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Cat Stevens Net Worth
How Much money Cat Stevens has? For this question we spent 3 hours on research (Wikipedia, Youtube, we read books in libraries, etc) to review the post.
The main source of income: Musicians
Total Net Worth at the moment 2024 year – is about $14,4 Million.
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Biography
Cat Stevens information Birth date: July 21, 1948 Birth place: Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom Height:5 10 (1.78 m) Profession:Soundtrack, Music Department, Composer
Height, Weight:
How tall is Cat Stevens – 1,66m.
How much weight is Cat Stevens – 57kg
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Biography,Early life (1948–65)Steven Georgiou, born on 21 July 1948 in the Marylebone area of London,[17] was the youngest child of a Greek Cypriot father, Stavros Georgiou (1900–1978),[18] and a Swedish mother, Ingrid Wickman.[19] He had an older sister, Anita (b. 1937), and a brother, David Gordon.[17] The family lived above the Moulin Rouge, a restaurant that his parents operated on the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue which was a short walk from Piccadilly Circus in the Soho theatre district of London. All family members worked in the restaurant.[17] His parents divorced when he was about eight years old, but they continued to maintain the family restaurant and live above it.Although his father was Greek Orthodox and his mother a Baptist, Georgiou was sent to St. Joseph Roman Catholic Primary School, Macklin Street, which was closer to his fathers business on Drury Lane.[20] Georgiou developed an interest in piano at a fairly young age, eventually using the family baby grand piano to work out the chords, since no one else there played well enough to teach him.[21] Inspired by the popularity of the Beatles, at 15 he extended his interest to the guitar, persuaded his father to pay ?8 for his first instrument, and began playing it and writing songs.[21] He would escape at times from his family responsibilities to the rooftop above their home, and listen to the tunes of the musicals drifting from just around the corner[17] from Denmark Street, which was then the centre of the British music industry. Stevens emphasised that the advent of West Side Story in particular affected him, giving him a different view of life.[22] With interests in both art and music, he and his mother moved to Gavle, Sweden, where he attended primary school (Solangsskolan) and started developing his drawing skills after being influenced by his uncle Hugo Wickman, a painter. They subsequently returned to England.[23]He attended other local West End schools, where he says he was constantly in trouble, and did poorly in everything but art. He was called the artist boy and mentions that I was beat up, but I was noticed.[24] He went on to take a one-year course of study at Hammersmith School of Art,[25] as he considered a career as a cartoonist. Though he enjoyed art (his later record albums would feature his original artwork on his album covers),[24] he wanted to establish a musical career and began to perform originally under the stage name Steve Adams in 1965 while at Hammersmith.[25][26] At that point, his goal was to become a songwriter. As well as the Beatles, other musicians who influenced him were the Kinks,[27] Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, blues artists Lead Belly and Muddy Waters,[28] Biff Rose (particularly Roses first album), Leo Kottke,[24] and Paul Simon.[29] He also wanted to emulate composers who wrote musicals, like Ira Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. In 1965 he signed a publishing deal with Ardmore & Beechwood and recorded several demos, including The First Cut Is the Deepest.[30]Musical career (1966–70)Early musical careerGeorgiou began to perform his songs in London coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried forming a band, but soon realised he preferred performing solo.[21] Thinking that his given name might not be memorable to prospective fans, he chose the stage name Cat Stevens, in part because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because he said, I couldnt imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for that Steven Demetre Georgiou album. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals.[31] In 1966, at age 18, he impressed manager/producer Mike Hurst, formerly of British vocal group the Springfields, with his songs and Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and then helped him get a record deal. The first singles were hits. I Love My Dog, charting on the UK Singles Chart at number 28, and Matthew and Son, the title song from his debut album, went to number 2 in the UK.[32] Im Gonna Get Me a Gun was his second UK top 10, reaching number 6, and the album Matthew and Son reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.[33] The original version of the Tremeloes hit Here Comes My Baby was written and recorded by Stevens.The First Cut is the Deepest (1967)Sample of The First Cut is the Deepest, performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on New Masters.Problems playing this file? See media help.Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with an eclectic group of artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Engelbert Humperdinck. Stevens was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the British pop music charts.