Craig David At Heineken Green Energy Festival

Although he doesn’t appear to be a young man given to self-doubt, Craig David must be starting to feel that he perhaps deserves a break. Even in the weeks running up to yet another massive hit single, the press is full of talk of a career on the wane. The people of Dublin have certainly not turned up in their droves to welcome him to town and the poor guy can’t even get a break with the weather, with the rain teeming down from start to finish making life extremely difficult.

And yet, and yet… you have to admit this was still at times a hugely enjoyable experience. OK, so on occasion the show became so slick that the whole thing seemed to be running on auto pilot and yes his attempts to get ‘sexy with the ladies’ are not exactly my cup of tea, but there is much to like about Craig David.

Live, his voice is easily as amazing as on record, far more so than many of the other pop stars that we’ve seen blundering away before us over recent years. He has that element of star quality, even through the endless sheets of cold rain, that suggest that this perceived dip in fortunes may well be just a blip and that a long haul of a career may not be out of the question.

What may ultimately decide that is the quality of material that he ends up with. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when he finds the right combination of melody, groove and attitude, David is nothing short of brilliant. ‘Walking Away’, ‘Fill Me In, and ‘7 Days’ are all tunes that sound-tracked the re-emergence of British black music and – even in these appalling conditions – they still lift the spirits. He’s come a long way in a short period of time and that he has the potential to take it even further is without doubt.

But will he? Watch this space!