Yusuf Islam Backs Cat Stevens Musical???

Abba, Queen, Madness, Rod Stewart, Boney M… why not a Cat Stevens musical? One is indeed currently in development, incorporating the British singer-songwriter’s greatest hits from the 1960s and 70s such as "Morning Has Broken", "Peace Train", "Wild World", "Father and Son", "Oh Very Young" and "Moonshadow", from which the show takes its title. Born Stephen Demetre Georgiou in London in 1948, the singer adopted the stage name Cat Stevens at the start of his career. In 1977, after a near-death drowning in Malibu, he quit the music industry and converted to Islam, adopting the name Yusuf Islam two years later and becoming a prominent Muslim spokesperson. In the years since, he has attracted unwelcome headlines for supporting the fatwa against The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie and being denied entry into the US post-9/11. Later this year, he will release his first new album in 28 years. He’s reportedly been inspired to do so because of the rising tensions between the West and his adopted religion. “Today there are perhaps 101 reasons why I feel right making music and singing about life in this fragile world again,” he has said. “I am in a unique position as a looking-glass through which Muslims can see the West and the West can see Islam…. It is important for me to be able to help bridge the cultural gaps others are sometimes frightened to cross.” The new album is due to be released by Polydor this year for the 40th anniversary of the first Cat Stevens record I Love My Dog. As for the Cat Stevens musical, Islam himself is involved in the ongoing development of Moonshadow, which he hopes will succeed in communicating a religiously uplifting message.

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