[34] Some of that success was attributed to the pirate radio station Wonderful Radio London, which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he went on the air with other recording artists who had benefited from the station to mourn its closure.[35][36]His December 1967 album New Masters failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The album is now most notable for his song The First Cut Is the Deepest, a song he sold for ?30 to P. P. Arnold that was to become a massive hit for her,[37] and an international hit for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, James Morrison, and Sheryl Crow. Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him two back-to-back ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards, in 2005 and 2006.[38][39]TuberculosisStevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969[24][40] and was close to death at the time of his admittance to the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, West Sussex.[40] He spent months recuperating in the hospital and a year of convalescence. During this time Stevens began to question aspects of his life and spirituality. He later said, to go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut.[32]He took up meditation, yoga, and metaphysics,[41] read about other religions, and became a vegetarian.[31] As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence,[41] and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as forty songs, many of which would appear on his albums in years to come.[11]Changes in musical sound after illnessThe lack of success of Stevens second album mirrored a difference of personal tastes in musical direction, and a growing resentment at producer Mike Hursts attempts to re-create another album like that of his debut, with heavy-handed orchestration, and over-production,[29] rather than the folk rock sound Stevens was attempting to produce. He admits having purposefully sabotaged his own contract with Hurst, making outlandishly expensive orchestral demands and threatening legal action, which resulted in his goal: release from his contract with Deram Records, a sub-label of Decca Records.[32] Upon regaining his health at home after his release from the hospital, Stevens recorded some of his newly written songs on his tape recorder, and played his changing sound for a few new record executives. After hiring agent Barry Krost, who had arranged for an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Records, Blackwell offered him a chance to record [his songs] whenever and with whomever he liked, and more importantly to Cat, however he liked.[41] With Krosts recommendation, Stevens signed with Paul Samwell-Smith, previously the bassist of the Yardbirds, to be his new producer.[42]Musical career (1970–78)Height of popularityStevens performing in Boblingen, Germany, in 1976Around this time, Stevens had a catalogue of new songs that reflected his new perspective on what he wanted to bring to the world with his music. His previous work had sold at home in the UK, but Stevens was still relatively unknown by the public across the Atlantic. To rectify this, after signing with Island Records in 1970, an American distribution deal was arranged with A&M Records Jerry Moss in North America. Stevens began work on Mona Bone Jakon, a folk rock based album.Producer Paul Samwell-Smith paired Stevens with guitarist Alun Davies, who was at that time working as a session musician. Davies was the more experienced veteran of two albums which already had begun to explore the emerging genres of skiffle and folk rock music. Davies was also thought a perfect fit with Stevens in particular for his fingerwork on the guitar, harmonising and his backing vocals. They originally met just to record Mona Bone Jakon,[43] but developed a fast friendship. Davies, like Stevens, was a perfectionist,[44] appearing at all sound checks to be sure that all the equipment and sound were prepared for each concert.[45] He collaborated with Stevens on all but two of the succeeding albums Stevens released, and performed and recorded with him until Stevens retirement. Their friendship continued, however, and when Stevens re-emerged as Yusuf Islam after 27 years, Davies appeared again performing at his side, and has remained there.Father and Son (1970)Sample of Father and Son, performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Tea for the Tillerman.Problems playing this file? See media help.The first single released from Mona Bone Jakon was Lady DArbanville, which Stevens wrote about his young American girlfriend Patti DArbanville. The record, with a madrigal sound unlike most music played on pop radio, with sounds of djembes and bass in addition to Stevens and Davies guitars, reached number 8 in the UK.[33] It was the first of his hits to get real airplay in the US.[32] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record in 1971.[46] Other songs written for DArbanville included Maybe Youre Right, and Just Another Night.