much more to learn and I listen to a lot of people and I take note of what's happening around me. I think you pick it up quite quickly. I think it's cool being the age I am because I look at everything in a different light. Everything's exciting and it keeps you full of energy. worldpop: You sing dead quickly, do you ever totally fluff your lines? Craig: Oh yes! I say the verses round the wrong way and all sorts. But if you're professional about it and you can style it out, no-one can really notice. You're always thinking a couple of sentences ahead and making sure that it all flows, but of course you do it wrong sometimes. I just smile through it. worldpop: Do you think being famous helps you pull the lay-dees? Craig: It's a funny one because you get a lot of attention from the ladies, but it doesn't mean that they're fully into you in the way you'd like them to be. Before I had all the success people would look at me and it would be about Craig David as a person rather than what I do as a living. I mean, it's great that the ladies have warmed to me, it's really cool, but I'm careful. I make sure I focus and concentrate on what I'm doing. You can get sidetracked so it's important to stay on the straight and narrow. I've got loads of time for ladies. I'm only 18, so I've got a long, long time to find the right girl for Craig David. |