For a great many admirers in Australia it seemed unlikely that the artist they knew and loved as Cat Stevens would return to the stage and that his timeless songs would reach them in anything other than tribute shows. Never stop believing, as they say. Following his successful short tour of UK and Ireland, he’s decided to accept the offer made by Paul Dainty, his old promoter, to come back and tour again for his fans.

From his home in Dubai Yusuf said, ‘I’m very excited to get back to Australia. There’s a lot of history between me and my journey there. I was given some books on Rumi and Numerology in Sydney back in 74. It was all of part of my Road to Findout. I’ll have the same band as my UK Tour, and Alun Davies will be with me again.’

[myspace-blog 22.04.2010]

PERTH - Thursday 10 June (Challenge Stadium)

ADELAIDE - Sunday 13 June (Adelaide Entertainment Centre)

MELBOURNE - Wednesday 16 June (Rod Laver Arena)

SYDNEY - Monday 21 June (Sydney Entertainment Centre) 

BRISBANE - Saturday 26 June (Brisbane Entertainment Centre) 

AUCKLAND –Tuesday 29 June (Vector Arena)

CHRISTCHURCH - Friday 2 July (Westpac Arena)

Yusuf Islam, formerly known as

Cat Stevens, returns to Australia

to mend wounds

YUSUF Islam has returned to Australia after 36 years not only to wow adoring fans but to mend old wounds.

Yusuf formerly known as Cat Stevens, in concert at Rod Laver Arena.

Picture: Nicole Garmston Herald Sun

 

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens offered his perspective on The Ten Commandments and told of how he found his Lord during his only speech in Australia outside his concert tour.

 

"I feel so at home. I've got family here and it's great," he told the packed Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria late yesterday.

 

"The reason I am actually back in Australia is really to try and mend a few roads which got broken along the way.

"That happens, one can't predict when or why but it happens, but most of it is probably the result of a lack of communication ... and letting other people write your stories or your headlines."

He converted to Islam in 1977, changing his name to Yusuf Islam. He said he withdrew from music because he felt there was nothing more for him to do.

 

"And then, of course, the press have their own way of interpreting what you do," he said.

"So now I was the `Cat on the Mat'

"Australia is guilty of a lot of all this, you know that," he told the chuckling audience.

"Australian journalism? Boy, it's trouble - not all the time."

Yusuf has had a difficult relationship with the media at some points of his career.

He has denied reports he called for author Salman Rushdie's death or supported the fatwa against The Satanic Verses author issued by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.

 

Victorian upper house MP Peter Kavanagh wrote to Immigration Minister Chris Evans last month asking him to refuse Yusuf a visa unless he repudiated threats against Rushdie.

 

Born Steven Georgiou, Yusuf grew up in London, the son of a Greek Cypriot father and Swedish mother.

He changed his name to Cat Stevens in the mid-1960s.

 

When he eventually read the Koran it was the story of Joseph that knocked him over.

"When I came to the end ... I started weeping," he said.

"This was something divine.

"That is the moment of unity in a way because I had found my Lord and I don't think anybody can find unity unless you find your Lord."

Yusuf, now 61, delighted the crowd with several songs from his current Roadsinger album, including All Kinds of Roses, and also performed Peace Train from his 1971 album Teaser and the Fire Cat.

 

He played two shows in Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena and his next stop is Sydney.

 

[Herald Sun, 20.06.2012]

 

Act 1

Lilywhite

The Wind

Midday

Where Do The Children Play

Medley: Here Comes My Baby / First Cut 

Fill My Eyes

Boots nd Sand

Miles From Nowhere

Act 2 (Moonshadow The Musical - performed by Yusuf and the Band)

World Of Darkness

Maybe There's A World

Matthew & Son

But I Might Die Tonight

Old Schoolyard

Doors

Road To Find Out

Act 3

Tuesday’s Dead

Roadsinger

Don’t’ Be Shy

Waltzing Matilda

Bad Brakes

Sitting

Morning Has Broken

Wild World

Encore

Moonshadow

Father & Son

Peace Train

2nd Encore

All Kinds Of Roses

Rubylove

I Think I See The Light

Lilywhite

The Wind

Midday

Where Do The Children Play

Medley: I Love My Dog / Here Comes My Baby / First Cut

Fill My Eyes

Boots And Sand

Miles From Nowhere

World Of Darkness

Maybe There's A World

Matthew & Son

But I Might Die Tonight

Old Schoolyard

Doors

Road To Find Out

Tuesday's Dead

Roadsinger

Don't Be Shy

Waltzing Matilda

Bad Brakes

Sitting

Morning Has Broken

Wild World

Father & Son

Encore

Moonshadow

All Kinds Of Roses

Rubylove

2nd Encore

Ruins

Peace Train 

Lilywhite

The Wind

Midday

Where Do The Children Play

Medley: I Love My Dog / Here Comes My Baby / First Cut 

Fill My Eyes

Boots And Sand

Miles From Nowhere

World Of Darkness

Maybe There's A World

Matthew & Son

But I Might Die Tonight

Old Schoolyard

Doors

Road To Find Out

Tuesday's Dead

Roadsinger

Don't Be Shy

Waltzing Matilda

Bad Brakes

Sitting

Morning Has Broken

Wild World

Father & Son

Encore

Moonshadow

All Kinds Of Roses

Rubylove

2nd Encore

Ruins

Peace Train

Lilywhite

The Wind

Midday 

Where Do The Children Play?