[47] In addition, the song Pop Star, about his experience as a teen star, and Katmandu, featuring Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel playing flute, were featured. Mona Bone Jakon was an early example of the solo singer-songwriter album format that was becoming popular for other artists as well. Rolling Stone magazine compared its popularity with that of Elton Johns Tumbleweed Connection, saying it was played across the board, across radio formats.[48]Mona Bone Jakon was the precursor for Stevens international breakthrough album, Tea for the Tillerman, which became a Top 10 Billboard hit. Within six months of its release, it had sold over 500,000 copies, attaining gold record status in the United Kingdom and the United States. The combination of Stevens new folk rock style and accessible lyrics which spoke of everyday situations and problems, mixed with the beginning of spiritual questions about life, would remain in his music from then on. The album features the Top 20 single Wild World, a parting song after DArbanville moved on. Wild World has been credited as the song that gave Tea for the Tillerman enough kick to get it played on FM radio, and the head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, was quoted as calling it the best album weve ever released.[29] Other album tracks include Hard-Headed Woman, and Father and Son, a song sung both in baritone and tenor, about the struggle between fathers and their sons who are faced with their own personal choices in life. In 2001, this album was certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record, having sold 3 million copies in the United States at that time.[49] It is ranked at No. 206 in the 2003 list of Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[50]After the end of his relationship with DArbanville, Stevens noted the effect it had on writing his music, saying, Everything I wrote while I was away was in a transitional period and reflects that. Like Patti. A year ago we split, I had been with her for two years. What I write about Patti and my family … when I sing the songs now, I learn strange things. I learn the meanings of my songs late …[50]Stevens performing in Waikiki Shell, Oahu, Hawaii, 1974. The stage decor reflects his song, Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head from Catch Bull at FourHaving established a signature sound, Stevens enjoyed a string of successes over the following years. 1971s Teaser and the Firecat album reached number two and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release in the United States. It yielded several hits, including Peace Train, Morning Has Broken, and Moonshadow. This album was also certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record in 2001, with over three million sold in the United States through that time. When interviewed on a Boston radio station, Stevens said about Teaser and the Firecat:I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. Its kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want …Moonshadow? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin on the rocks there … right on the rocks where the waves were, like, blowin and splashin. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin and singin and I sang that song and it stayed. Its just the kind of moment that you want to find when youre writin songs.[51]For seven months from 1971 to 1972 Stevens was romantically linked to popular singer Carly Simon while both were produced by Samwell-Smith. During that time both wrote songs for and about one another. Simon wrote and recorded at least two Top 50 songs, Legend in Your Own Time and Anticipation about Stevens. He reciprocated in his song to her, after their romance, titled, Sweet Scarlet.[52][53][54]His next album, Catch Bull at Four, released in 1972, was his most rapidly successful album in the United States, reaching gold record status in 15 days, and holding the number-one position on the Billboard charts for three weeks. This album continued the introspective and spiritual lyrics that he was known for, combined with a rougher-edged voice and a less acoustic sound than his previous records, using synthesisers and other instruments. Although the sales of the album indicated Stevens popularity, the album did not produce any real hits, with the exception of the single Sitting, which charted at number 16. Catch Bull at Four was Platinum certified in 2001.Movie and television soundtracksIn July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, But I Might Die Tonight, for the Jerzy Skolimowski film, Deep End.[55] In 1971, Stevens provided nine songs to the soundtrack of the black comedy Harold and Maude which became a popular cult film celebrating the free spirit, and brought Stevens music to a wider audience, continuing to do so long after he stopped recording in the late 1970s. Among the songs were Where Do the Children Play?, Trouble, and I Think I See the Light. Two of the songs, Dont Be Shy and If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out, were not released on any album until their inclusion in 1984 on a second greatest hits collection, Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.After his religious conversion in the late 1970s, Stevens stopped granting permission for his songs to be used in films. However, almost twenty years later, in 1997, the movie Rushmore received his permission to use his songs Here Comes My Baby and The Wind, showing a new willingness on his part to release his music from his Western pop star days.