The Man of Many Names – Cat Stevens

It is highly unlikely you know who Steven Demetre Georgiou is, and we suspect you don’t know who Yusuf Islam is as well. As we speak he’s on tour in Australia and New Zealand, but let’s come back to how you know him.

If you’re still not sure who we’re talking abut, it’s okay because we’re talking about the same person. You know him as Cat Stevens, born in London in 1948. Cat Stevens became a music sensation in the early 70s, releasing million selling albums like “Matthew and Son,” “Tea for the Tillerman,” “Teaser and the Firecat,” and “Catch Bull at Four” – all smash albums, producing many ‘ready for radio’ singles.

The problem with Cat is that the fame, fortune, groupies and celebrity wasn’t enough. Cat converted to Islam in 1977, and changed his name to Yusuf Islam, selling off all his worldly possessions and walking away from the music business for over 25 years.

Cat Stevens, or Yusuf Islam, returned to the limelight in 2006, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014

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