Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Coatbridge singer gets his Voice heard
Gavin wants Welsh superstar to be his TV mentor
Craig Ward says it’s not unusual that he chose iconic singer Tom Jones to be his mentor on The Voice.
Millions of Saturday night television viewers saw the accomplished Coatbridge musician get judges Tom, will.i.am and Gavin Rossdale in a spin in their revolving chairs with his spine-tingling rendition of Billy Joel hit Always A Woman at the talent show’s blind auditions.
The industry icons were desperate to snap up the 31-yearold dad for their individual groups, with Craig opting to team up with Welsh Wonder Tom.
Craig – who is delighted to be “representing ‘The Brig’” on the show – told the Advertiser: “It was heartbreaking to get to near the end of the song without any of the judges turning; little did I know that Jennifer Hudson [the show’s fourth judge] was sorting out the three guys and telling them to turn!
“I was thrilled when Tom, Will and Gavin turned their chairs and had a difficult decision to make as to which judge to go with.
“I picked Tom as I just felt, as a singer, I wanted to be with someone you can’t dispute can sing.
“I think will.i.am is first and foremost a producer. But that’s the end product, whereas I felt Tom, as an undisputed phenomenal vocalist, would be better placed to get me there.
“Plus my wife’s dad owns everything by Tom Jones. My dad was the same as well – he loved his music.”
Craig, who works for Vodafone in Glasgow, was cheered on backstage by his wife Alli and described how his preperformance experience evolved.
He said:“I was sitting calm while everyone around me was freaking out and was actually telling people that they could have to sit for hours and to relax.
“But when I got to the curtain and was about to go on stage, I thought, ‘here comes the fear’, and the nerves struck!
“You rehearse with the judges’ chairs facing away but despite that and the fact you can’t see the judges when you initially go on stage, you can still see and hear the massive crowd.
“Alli was a nervous wreck backstage and it was surreal for both of us when the judges’ chairs turned.”
Originally from Ayr, Craig moved to Coatbridge to live with Alli and the pair are proud parents to 13- month- old son Isaac.
Craig’s passion for music stretches back to his primary school days – where he performed in the school choir – and he studied commercial music at the University of the West of Scotland before performing gigs.
Craig revealed it was Alli who insisted he return to pursuing his dream after he’d hung up his mic to concentrate on family life.
He said: “I took a three-year break and it wasn’t that difficult because one of my two dreams in life was to be a dad.
“We had Isaac in December 2015. Then I saw an advert for The Voice auditions and I said, ‘you know what, I’ll only regret it if I don’t give it a go’’.”
Craig now advances to the battle phase of The Voice – where he will compete against fellow members of Tom’s category in a sing-off – which will air next month.
If Craig progresses from there he will be only one step away – the knockout stage – from reaching the competition’s live shows.
But the former chippy worker is already experiencing a “manic” response to his stirring performance on Saturday’s show.
Craig explained: “Normally I am running at about 98 average likes on my Facebook page, but that has shot up to 500 over the last few days and my Twitter followers have sky-rocketed.
“Just after the show aired, I got a tweet from ex-Busted singer Matt Willis saying he would have turned his chair for me after about 10 seconds.
“The reaction has been unbelievable; it’s very surreal but undeniably exciting.
“I am very proud to be representing ‘The Brig’ and being on The Voice has already been encouraging.
“The exciting thing ITV have done is bring the record label in at ground level. To be able to have an interchange with real label professionals, it pays dividends.”