Cat Stevens

As one of the most popular singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Cat Stevens achieved fame with a series of wistful, tuneful albums. His contribution to the cult film Harold and Maude, and hit singles such as "Wild World," "Morning Has Broken," and "Peace Train" helped make Stevens a household name. By the end of the decade he'd rejected both his given name and pop-star moniker, dropped out of pop music and converted to the Muslim faith, calling himself Yusuf Islam. He has weathered many storms and accomplished much in his life, including selling 60 million copies of his 21 albums, 13 released as Cat Stevens and eight as Yusuf.

He secured his first record deal while he was still in his late teens and released Matthew and Son with its two charting singles, “I Love My Dog” and “Matthew and Son”, in 1967. The follow-up, New Masters (1967) failed to chart but Stevens had bigger problems to deal with: a bout of tuberculosis meant that he was forced to spend over a year convalescing. He spent the time writing songs and when he returned to the music world it was as a more contemplative singer-songwriter. Mona Bone Jakon (1970) reflected this shift by adopting a more folky sound, but his breakthrough was Tea for the Tillerman (1970) which hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Tillerman marked a period of great success for him until his last album as Cat Stevens, Back To Earth in 1978. Stevens had been searching for a spiritual path and a near fatal drowning incident had resulted in an epiphany. He decided to follow the path to Islam, converting in 1977 and taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. In keeping with his beliefs, he abandoned his music career shortly after and turned his attention to philanthropic works.

Barring a videotaped performance for the Concert for New York City following the 9/11 attacks, Yusuf Islam’s appearances in the press for many years were restricted to various controversies relating to his religion. He had been recording material throughout his apparent silence – music with Muslim themes which he felt was in accordance with the teachings of his faith. However, by the new millennium he was encouraged from within the Muslim world to relax his personal restrictions, and eventually started to perform and re-release tracks again, including a duet with Ronan Keating on a remake of one of his earlier hits, “Father and Son”. The release of a compilation album Cat Stevens: Gold (2005) preceded the release of a long-awaited album of new material. An Other Cup (2006) was certified gold in Britain and platinum in Germany and met with largely positive critical appraisal.