Craig David didn't want to become ''the nostalgia guy''.

The 'Rewind' hitmaker has enjoyed a career resurgence over the last few years but he admits it was sparked by receiving some ''hard truths'' from his management company and realising he needed to stop living off his past successes and write new songs.

He said: ''A junior at my management fed me some hard truths. He piped up in a meeting: 'I feel weird telling you I'm a fan of your music because you talk a big game but you're messing about. You're saying you're doing the songs, but you're not.'

''It hurt my ego, but I realised he was right.

''I faced a choice. Did I want to be a heritage act, living off the same songs, or did I want to get back out there and give it another go? I thought, ''I'm not going to be that nostalgia guy.''

The 36-year-old singer's hard work has paid off and he realised how much when he met a fan last year who was just 11 years old.

He told Shortlist magazine: ''Last year, an 11-year-old girl came up to me, shaking. She said, 'I'm your biggest fan. Can I take a picture?'

''It was a beautiful moment because it showed me that my new music was having the same impact as it did in 1999. I feel grateful and honoured that I have this opportunity to do it again. I'm ready for it now.''

Despite his years in the pop wilderness, Craig insists there was never a point where he considered calling time on his music career.

He said: ''I never considered packing it all in. Music is my oxygen. It connects people. I want the music to do the talking now.''