Cat Stevens (Steven Demeter Georges) was born July 21, 1948 in London. The artist's father was Stavros Georges, an Orthodox Christian originally from Greece.
Mother Ingrid Wikman is Swedish by birth and a Baptist by religion. They ran a restaurant near Piccadilly called Moulin Rouge. Parents divorced when the boy was 8 years old. But they remained good friends and continued to deal with their son and business together.
The boy knew music from early childhood. He was introduced by both his mother and father, who often took him with him to cheerful and musical Greek weddings. He also had an older sister who was fond of collecting records. Thanks to them, the future singer discovered different directions in the musical field. Then Stephen realized that music for him is life and its breath.
When he had the opportunity, he immediately bought his first personal record. She became Baby Face singer Little Richard. From childhood, he learned to play the piano, which was in his parents' restaurant. And at the age of 15, he begged his father to buy a guitar, falling under the powerful influence of the notorious quartet The Beatles. The tool was mastered in the shortest possible time. And the happy teenager began to compose his own melodies.
The beginning of the career of Cat Stevens
The very first song Stephen George wrote at the age of 12 was called Darling, No. But, according to the author, it was unsuccessful. And the next composition Mighty Peace was already more complete, clear and expressive.
One day, the mother took her son with her on a trip to Sweden to visit her brother. There, the young artist met his uncle Hugo, who was a professional painter. And drawing impressed him so much that he himself began to engage in fine arts.
He briefly studied at Hammersmith College of Art but dropped out. But he did not leave his musical career, but performed in bars and various institutions with his compositions. Then his pseudonym Cat Stevens already appeared, as his girlfriend spoke about his unusual cat eyes.
Steve offered his songs to EMI at his own risk. He liked his work, and then the artist sold his tracks for about 30 pounds. This was a great financial side income for a young man who was still working in a restaurant with his parents.
The rise of Cat Stevens' career
Kat gave his compositions to listen to producer Mike Hirst, a former member of The Springfields. And although he accepted them simply out of courtesy, after listening he was pleasantly surprised by the talent of the singer.
Hirst helped the author to conclude a contract with the studio for "promotion" and soon the composition I Love My Dog was released, which hit the top of the charts and on the radio. The singer later recalled: "The moment when I first heard myself on the radio was the greatest in my life."
The next major hits were the singles I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun and Mat the Wand Son (1967). They "blew up" the British charts and took pride of place. Since then, her career has skyrocketed. Steve was always on the road, on tour, performing solo or with such world performers as Jimi Hendrix and Engelbert Humperdinck.
Twist Cat Stevens
Excessive pressure and a frantic pace of life negatively affected Stevenson's health. The usual cough turned into an acute stage and the singer was sent to the hospital. There he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. There, the artist appeared paranoid. The artist believed that he was on the verge of death, and doctors and relatives hide this from him.
Surprisingly, these illnesses prompted Kat to change the direction of his work. Now he began to think more about spiritual life and his activities. The artist's life was filled with philosophical literature, reflections and new lyrics. So the composition The Wind came out.
The performer became interested in studying world religions, practiced meditation, which contributed to the writing of many songs in the clinic. They also determined a new direction and genre of performance of their compositions.
After the release of the album Tea for the Tillerman, Cat Stevens gained worldwide fame and popularity. The following records only strengthened these positions. And so it continued until 1978, until the artist decided to leave the stage.
Yusuf Islam
Once, while swimming in Malibu, he began to sink and turned to God, calling to save him, promising to work only for him. And he was saved. He took up the study of astrology, Tarot cards, numerology, etc. And then one day his brother gave him the Koran, which determined the final fate of the singer.
In 1977, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Performance at a charity concert in 1979 was the last.
He directed all income to charity and education in Muslim countries. In 1985, a grand concert Live Aid took place, to which Yusuf Islam was invited. However, fate decided everything for him - Elton John performed much longer than the time allotted to him, Kat simply did not have time to go on stage.
Returnаschenie
For a long time, the artist recorded only religious singles, and they were not very popular.
In the early 2000s, the singer admitted that by performing his songs, he can tell about his real self and that he really misses this.
Yusuf re-recorded some of his tracks and released new albums. Proceeds from the sale of the Indian Ocean record, dedicated to the tragic 2004 tsunami, are used to help people most affected by this natural disaster. In the winter of 2006, the singer performed for the first time with a concert in the United States, collaborating with talented producer Rick Nowels.
At the moment, the latest album is Roadsinger, released in 2009. In the same year, he wrote a new version of the famous composition The Day the World Gets Round. All proceeds were redirected to funds helping the people of the Gaza Strip.
