Craig David returns to childhood social home in plea to build: ‘I could play my melodies and dream’

Craig David has become a British music icon and it all started with social housing – now he has returned to his childhood home with Shelter to make the case for more being built.

The singer lived on the Holyrood Estate near Southampton city centre until the age of 20 and returned with mum Tina for a powerful new film to aid the housing charity’s campaign for 90,000 social rent homes to be built each year.

David, 43, reflected on the role having a stable and secure social home played in launching a career that yielded two chart-topping singles in “7 Days” and “Fill Me In”.

He also met the family now living in the home and surprised them with an intimate concert in their living room.

Craig David said: “Growing up in a social home meant everything to me. It wasn’t just a place to live – it was a space where I felt secure, supported, and able to be myself. The sense of community was so strong too – we looked out for each other and that made all the difference.

“I remember how, in that very home, I could sit down, play my melodies, and dream. That home was where I wrote some of the most important songs of my life – songs that went on to shape my career and touch so many people’s hearts.

“Going back with Shelter to visit my old home, and still feeling that same energy, reminded me just how powerful the foundation of a stable, loving home can be. I’m proud to support Shelter’s campaign, because it’s heartbreaking to think so many children today don’t have that same chance. Every child deserves the security, support and sense of belonging I was lucky enough to grow up with – and that means investing in social housing.”

The stunt came as a failure to build enough social housing – as well as replacing homes sold off through the Right to Buy scheme – in recent decades has seen England’s housing crisis mount.

Homelessness is at an all-time high, with over 164,000 children currently growing up homeless in temporary accommodation in England.

On top of this, 1.3 million households in England are currently stuck on waiting lists for a social home, a rise of 10% in the last two years.

Shelter is urging the government to use the spending review in June to invest in building 90,000 social homes a year for the next decade.

Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, said: “Homelessness has a clear solution – safe, secure social rent homes that give everyone the chance to thrive, but right now, there just aren’t enough. Decades of underinvestment in social house building has left us with a chronic shortage, pushing more and more families into expensive, unstable private rentals or overcrowded, often grim temporary accommodation.

“We’re so grateful to have Craig backing our campaign. His story shows just how powerful and life-changing a social home can be – providing the solid foundation for a successful career and future.

“That’s a world away from what growing numbers of homeless children are facing today – living in temporary accommodation where instability looms over them, never knowing if they’ll be forced to move again, leaving their schools and communities behind.”

Only once social housing stock has grown sharply can we, as Craig David would put it, chill on Sunday.

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