Yusuf Islam
Yusuf Islam (born 21 July 1948) is an English singer. He sang many of his early songs when he called himself Cat Stevens. He was born as Stephen Demetre Georgiou to a Swedish mother and Greek father. He became a Muslim in 1977.[4][5] After 2 years, he took the name of Yusuf İslam. He has sold over 60 million albums around the world since the late 1960s as Cat Stevens or Yusuf İslam.
Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Steven Demetre Georgiou |
| Also known as | Steve Adams, Yusuf |
| Born | 21 July 1948 Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Folk rock, psychedelic rock,[1] soft rock,[1] pop rock,[1] synthpop,[2] electro,[3] nasheed, spoken word, hamd |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin, organ, piano, mellotron, double bass, percussion, synthesizer |
| Years active | 1966–1980 (as Cat Stevens) 1995–present (as Yusuf Islam) |
| Labels | Deram, Island, A&M, Jamal, Ya |
| Associated acts | Alun Davies |
| Website | www |
As a waiter in his father's cafe, he began writing songs "to escape the mundanity of it all". Chart success was followed by adulation, touring, drug use, confusion, tuberculosis and, in the early 1970s, Islam's changed outlook and an album called Tea For The Tillerman.
Stevens nearly drowned in an accident in Malibu in 1975. Stevens described the event in a VH1 interview some years later: "I suddenly held myself and I said, 'Oh God! If you save me, I'll work for you.'" He had looked into Buddhism; Zen and I Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology", but when his brother David gave him a copy of the Qu'ran, Stevens began to convert to Islam.
In 1977 he changed his name to Yusuf Islam upon becoming a Muslim. He stopped playing and recording pop music for almost 30 years, but started performing again in 2006.
Albums
As Cat Stevens:
- 1967: Matthew and Son
- 1967: New Masters
- 1970: Mona Bone Jakon
- 1970: Tea for the Tillerman
- 1971: Teaser and the Firecat
- 1972: Catch Bull at Four
- 1973: Foreigner
- 1974: Buddha and the Chocolate Box
- 1974: Saturnight (Live in Tokyo)
- 1975: Numbers
- 1977: Izitso
- 1978: Back to Earth
- 2004: Majikat
As Yusuf Islam:
- 1995: The Life of the Last Prophet
- 1999: Prayers of the Last Prophet
- 2000: A Is for Allah
- 2001: Bismillah
- 2003: I Look I See
- 2005: Indian Ocean
- 2006: Footsteps in the Light
- 2006: An Other Cup
- 2007: Yusuf's Cafe Session
- 2009: Roadsinger
Yusuf IslamAlbums Media
Cat Stevens (Dutch TV, 1966)
Cat Stevens in 1971, as pictured in the cover artwork for his album Teaser and the Firecat
Stevens performing in Waikiki Shell, Oahu, Hawaii, 1974. The stage decor reflects his song, "Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head" from Catch Bull at Four.
Cat Stevens poster advertising a concert from WMMS in 1976
Yusuf Islam appearing at the Islam Expo in London (2008)
Yusuf Islam at the 2009 MOJO Awards in London
Yusuf performing at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, May 2009
Yusuf performing at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Cardiff in 2015
Yusuf Islam at the 2012 APRA Music Awards in Sydney.
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ruhlmann, William (21 July 1948). "(Cat Stevens > Overview)". allmusic. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ↑ "Cat Stevens – Izitso". A&M Records. Discogs. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ David Toop (March 1996), "A-Z Of Electro", The Wire, no. 145, retrieved 29 May 2011
- ↑ Cat Stevens refused entry to US
- ↑ "Footsteps in the Light: Yusuf Islam new CD". Review of album. muslimbase.com, a Silverline Company. 1995–2006. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2009.