Craig Davies is something of a cult figure in the Manchester music scene. Blazing up in the late 80’s like a comet he recorded 2 albums with Rough Trade. He has collaborated with Vinny Reilly, Ben Watt and Badly Drawn Boy, as counts them as admirers of his song writing and darkly euphoric vocals.

After promising start in music he suddenly dropped out of sight, which was rumoured to be due to personal tragedies, however the reason is still unclear.

What remains is collection of jewels from a gruff voiced poet of smoke and bad dreams. His songs are like little movies just waiting to play over in your head. A glimpse into a world of dusk and never ending Fridays. In songs like “The Only Rose on Marigold St” you can almost see the orange neon of streetlamps, oil stain rainbows on rain drenched tarmac. The summer bright and hopeful “Since you touched my Heart” and, of course, the hoarsely brilliant and climactic “Amsterdam” still gives cause for chills.

Craig Davies really is a gifted performer and songwriter. His songs can be quirkily funny at times and have a wonderful narrative quality. They can move from powerful, semi operatic pomp to a more sentimental softness in a heartbeat.

The acoustic balladeer seems to have made a welcome resurgence with the like of Damien Rice and James’ Blunt & Morrison. Craig Davies is up there with them. His unique talent is both fondly remembered and sorely missed. Let your light shine. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.