Medley: I Love My Dog/Here Comes My Baby/The First Cut 

Fill My Eyes

Boots And Sand

Miles From Nowhere

Moonshadow Musical Section

World O' Darkness

Maybe There's A World

Matthew And Son

But I Might Die Tonight

Old Schoolyard

In The End

On The Road To Find Out

Roadsinger

Don't Be Shy

       -- Band Members Introduced --

Just Another Night

Waltzing Matilda

Bad Brakes

Be What You Must / Sitting

Morning Has Broken

Wild World

Father and Son

Encore

Rubylove

All Kinds Of Roses

Moonshadow

2nd Encore

Tuesday's Dead

Peace Train

3rd Encore

(unknown - new song interwoven with oarts of Lilywhite)

Yusuf Islam’s first Australian tour in 36 years was controversial for some even before it began.

Victorian MP, Peter Kavanagh, call for Islam to be banned from Australia because of the musician’s supposed support of terrorism, revealed that, for some, Islam is a threatening figure.

In 1989, the folk singer formerly known as Cat Stevens allegedly declared support for the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, though Islam has since repeatedly denied calling for Rushdie’s death and has spoken out against terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.

The man wrote Peace Train, after all. Come on, Kavanagh.

The ridiculousness of such propositions was not lost on Islam; during last night’s performance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, he joked about the spelling of his name, a reference to his 2004 deportation from the United States after Homeland Security agents repeatedly asked him to spell his name.  

The capacity crowd at the BEC were certainly pleased he was let in.

The uncanny coincidence of a lunar eclipse during last night’s show was lost on no one, with one fan asking, “have you seen the moon?” To which Islam replied, “have you seen the moon? It’s a real one!”

He teased fans with frequent mentions of “moonshadows,” and eventually played his famous track during the first encore.

It was such tracks, released under the name Cat Stevens, which fans had come to hear, and Islam did not disappoint.

He played almost all the classic Cat Stevens tracks, including Lily White, Father and Son, Matthew and Son, Ruby Love, and a medley of songs he said might be able to be recognised: I Love My Dog, Here Comes My Baby and The First Cut is the Deepest.

Islam also referenced his religious conversion by speaking in Arabic and playing a few songs written since his conversion.

Islam had in years gone by struggled to reconcile his past musical career with his religious beliefs, giving up music completely for more than 25 years. Yet last night he was at ease with both, talking comfortably about taking drugs with Jimi Hendrix’s band while touring as Cat Stevens, and then later openly declaring his faith in the “one god of us all.”

The middle of the show was taken up with what Islam described as a musical — the story of Stormy — narrated by Islam and comprised of a series of tracks: World of Darkness, Maybe There’s a World, Matthew and Son, But I Might Die Tonight, (Do You Remember the Days of the) Old School Yard, Doors and On the Road to Find Out.

The staging of the show was enchanting: West End style Lamp posts, brick walls, and crates dotted the stage; smoke machines were used to great effect; and digital footage of alleyways, fantasy landscapes, Katsushika Hokusai’s Under the Wave off Kanagawa, drifting clouds, Combi vans, moons, and a jacaranda tree played throughout the show.

Islam’s humility saves his earnest ballads from becoming sentimental, yet there were some clichéd moments during the performance last night.

Like almost every foreign artist coming to Australia, Islam felt required to perform a rendition of Waltzing Matilda. The playschool-esk vibe did not help at all.

Bad Breaks, a track he wrote with his guitarist, Alun Davis, was astoundingly bad.

Yet, the 25-year hiatus hasn’t dulled Yusuf Islam’s talents one bit. He is a natural storyteller, and his folk ballads had the crowd completely enchanted for the entire performance.

Hopefully it isn’t another 25 years before we hear from him again.

[smh.com.au, 27.06.2010]

Act 1
Lilywhite
The Wind
Midday
Where Do The Children Play
Medley: I Love My Dog / Here Comes My Baby / First Cut
Fill My Eyes
Boots And Sand
Miles From Nowhere

Act 2
World Of Darkness
Maybe There’s A World
Matthew & Son
But I Might Die Tonight
Old Schoolyard
Doors
Road To Find Out

Act 3
Roadsinger
Don’t’ Be Shy
Just Another Night
Waltzing Matilda
Bad Brakes
Sitting
Morning Has Broken
Wild World
Father & Son

Encore
Rubylove
All Kinds Of Roses
Moonshadow

2nd Encore  
Tuesday’s Dead
Lilywhite (New Version)
Peace Train (Blues Version)
Peace Train

Act 1
Lilywhite
The Wind
Midday
Where Do The Children Play
Medley: I Love My Dog / Here Comes My Baby / First Cut
Fill My Eyes
Boots And Sand
Miles From Nowhere

Act 2

World Of Darkness
Maybe There’s A World
Matthew & Son
But I Might Die Tonight
Old Schoolyard
Doors
Road To Find Out

Act 3
Roadsinger
Don’t Be Shy
Oh Very Young
Bad Brakes
Sitting
Morning Has Broken
Wild World
Father & Son

Encore
Rubylove
All Kinds Of Roses
Moonshadow

2nd Encore
Tuesday’s Dead
Peace Train (Blues Version)
Peace Train

3rd Encore
Lilywhite
Ruins