David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a b-side to British group Damage's cover of "Wonderful Tonight". He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act Artful Dodger.
Wildstar Records first became aware of Craig David when the artist's then manager Paul Widger met the label's co-owner Colin Lester and played some of his music.[8] Lester later toldHitQuarters that he was particularly impressed by the first song he heard, "Walking Away", saying "That was an absolute stand out ... It struck me that any seventeen year-old that could write a song like this had huge potential."[8] The Wildstar boss was further won over when, on later visiting the artist's home in Southampton, he found that David's tiny bedroom stacked from floor to ceiling with 12" vinyl records, commenting: "That convinced me he was the real deal and not just some kid acting out the part."[8] At that point Lester offered him a development deal with his label. When Lester later heard the song "7 Days", he said he immediately heard a #1 record and promoted the contract to an album deal the sam