[22] This was followed in 2000 by the inclusion of Peace Train in the movie Remember the Titans,[56] in 2000 by the use in Almost Famous of the song The Wind,[57] and in 2006 the inclusion of Peace Train on the soundtrack to We Are Marshall.[58] Since then, permission has been given for Cat Stevens songs to be used in the soundtracks for several movies and tv shows, including the song Tea for The Tillerman used as the theme tune for the Ricky Gervais BBC-HBO sitcom Extras. A Christmas-season television commercial for gift-giving by the diamond industry aired in 2006 with Cat Powers cover of How Can I Tell You.In 2011, Dont Be Shy was used in the pilot episode of the ABC television series Once Upon A Time. In 2014, Cat and the Dog Trap (from the Tell Em Im Gone album released as Yusuf) was used on an episode of the CBS television series Elementary.In 2016, the single If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out appeared in a television commercial for the 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee.Later recordingsCat Stevens poster advertising a concert from WMMS in 1976.Later (1973)Sample of Later, performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Foreigner.Problems playing this file? See media help.Subsequent releases in the 1970s also did well on the charts and in ongoing sales, although they did not touch the success he had from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Stevens moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a tax exile from the United Kingdom, however, he later donated the money to UNESCO.[59] During that time he created the album Foreigner, which was a departure from the music that had brought him to the height of his fame. It differed in several respects: entirely written by Stevens, he dropped his band and produced the record without the assistance of Samwell-Smith, who had played a large role in catapulting him to fame, and instead of guitar, he played keyboard instruments throughout the album. It was intended to show a funk/soul element rising in popularity that Stevens had come to appreciate. One side of Foreigner was continuous, much different from the radio-friendly pop tunes fans had come to expect. In November 1973 he performed side two of the album at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, with a pre-arranged uninterrupted quadraphonic simulcast on the ABC network. The show was titled the Moon and Star concert. This performance did include his band, but they were all but overshadowed by an orchestra. The album produced a couple of singles including The Hurt, but did not reach the heights he had once enjoyed. The follow-up to Foreigner was Buddha and the Chocolate Box, largely a return to the instrumentation and styles employed in Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman. Featuring the return of Alun Davies and best known for Oh Very Young, Buddha and the Chocolate Box reached platinum status in 2001. Stevens next album was the concept album Numbers, a less successful departure for him.(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard (1977)Sample of (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard from Izitso. It was an early example of synthpop and his last top 40 hit single of the 1970s.Was Dog a Doughnut? (1977)Sample of Was Dog a Doughnut? from Izitso. It was one of the first examples of electro, or techno-pop.Problems playing these files? See media help.In April 1977, his Izitso album updated his pop rock and folk rock style with the extensive use of synthesisers,[60] giving it a more synthpop style.[61] Was Dog a Doughnut in particular was an early techno-pop fusion track and a precursor to the 1980s electro music genre,[62] making early use of a music sequencer.[63] Izitso included his last chart hit, (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard, an early synthpop song[61] that used a polyphonic synthesiser, it was a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks.[63] Linda Lewis appears in the songs video, with Cat Stevens singing to her, as they portray former schoolmates, singing to each other on a schoolyard merry-go-round. This is one of the few music videos that Stevens made, other than simple videos of concert performances.[citation needed]His final original album under the name Cat Stevens was Back to Earth, released in late 1978, which was also the first album produced by Samwell-Smith since his peak in single album sales in the early 1970s. Several compilation albums were released before and after he stopped recording. After Stevens left Decca Records they bundled his first two albums together as a set, hoping to ride the commercial tide of his early success, later his newer labels did the same, and he himself released compilations. The most successful of the compilation albums was the 1975 Greatest Hits which has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In May 2003 he received his first Platinum Europe Award[64] from the IFPI for Remember Cat Stevens, The Ultimate Collection, indicating over one million European sales.