British music icon Craig David has returned to the Southampton council house where he grew up, lending his voice to the campaign for more social housing across the UK.
The 43-year-old singer, famed for early 2000s hits such as 7 Days and Fill Me In, visited the Holyrood Estate with his mother, Tina, to film a new video with Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. David spent his formative years on the estate before his career in music took off in his early twenties.
“Growing up in a social home meant everything to me,” said David. “It wasn’t just a roof over my head – it was a safe space where I felt loved, encouraged and free to dream. That environment allowed me to create, to write, to believe that something more was possible.”
The chart-topping artist recalled composing some of his earliest songs in that very house, including those that would appear on Born to Do It, his debut album that became the fastest-selling record by a British male solo artist upon release in 2000. The album helped catapult UK garage music into the mainstream and cemented David as one of the country’s defining voices of the era.
Returning to his childhood home, David met with the family currently living there and reflected on how crucial stable housing had been in shaping his life. “It’s heartbreaking that so many children today don’t have the same start I did,” he said. “Every child deserves to grow up with that feeling of security and belonging. That’s why I’m supporting Shelter’s campaign – because social housing isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s about giving young people a chance.”
Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, praised David’s involvement, calling his story a testament to the transformative power of social housing. “Craig shows exactly what can be achieved when you give someone a stable home,” she said. “Unfortunately, far too many children today are growing up without that – in cramped, insecure and often unsafe temporary accommodation.”
MacRae urged the Government to commit to building 90,000 social homes each year for the next decade. “The housing crisis is the result of decades of underinvestment,” she added. “Without serious commitment from ministers, we will continue to see families stuck in unsuitable housing, forced to move repeatedly, and children left without a place to truly call home.”
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 80,530 households with children were living in temporary accommodation as of last September – an increase of more than 15% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the National Housing Federation, Crisis and Shelter reported a 36.6% rise in families waiting for homes with three or more bedrooms between 2014/15 and 2023/24.
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David, born to an Afro-Grenadian father and Jewish mother, has previously spoken of the racism and bullying he faced in school – experiences which informed powerful tracks like Johnny, released in 2005. His early musical roots were shaped by accompanying his father, a bassist in the reggae group Ebony Rockers, to local clubs, where Craig would often grab the mic.
From those humble beginnings, he found fame with garage duo Artful Dodger’s Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) in 1999, before launching a solo career that has included Glastonbury performances, chart comebacks, and high-profile collaborations with artists such as Bastille and AJ Tracey. He was awarded an MBE in 2021 for services to music.
In response to Shelter’s campaign, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Government is “taking urgent action to fix the broken system we inherited”. They highlighted a £2 billion investment to boost social and affordable housebuilding and ongoing reforms to the Right to Buy scheme aimed at protecting existing social housing.
In March, the Government said this funding would help deliver 18,000 additional new social and affordable homes.
David, however, believes much more is needed. “A loving, stable home gave me the foundation to become who I am today,” he said. “It’s time to make that possible for every child in this country.”
