Artful Dodger is a UK garage duo, originally based in the city Southampton, which became famous for its 2-step hits and gave Craig David's career a boost after he appeared on their 1999 number-two hit "Re-Rewind". They scored seven consecutive UK top-20 hit singles from 1999 to 2001. The band is named after a character in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, because of the many bootlegs they made in the early days. They are referred to in the Streets' single "Let's Push Things Forward". Many Artful Dodger tracks can be found on the UK garage compilation album series Pure Garage, mixed by DJ EZ.
The band originally consisted of producers Mark Hill (born 22 December 1972 in Cwmbran, Wales) and Pete Devereux. What began as a handle for the release of underground bootleg recordings quickly blossomed into a musical project creating original material for mainstream release and culminated in the release of It's All About the Stragglers, after the duo went on to work with an array of up-and-coming vocalists. This version of Artful Dodger became defunct as of 2001. The Artful Dodger name is currently the property of Blessed Records, also known as Public Demand Records, and is represented on the live circuit by DJ Dave Low and MC Alistair. When the original two producers, Mark Hill and Pete Devereux, formally announced the reestablishment of their creative partnership in 2017, they reunited under the name "Original Dodger".