1995
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Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams.
Over the years, since becoming a Muslim, I have been accused of saying and doing things I have neither said nor done. Stories spread from person to person, whether intentionally or not, the result is that some people are led into thinking I am connected to causes I don’t believe in or subscribe to.
- Overview
- Early life
- Early career
- Breakthrough albums
- Conversion to Islam
- Return to music
Cat Stevens (born July 21, 1948, London, England) is a British singer-songwriter and philanthropist, particularly of Islamic charities.
Steven Demetre Georgiou was born in London to parents Stavros Georgiou and Ingrid Wickman, who owned and operated a restaurant, the Moulin Rouge, above which the family lived. Georgiou; his elder sister, Anita; and brother, David, worked at the restaurant. From an early age, Georgiou had exceptional musical ability. He learned to play piano at his ...
Later, in the interest of developing his artistic skills, Georgiou moved with his mother to Gävle, Sweden. In particular, he was inspired by his uncle Hugo Wickman, who was a well-known painter in Sweden at the time. When they returned to England, Georgiou was consistently bullied at school. He began attending Hammersmith College of Art (later the Chelsea College of Art and Design), to study painting and cartooning. It was there, in July 1964, that he performed on his guitar under the stage name Steve Adams at a campus pub called Black Horse. Eventually, he dropped out of Hammersmith to focus on music and recorded “Back to the Good Old Times/Everything’s Piling On.” His brother took the record to Denmark Street, a popular spot for music shops in London, and successfully solicited the music on Adams’s behalf. Adams subsequently signed with Ardmore & Beechwood, with which he made a series of demo recordings. Among the demos was “The First Cut is the Deepest” (1965), which would become one of his most popular early songs.
Adams was then discovered by record producer Mike Hurst, who signed him to Deram Records, a label of Decca Records. Around this time Adams changed his name to Cat Stevens and recorded several singles that achieved commercial success, including “I Love My Dog” (1966; his first single), “Matthew and Son” (1966), and “I’m Gonna Get Me a Gun” (1967). Stevens released his first album, Matthew and Son (1967), which reached the top 10 on U.K. music charts, with the eponymous single peaking at number two. In the spring of 1967 Stevens went on a month-long tour as part of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, which featured Hendrix, Stevens, and the Walker Brothers. In December of that year he released his second album, New Masters.
Once he fully recovered, Stevens ended his professional relationship with Hurst and signed with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, former bassist of the Yardbirds, at Island Records. Working with Samwell-Smith, Stevens had the freedom to record his music the way he desired. Samwell-Smith also introduced Stevens to guitarist Alun Davies, who helped him record new music. Davies and Stevens developed a long-lasting collaborative partnership and friendship. In 1970 the two released their first album, Mona Bone Jakon, which eventually sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States. The album was stripped down, with less arrangement, compared to his previous albums. His next album, Tea for the Tillerman, released the same year, was also a success. It featured the popular singles “Wild World,” “Father and Son,” and “Hard Headed Woman.” His following album, Teaser and the Firecat (1971), launched Stevens into stardom. The tracks “Moonshadow,” “Morning Has Broken,” and “Peace Train” were massively popular.
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In 1975, while swimming off the coast of Malibu, California, Stevens was pulled out to sea by the current. Fearing his death, he appealed to God to save his life, in return for which he promised to dedicate his life to God’s service. According to Stevens, he was then carried to the shore by the sea. The event impacted him significantly, and in 1977, after being gifted a copy of the Qurʾān by his brother, he converted to Islam.
In 1978, fascinated by the biblical character Joseph, Stevens changed his name to Yusuf Islam. The following year he decided to step away from his musical career. He auctioned off his guitars for charity and started a family. He mostly dedicated himself to various Muslim charities and in 1983 founded a Muslim primary school in North London. He subsequently began producing educational music with an Islamic theme and made a spoken-word album, The Life of the Last Prophet (1995), which related the story of the Prophet Muhammad.
In 2006 Islam returned to making the kind of music for which he had become well known, rebranding himself as Yusuf/Cat Stevens. That year he released his 12th studio album, An Other Cup. His next album, Roadsinger (2009), hit number 10 on the U.K. music charts. From 2009 to 2011 he performed on the Guess I’ll Take My Time tour. In 2012 he produced ...
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Jan 13, 2015 · Yusuf Islam’s Golden Years: Cat Stevens on Islam and His Return to Music. The former Cat Stevens is still wrestling with his past – and winning. By Andy Greene. January 13, 2015. Yusuf...
A sequence of events was set in motion and, after receiving a copy of the Koran from his brother, he embraced Islam in 1977. During his Islamic studies Cat felt a powerful affinity with the story of Joseph and decided to take its Arabic equivalent as his new name, becoming Yusuf Islam in 1978.
Sep 20, 2021 · Then, in 1978, Stevens suddenly renounced his music career, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, auctioned off his instruments and rededicated his life to being a family man and a devout Muslim....
Featured channels. Yusuf / Cat Stevens 480K subscribers. Mountain of Light 202K subscribers. Subscribe to Yusuf / Cat Stevens' new Official Artist Channel here https://yusufcatstevens.lnk.to ...
