Cat Stevens sings

Self-named Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens (and formerly formerly known as Steven Demetre Georgiou) is performing once again, nearly 3 decades after he converted to Muslim and retired from the music business.  I guess all that’s changed is that he’s sporting a little less denim and the fact that he entered into an arranged marriage, auctioned off his possessions, and founded a Muslim school near London.  Other than that, pretty much the same guy.  Cat Stevens reached pop success in the early 70s topping the charts with “Wild World”, “Moon Shadow”, and “Peace Train” (among others).  In the late 80s his music was banned by some radio stations and the 10,000 Maniacs took the cover of “Peace Train” off their record when he supported the death sentence against novelist Salman Rushdie for writing the book The Satanic Verses.  He later claimed the media misconstrued the whole thing.

Enough about Cat back in the day.  What’s every college student’s favorite songwriter up to now?? Tentatively returning to show business, apparently.  Last march he gave his first full length concert in 28 years.  In a recent interview brought to us by Yahoo News, Yusuf was asked what his biggest indulgence is.  This was his response:

“Let me think about this … tea. I have to say tea, because I love tea and I love to drink it.”

  Ooo baby, baby, it’s a wild world indeed.