Cat Stevens
Steven Demetre Georgiou stood on the rooftop above his family's restaurant in Marylebone, London. He listened to musicals drifting from Denmark Street below. The year was 1965 when he persuaded his father to pay eight pounds for a guitar. His parents ran the Moulin Rouge restaurant and lived directly beneath him. He had been called 'the artist boy' at school but chose music over drawing. A girlfriend told him he had eyes like a cat. That observation led him to adopt the stage name Cat Stevens. He began performing under that name while still attending Hammersmith School of Art.
In 1969 Steven Demetre Georgiou contracted tuberculosis and nearly died. He spent months recuperating inside King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex. Doctors administered daily injections while people around him died. He later said this experience changed his perspective completely. He took up meditation and yoga during his convalescence. He read about other religions and became a vegetarian. During this time he wrote as many as forty songs. Many of these compositions would appear on albums released years later. The illness forced him to question aspects of his life and spirituality deeply.
Mona Bone Jakon reached number eight in the UK charts in 1970. It sold over one million copies and earned a gold record by 1971. The album featured Lady D'Arbanville written for his young American girlfriend Patti. Her departure inspired the song Wild World which gave the next album enough kick. Tea for the Tillerman became a Top 10 Billboard hit within six months. It sold three million copies in the United States by 2001. Chris Blackwell called it the best album Island Records had ever released. Father and Son portrayed the struggle between fathers and sons contrasting their personal choices in life.
In 1989 Yusuf Islam made comments at Kingston Polytechnic regarding the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. He stated that if someone defamed the prophet then they must die according to the Qur'an. He released a statement denying support for vigilantism the next day. Later interviews showed him saying he would rather burn Rushdie than an effigy. He claimed clever journalists framed his words misleadingly. Rushdie complained in 2007 that Islam tried to rewrite his past. On the 12th of August 2022 Rushdie suffered a knife attack while giving a lecture. Islam tweeted sadness and shock about the horrific act on the author.
On the 21st
of September 2004 Customs officers diverted a United Airlines flight to Bangor Maine. Yusuf Islam was detained by Department of Homeland Security officers. They denied entry claiming concerns over ties to potential terrorist activities. The Israeli government had deported him in 2000 over allegations of funding Hamas. He denied knowingly supporting such groups. A spokesman said there were concerns about his name matching another man on a watch list. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained personally to US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Two years later he entered the United States without incident for radio performances.
In March 2006 Yusuf finished
recording An Other Cup after twenty-eight years. His son Yoriyos brought a guitar back into the house which became the turning point. The album released internationally in November 2006 on Ya Records. It featured the song Heaven Where True Love Goes as an accompanying single. He promoted the record appearing on BBC1 Imagine with Alan Yentob. The cover art credited to Yoriyos showed a steaming cup alone. He explained that Westerners might get a glimpse of the East through this bridge between worlds. The album earned him recognition as the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.
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Common questions
When did Steven Demetre Georgiou adopt the stage name Cat Stevens?
Steven Demetre Georgiou adopted the stage name Cat Stevens in 1965 after a girlfriend told him he had eyes like a cat. He began performing under that name while still attending Hammersmith School of Art.
What health crisis did Steven Demetre Georgiou face in 1969?
Steven Demetre Georgiou contracted tuberculosis and nearly died in 1969. He spent months recuperating inside King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, West Sussex where doctors administered daily injections.
How many copies did Tea for the Tillerman sell by 2001?
Tea for the Tillerman sold three million copies in the United States by 2001. The album became a Top 10 Billboard hit within six months of its release.
Why was Yusuf Islam detained at Bangor Maine on the 21st of September 2004?
Yusuf Islam was detained at Bangor Maine on the 21st of September 2004 because Customs officers claimed concerns over ties to potential terrorist activities. A spokesman said there were concerns about his name matching another man on a watch list.
When did Yusuf Islam finish recording An Other Cup after twenty-eight years?
Yusuf Islam finished recording An Other Cup in March 2006 after twenty-eight years. The album released internationally in November 2006 on Ya Records.