Wednesday, October 8, 2003 17:20
Craig David - review | |
|  | | Fraser and Craig |
| | Five hundred lucky fans got the the chance to see Craig David live and acoustic at the Hampshire Rose Bowl.
BBC Southampton's Hannah Bayman was there... |
| | | When your fans have queued since the small hours to get in to your invite-only homecoming show you'd better give them something special.
So Craig David pulled out all the stops at his exclusive Southampton date - belting out eight of his biggest hits backed by just an acoustic guitar.
 | | Guitarist Fraser |
“An intimate gig like this blows my mind. You can feel the vibe of everyone in the audience. It’s so intense - especially for a guy who grew up on the Holyrood Estate,” he tells the crowd.
Just four years ago the local lad was writing songs in his bedroom there - including Rewind, the UK garage smash that bounced him to fame.
Tonight, the 22-year-old has come home to celebrate. “I feel blessed to have come from Southampton,” he says and the crowd cheers. “If there are any other singer-songwriters coming out of here, this is our time. We’ve got it all locked down right now - with James Beattie doing his thing too.”
Click through our Craig David's homecoming photo gallery
Indeed, the Southampton and England striker is right here in the audience, along with captain Jason Dodd and club boss Gordon Strachan.
 | | Craig David |
And the atmosphere is so cosy that Craig is soon peeling off his clothes - a smart black jacket and white shirt coming off to reveal a trademark tight vest and chunky silver pendant.
But it is his huge voice that really earns gasps from the audience, as he fills the Rose Bowl’s function suite with soaring vocals for Walking Away and 7 Days, adds beat box sounds to What’s Your Flava and ad-lib raps to latest hit Spanish and early tune Fill Me In.
“This takes me back to creeping around on the Holyrood,” he says as he introduces the latter.
It’s the last song of the night - the crowd seems too shy to scream for an encore in such a small venue. But while it’s time for Craig to leave Southampton again - he showed tonight that the city will never leave him.
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