YOUNGER IRISH people may only know his music from the Boyzone cover of Father and Son, but Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) is to begin his first tour in 33 years in Dublin.
His old hits such as Wild World and The First Cut Is The Deepest will make up part of his first proper Irish concert at the O2 on November 15th. Yusuf Islam gave a “performance of sorts” at University College Dublin in April 1994 before an audience of 600.
The singer had been invited by UCD Islamic society to speak about his conversion from a pop balladeer to a devoted Muslim.
Islam quit his music career following his religious conversion. In 2006 he returned with An Other Cup, the first of two pop albums under the name Yusuf Islam.
As part of his Dublin concert he is expected to play songs from these albums as well as debuting his new musical Moonshadow. “My songs always told a story, so it’s natural for me to extend that into a stage musical form,” he said.
His last tour was with his Majikat shows in 1976 and he has played a few performances since.
He will play in Birmingham, Liverpool and London after his Dublin show. Tickets go on sale at 9am next Monday, September 21st, priced at €76.20.
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