IT was a massive welcome home for Southampton's favourite musical son as Craig David took to the stage to rapturous applause and cheers.

And telling fans how proud and emotional he felt walking down The Avenue he said: "You can take the boy out of Southampton, but you can't take Southampton out of the boy!"

Headlining the first day of the Common People festival the international grime/ garage star proved he is back at his absolute best 15 years after the release of his debut album Born to Do It.

This was Craig David and his TS5 'show' which sees him singing, MCing and working the crowd whilst DJing simultaneously, although the emphasis was on Craig's deeply soulful and heart- felt vocals.

Incredibly what started out as his exclusive pre-party at his penthouse home (Tower Suit 5) in Miami has seen him playing at top clubs across the globe from Cannes to St Tropez, Moscow to Dubai.

And now he can add a storming performance at Southampton Common to that list.

The set saw him deliver everything from R&B to swing beats, garage to basement and he gave the crowd exactly what they wanted with classic hits Rewind, Fill Me InĀ and 7 Days in the mix.

It was a perfect set that included a blend of timeless, nostalgic tracks and new grime and garage material.

The new material proved as popular as older hits with When the Bassline Drops and Craig's uptempo rendition of Justin Bieber's Love YourselfĀ keeping theĀ audience dancing and singing throughout.

Thanking everyone for an incredible night,Ā he added: "YouĀ have no idea how much I have been looking forward to this."

The feeling was clearly mutual!