[citation needed]Religious conversionWhile on holiday in Marrakesh, Morocco, Stevens was intrigued by the sound of the A?han, the Islamic ritual call to prayer, which was explained to him as music for God. Stevens said, I thought, music for God? Id never heard that before – Id heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God![65]In 1976 Stevens nearly drowned off the coast of Malibu, California, United States, and said he shouted: Oh, God! If you save me I will work for you. He related that right afterward a wave appeared and carried him back to shore. This brush with death intensified his long-held quest for spiritual truth. He had looked into Buddhism, Zen, I Ching, numerology, tarot cards, and astrology.[31] Stevens brother David Gordon, a convert to Judaism,[66] brought him a copy of the Quran as a birthday gift from a trip to Jerusalem.[22] Stevens took to it right away, and began his transition to Islam.During the time he was studying the Quran, Stevens began to identify more and more with the story of Joseph, a man bought and sold in the market place, which is how he said he had increasingly felt within the music business.[42] Regarding his conversion, in his 2006 interview with Alan Yentob,[67] he stated, to some people, it may have seemed like an enormous jump, but for me, it was a gradual move to this. And, in a Rolling Stone magazine interview, he reaffirmed this, saying, I had found the spiritual home Id been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like Peace Train and On The Road To Find Out, it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling.[68]Stevens formally converted to the Islamic religion on 23 December 1977, taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. Yusuf is the Arabic rendition of the name Joseph, he stated that he always loved the name Joseph and was particularly drawn to the story of Joseph in the Quran.[42] Although he discontinued his pop career, he was persuaded to perform one last time before what would become his twenty-five-year musical hiatus. Appearing with his hair freshly shorn and an untrimmed beard, he headlined a charity concert on 22 November 1979 in Wembley Stadium to benefit UNICEFs International Year of the Child.[69] The concert closed with his performance along with David Essex, Alun Davies, and Yusufs brother, David Gordon, who wrote the finale song Child for a Day.[69]After a brief engagement to Louise Wightman,[70] Yusuf married Fauzia Mubarak Ali on 7 September 1979,[69] at Regents Park Mosque in London. They have one son and four daughters and seven grandchildren, a second son died in infancy.[71] They currently live in London, spending part of each year in Dubai.[12]Life as Yusuf Islam (1978–present)Muslim faith and musical careerYusuf appearing at the Islam Expo in London (2008)Following his conversion, Yusuf abandoned his music career for nearly three decades. In 2007, he said that when he became a Muslim in 1977, the Imam at his mosque told him that it was fine to continue as a musician, as long as the songs were morally acceptable, but that others were saying it was all prohibited, and he decided to avoid the question by ceasing to perform.[72] He has said there was a combination of reasons, really, and that the continuing demands of the music business had been becoming a chore, and not an inspiration anymore.[72] In a 2004 interview on Larry King Live, he said A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing. You come to a point where you have sung, more or less … your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadnt had a life. Id been searching, been on the road.[20]Estimating in January 2007 that he was continuing to earn approximately US$1.5 million a year from his Cat Stevens music,[73] he said he would use his accumulated wealth and ongoing earnings from his music career on philanthropic and educational causes in the Muslim community of London and elsewhere. In 1983, he founded the Islamia Primary School in Brondesbury Park, later moved to Salusbury Road,[74] in the north London area of Queens Park and, soon after, founded several Muslim secondary schools, in 1992, he set up The Association of Muslim Schools (AMS-UK), a charity that brought together all the Muslim schools in the UK. He is also the founder and chairman of the Small Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans, Indonesia, and Iraq.[75] He served as chairman of the charity Muslim Aid from 1985 to 1993.[76]Salman Rushdie controversyMain article: Cat Stevens comments about Salman RushdieA controversy arose in 1989 following an address by Yusuf to students at Londons Kingston University, where he was asked about the fatwa calling for the killing of Salman Rushdie, author of the novel The Satanic Verses. Yusuf made a series of comments that appeared to show his support for the fatwa. He released a statement the following day denying that he supported vigilantism, and claiming that he had merely recounted the legal Islamic punishment for blasphemy. In a 2006 BBC interview, he displayed a newspaper clipping from that period, with quotes from his statement. Subsequent comments made by him in 1989 on a British television programme were also seen as being in support of the fatwa. In a statement in the FAQ section of one of his websites, Yusuf asserted that while he regretted the comments, he was joking and that the show was improperly edited.[77] In the years since these comments, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.[11][68]11 September 2001 attacksImmediately following the 11 September attacks on the United States, he said:I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Quran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured, I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment.