Cat Stevens (Official Thread)

TheFeldster

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Cat definitely was at his peak during his "Tea for the Tillerman" years, but that doesn't mean his newer work isn't fantastic in it's own right.

His older stuff is already fantastically documented here, so I'll throw up one of his newer songs that I really enjoy.

 

E-Z

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Cat Stevens appeared on BBC radio 4s long running programme Desert Island Discs on Friday 2nd October 2020 between 9:00-9:45am.

Cat picked eight of his favourite songs and spoke about his early life growing up in London's west end and his rise to stardom as a performer and of his conversion to the Muslim religion with Lauren Laverne the programmes radio presenter in between playing his eight favourite songs. From memory the first song he picked was Little Richards Tutti Frutti followed by Shake Rattle And Roll by The Beatles. Cats favourite song out of the eight songs was a Stevie Wonder song called As.

Cat was asked about the 1967 'package tour' that he had participated in that featured Jimi Hendrix along with The Walker Brothers and Englebert Humperdinck and the picture of them all seen sitting together backstage. Cat said it's a bit vague these days (54 years ago) but it was at the Finsbury Park Astoria (the Rainbow venue in the 1970s) that the photograph was taken and Englebert had introduced him to a 'rotten cocktail' of Port & Sherry to calm his stage nerves on that tour and as for Jimi Hendrix Cat said that he got to know Jimi quite well and found Jimi to be polite and soft spoken and was quite a humble person in his own way also Cat went on to say that it was at the Finsbury Park Astoria that Jimi first set light to his guitar on stage!. Cat also mentioned his conversion from the Greek Orthodox religion to becoming a Muslim in the late 1970s.

Jimi Hendrix along with Cat Stevens one of the Walker brothers & Englebert Humperdinck backstage at the Finsbury Park Astoria in 1967- https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02155/jimi-hendrix_2155695k.jpg
 
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E-Z

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According to Cat Stevens himself when asked on Desert Island Discs how he got the name Cat it apparently came from a girlfriend telling him one day when he was curled up in a chair that he looked like a cat?.
 
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recgord27

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Cat Stevens appeared on BBC radio 4s long running programme Desert Island Discs on Friday 2nd October 2020 between 9:00-9:45am.

Cat picked eight of his favourite songs and spoke about his early life growing up in London's west end and his rise to stardom as a performer and of his conversion to the Muslim religion with Lauren Laverne the programmes radio presenter in between playing his eight favourite songs. From memory the first song he picked was Little Richards Tutti Frutti followed by Shake Rattle And Roll by The Beatles. Cats favourite song out of the eight songs was a Stevie Wonder song called As.

Cat was asked about the 1967 'package tour' that he had participated in that featured Jimi Hendrix along with The Walker Brothers and Englebert Humperdinck and the picture of them all seen sitting together backstage. Cat said it's a bit vague these days (54 years ago) but it was at the Finsbury Park Astoria (the Rainbow venue in the 1970s) that the photograph was taken and Englebert had introduced him to a 'rotten cocktail' of Port & Sherry to calm his stage nerves on that tour and as for Jimi Hendrix Cat said that he got to know Jimi quite well and found Jimi to be polite and soft spoken and was quite a humble person in his own way also Cat went on to say that it was at the Finsbury Park Astoria that Jimi first set light to his guitar on stage!. Cat also mentioned his conversion from the Greek Orthodox religion to becoming a Muslim in the late 1970s.

Jimi Hendrix along with Cat Stevens one of the Walker brothers & Englebert Humperdinck backstage at the Finsbury Park Astoria in 1967- https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02155/jimi-hendrix_2155695k.jpg

You can listen to the podcast at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000my10
Fascinating interview :cool:
 
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E-Z

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The little bits that I know about Cat Stevens and what he touched on in the Desert Island Discs interview was that when he went to America in the mid-1970s he became very BIG and was or almost a stadium pulling act!!.

The first Decca album is a good listen but the second Decca album from memory is OVER PRODUCED AND TO POLISHED although it features the song The First Cut Is The Deepest which was covered by Rod Stewart I believe?.

I remember his late 1960s & early 1970s hit singles being played on BBC radio one in the UK such as Matthew And Son, Wild World, Morning Has Broken, Lady D'Arbanville & Moonshadow.

My interest in him was mainly him being on that package tour across the UK back in 1967 with Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers & Englebert Humperdinck.
 
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