The title of Craig David's new single sounds strangely poignant and prophetic. 'The Rise and Fall' says it all. Re-rewind a couple of years and he was The Man.
Riding on the back of the emergent UK garage massive, his fresh looks and all round appeal - in a non-threatening boy-next-door kind of way - seemed to prove he really was 'Born To Do It', even if his debut album was largely devoid of the sound that made his name.
In the wake of his success he affected the curious habit of talking about himself in the third person, enthusiastically discussing the possibilities for Craig David the brand and its globalisation. The share price was looking good with US interest bumping it up, but in the current climate, at home at least, even the chairman of the board himself must have noticed a recent slump.
And while it's hardly black Wednesday there have been whispers that the boy from Southampton's 15 minutes are up. Clearly none of this bothers Craig overtly. Tonight dressed in enormous white parachute pants and a matching red t-shirt and tea cosy combo, he works the room like a natural. He may have only just turned 22 but Craig has his game down tight.
You only have to look at him to realise that seven days in his life are nothing like his tales of making love all week until he can't be arsed, but the ladies in the house swoon at every silky smooth sashay. The new material is politely received but ultimately bland, more unthreatening than ever, designed for a mass-market and styled for the US of A. 'The Rise and Fall', made all the better by a Sting no show, looks likely to reinstall him at the top of the charts but lacks the pristine pop nous of his former work.
When he gets his hits out even he seems to be having more fun. The sickly sweet street soul of 'Walking Away' and playground bragging of 'Fill Me In' are crowd-pleasing nuggets charming all those in attendance. Even when he comes on for the encore in a Southampton FC shirt he does so without really winding-up any Arsenal fans ahead of the FA Cup final.
Leaving his best 'til last and taking a well-timed pop at himself by allowing Avid Merrion onto the stage in his huge Craig mask to do some northern freestyling, 'Rewind' brings the show to a close in fine style. Craig bounds off into the wings, no doubt in trouble for being out well past his bedtime but safe in the knowledge that confidence in his stock is returning and business is set to boom again soon.
Slicker than your average? You'd better believe it, Craig David is slicker than an environmentally disastrous North Sea oil spill.
Photos: Ellie Wilson
