Born with a first name of Steven, commecialized as “Cat Stevens”, and then quitting the music industry he named himself Yosuf. After almost 30 years, he’s back with a new album and may be touring. He has an interesting point of view, having been at the top of western capitalism and then turning away from it all to become a devout Muslim and family man.

Cat Steven’s music is some of my favorite. I did not know about the bout with tuberculosis being a catalyst for his greatest musical success.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061118/music_nm/catstevens_dc_1

Cat Stevens returns to music as bridge builder

By Nigel Williamson Fri Nov 17, 9:37 PM ET

LONDON (Billboard) – It’s the comeback no one ever expected. More than a quarter-century after his last commercial recording, Yusuf Islam, the artist known internationally as

Cat Stevens, returns to the musical spotlight.

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The global release of his album “An Other Cup” marks the latest stage in the musical and spiritual journey of the British singer-songwriter, born Steven Georgiou 59 years ago.

As Cat Stevens, he enjoyed his first success in the 1960s with such self-penned UK chart hits as “I Love My Dog” (1966) and “Matthew & Son” (1967). Stevens hung out with the Beatles and toured with Jimi Hendrix. But in early 1968, at the height of his success, he was struck with tuberculosis.

After hospitalization and convalescence, Stevens re-emerged in 1970 a changed man. Gone was the brash young pop star and in his place emerged a sensitive, introspective singer-songwriter whose albums “Tea for the Tillerman” (1970), “Teaser and the Firecat” (1971), “Catch Bull at Four” (1972) and “Foreigner” (1973) went on to sell millions internationally.

But an even bigger change came in 1978, when he became a Muslim. He changed his name to Yusuf Islam, sold his guitars and turned away from his fans to become a pillar of the British Muslim community, donating the royalties from his old records to fund Muslim schools and Islamic charities.

Now comes “An Other Cup,” the artist’s first album since 1978’s “Back to Earth.” The name may have changed, but the singer’s gentle voice remains reassuringly familiar, his melodic gifts are intact, and his lyrical insight seems undimmed.

In a rare interview, Yusuf talked to Billboard in London to explain what brought about the return of the Cat.

Q: How does it feel to be talking about a new album for the first time in 28 years?

A: Going into the studio was like going back to a second home for me. What I wasn’t quite prepared for was the commercial and business side, which has grown incredibly corporate and made it more difficult to maintain your balance as an artist. But I’ve been through it before and I can cope.

Q: Were you nervous about returning?

A: The last place I wanted to return to was the music business. But it’s the people and the cause that matter, and right now there’s an important need, which is bridge-building. I wanted to support the cause of humanity, because that’s what I always sang about.

Music can be healing, and with my history and my knowledge of both sides of what looks like a gigantic divide in the world, I feel I can point a way forward to our common humanity again. It’s a big step for me, but it’s a natural step. I don’t feel at all irked by the responsibility — I feel inspired.

Q: Why is the record being released under the name Yusuf rather than Yusuf Islam?

A: Because “Islam” doesn’t have to be sloganized. The second name is like the official tag, but you call a friend by their first name. It’s more intimate, and to me that’s the message of this record.

Q: Why also put “the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens” on the sleeve?

A: That’s the tag with which most people are familiar; for recognition purposes I’m not averse to that. For a lot of people, it reminds them of something they want to hold on to. That name is part of my history, and a lot of the things I dreamt about as Cat Stevens have come true as Yusuf Islam.

Q: How long was it since you had played a guitar?

A: Many years. I was never convinced that the Koran prohibited music, but I abstained from musical instruments to keep my balance and avoid any conflict. I’d got rid of them all.

But there’s a nice irony, because I wrote a song called “Father & Son” (in 1970) about the son running off to do his own thing. Now the story is about my son coming back and bringing a guitar into the house. A couple of years ago, one morning after prayers, his guitar was lying around. I picked it up and my fingers knew exactly where to go. I’d written some words and when I put them to music, it moved me and I realized I could have another job to do. Things just grew from there.

Q: What’s the significance of the album title?

A: It has obvious connotations with “Tea for the Tillerman.” But it’s also a symbol. There’s all this talk of the clash of civilizations. But if you do your research you find, for example, that coffeehouses came from Muslim civilization in Turkey and the guitar was developed from Muslims taking the oud to Spain. So culture and civilization is something we share, not something we should fight about. That’s the symbol of the cup. It’s there for everybody to drink from.

Q: When were the songs written?

A: A couple are quite old. “Greenfields, Golden Sands” was written in 1968 for a musical that was never realized and has now found a context almost 40 years later. The first part of the single “Heaven/Where True Love Goes” was written for “Foreigner,” but the main section is a new song.

Q: How strongly did your faith affect the new songs?

A: I think purposefulness and a feeling that we have a direction is probably the message of the album. One song, “Whispers From a Spiritual Garden,” sets to music a poem called “Universal Love” by the 13th century Islamic Sufi poet Rumi. I read him even before I read the Koran — at one point I never went anywhere without my book of Rumi’s poems.

When we come to the message of Islam, the root of the word itself comes from peace. Many people on all sides — and some Muslims particularly — have gone extremely far from that basic understanding, and I have a role to play in helping to remind people of the gift of this wonderful religion, which has been politicized and used for other purposes.

Q: Was covering “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” on the album a commentary on what’s happened to you in recent years?

A: It was a perfect fit, and I relate very directly to it. I sent a copy of it to the pope after he made those remarks about Islam (in September in Germany).

Q: Might it also be directed at U.S. officials who refused you entry on “national security grounds” in 2004 — and did you ever get an apology?

A: No, but they gave me a visa, which I never used. Now it’s being renewed or reviewed or whatever. But the issue is bigger than the present U.S. administration. It’s about freedom of thought and freedom of movement.

Q: Will proceeds from the record go to your charity, One Small Kindness?

A: There will be a real benefit for One Small Kindness, which is doing a great job for orphans — our main focus — and also with education for girls (in) places like the Balkans, Indonesia and

Iraq. We’ve got a faculty teaching girls management skills in Baghdad University, but God knows how long it can stay there.

Q: Will you be singing these new songs in concert?

A: I’m being pushed very hard. Everybody tells me that’s where the money is — and I tell them I’m not interested in money. But it’s something I have to think about seriously.

Q: In retrospect, do you regret the long years away from music?

A: No way, because I had to get a life and get off my high horse and join the human race. I’d been a pop star since my teens. When you’re in that privileged position of being rich and famous you can lose touch with reality.

Also, I had another agenda to fulfill; I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I’ve done it all, and there’s a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again.

Reuters/Billboard