mandor
November 14th, 2006, 12:11 AM
link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061113/ennew_afp/afpentertainmentbritainislammusiccatstevens)
Cat Stevens releases first album since embracing Islam in 1970s
Mon Nov 13, 10:28 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as
Cat Stevens before he became a Muslim in the 1970s, has released his first commercial album for nearly three decades.
"An Other Cup" went on sale in Britain along with a single, "Heaven/Where True Love Goes", while the album was to be released in the United States on Tuesday.
With his telegenic, part-Greek good looks, Stevens scored international hits in the 1960 and 1970s with songs like "Wild World", "Moonshadow" and "My Lady d'Arbanville".
But in 1977 he decided to hang up his guitar -- changing his name and retiring from it all after receiving a copy of the Koran, he pledged to devote his life to the Islamic faith.
The singer-songwriter -- who hit the headlines in 2004 when a US-bound plane he was in was diverted due to post-9/11 security measures -- said in a recent BBC television interview that the new record was a return to his roots.
"It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course ... This is the real thing," he said.
"When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of, of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with."
Cat Stevens releases first album since embracing Islam in 1970s
Mon Nov 13, 10:28 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as
Cat Stevens before he became a Muslim in the 1970s, has released his first commercial album for nearly three decades.
"An Other Cup" went on sale in Britain along with a single, "Heaven/Where True Love Goes", while the album was to be released in the United States on Tuesday.
With his telegenic, part-Greek good looks, Stevens scored international hits in the 1960 and 1970s with songs like "Wild World", "Moonshadow" and "My Lady d'Arbanville".
But in 1977 he decided to hang up his guitar -- changing his name and retiring from it all after receiving a copy of the Koran, he pledged to devote his life to the Islamic faith.
The singer-songwriter -- who hit the headlines in 2004 when a US-bound plane he was in was diverted due to post-9/11 security measures -- said in a recent BBC television interview that the new record was a return to his roots.
"It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course ... This is the real thing," he said.
"When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of, of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with."