[78][79]He appeared on videotape on a VH1 pre-show for the October 2001 Concert for New York City, condemning the attacks and singing his song Peace Train for the first time in public in more than 20 years, as an a cappella version. He also donated a portion of his box-set royalties to the fund for victims families, and the rest to orphans in underdeveloped countries.[80] During the same year, he dedicated time and effort in joining the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism, an organisation that worked towards battling misconceptions and acts against others because of their religious beliefs or their racial identity (or both), after many Muslims reported a backlash against them due in part to the grief caused by the events in the United States on 11 September.[59]Denial of entry into the United StatesOn 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, travelling to a meeting with US entertainer Dolly Parton, who had recorded Peace Train several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album.[67] While the plane was in flight, his name was flagged as being on the No Fly List. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by officers from the Department of Homeland Security.[81]The following day, he was denied entry and flown back to the United Kingdom. A spokesman for Homeland Security claimed there were concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities.[82] The Israeli government had deported Yusuf in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to the Palestinian organisation Hamas,[83] but he denied doing so knowingly.[84] Yusuf, who repeatedly has condemned terrorism and Islamic extremism, stated I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas.[85] At the time I was reported to have done it, I didnt know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land.[84]However, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added him to a watch list.[25] The removal provoked an international controversy and led the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations.[86] Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right.[87]Yusuf believed his inclusion on a watch list may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 he requested the removal of his name, I remain bewildered by the decision of the US authorities to refuse me entry to the United States.[88] According to his statement, the man on the list was named Youssef Islam, indicating that Yusuf was not the suspected terrorism supporter.[20] Romanisation of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings: the transliteration of the Islamic name for Joseph lists a dozen spellings.Two years later, in December 2006, Yusuf was admitted without incident into the United States for several radio concert performances and interviews to promote his new record.[89] He said of the incident at the time, No reason was ever given, but being asked to repeat the spelling of my name again and again, made me think it was a fairly simple mistake of identity. Rumours which circulated after made me imagine otherwise.[90]Yusuf wrote a song about his 2004 exclusion from the US, titled Boots and Sand, recorded in 2008 and featuring Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, and Terry Sylvester.[91]Libel casesLawsuit over News UK newspaper reports that he had supported terrorismIn October 2004 the News UK newspapers The Sun and The Sunday Times voiced their support for Yusufs exclusion from the United States and claimed that he had supported terrorism. He sued for libel and received an out-of-court financial settlement from the newspapers, which both published apology statements saying that he had never supported terrorism and mentioning that he had recently been given a Man of Peace award from the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. However The Sunday Times managing editor Richard Caseby said that while there was an agreed settlement, they always denied liability and disagreed with Cat Stevens lawyers interpretation, but took a pragmatic view of the lawsuit.[92]Yusuf responded that he was delighted by the settlement [which] helps vindicate my character and good name. … It seems to be the easiest thing in the world these days to make scurrilous accusations against Muslims, and in my case it directly impacts on my relief work and damages my reputation as an artist. The harm done is often difficult to repair, and added that he intended to donate the financial award given to him by the court to help orphans of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[92] He wrote about the experience in a newspaper article titled A Cat in a Wild World.[93]Lawsuit about allegation that he would not talk to unveiled womenOn 18 July 2008, Yusuf received substantial undisclosed damages from the World Entertainment News Network following their publication of a story that claimed the singer refused to speak to unveiled women.[94] The allegations first surfaced in the German newspaper BZ after Yusufs trip to Berlin in March 2007 to collect the Echo music award for life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures.[95] Once again he was awarded damages after the
Summary
Wikipedia Source: Cat Stevens