17 June 2009

Yusuf Islam

Cat Stevens is one of my favourite artists, and he did not stop being a favourite when he became Yusuf Islam.

Here is a clip of Yusuf Islam singing one of the all time greatest Cat Stevens songs, Father and Son.

Enjoy.

4 comments:

pj said...

Just some trivia. Natalie Merchant apparently asked that her cover of "peace train" be removed from 10,000 maniacs "in my tribe" after Yusuf Islam declared support of the death fatwa against Salman Rusdie. Politics aside "tea for the tillerman" is one of my favorite albums

Rob Baiton said...

PJ...

Trivia is always fun. You never know when it might come in handy at a pub quiz night.

Politic aside without a doubt. I can have different views from someone and still appreciate their talent in music, right?

Unknown said...

Hi Rob,
There is one song that I still remember the intro but not the title: Morning has broken, like the first morning .............
I don't remember his other songs, especially after he supported the death fatwa.
Note: I am a Moslem but I never like fanatics

Rob Baiton said...

Harry...

You do not have to agree with someone's politics or their positions on certain things to appreciate their music or their talent.

In the Yusuf Islam case, supporting the fatwa for the murder of Salman Rushdie was, in my mind, a moment of madness. However, he was not the only Muslim to have supported that particular fatwa.

However, I don't think that Yusuf Islam is a fanatic (I guess am unlike the US where he has been banned from entering the country as a supporter of terrorism).

This is an assumption of course and based on nothing more than anecdotal evidence. But, if he was such a fanatic and such a huge supporter of terrorism, then why haven't the British government gone after him in a more forthright manner?

There seems to be as much more about his good deeds in the press than there is about his alleged misdeeds and support of the fatwa.

Never met the man, personally.