November 2025, both my adult self and my inner child are curiously scanning Yusuf Cat Steven's autobiography, ' Cat on the road to findout' .
My friend April recently gifted me the book for my birthday upon finding out that my father got a few mentions as Cat's former road manager during that period.
I'm curious to learn more about that period with Yusuf's transition to Islam as well as connecting the dots with all my childhood memories...
Image from Yusuf/Cat's book with my father
I was born in 1972 and raised in Surrey, UK till 1986 when we moved to Spain. My childhood was pretty cool in many ways, spent mostly in East Molesey, Hampton court, a unique place to grow up, surrounded by beautiful parks, the river, the palace...
Yusuf/Cat born Steven Demetre Georgiou in 1948, begins the book talking about his upbringing, youngest son to his Greek Cypriot father, Stavros Georgiou Adams and Swedish mother, Ingrid Elizabeth Wickman.
Cat lived with his parents, brother David and sister Anita above the family cafe (The Moulin Rouge) on Shaftesbury Ave London.
Reading about Yusuf/Cat's Greek Cypriot/Swedish family background, the colourful life of immigrants in London's West End really connected me with him and his story especially as my own father was an immigrant from the colonies back in 1958.
My father Carlos (born Calvin) arrived on the boat from Bombay, India alone age 17. He later changed his name to Carlos as apparently it sounded more exotic like a particular Brazilian football player!
Yusuf describes his early years, especially adolescence, where an identity crisis made life more difficult what with his foreign name and exotic looks, the effects of which isolated him at secondary school.
He was also shy, which for a sensitive adolescent male experiencing these complex feelings makes everything that bit harder.
My father experienced these same complex identity issues with his mixed Indian roots and cultural clashes as did many 'anglos'.
I very much connected with Yusuf's experiences given I myself was subjected to racist taunts though my father experienced this way more violently back in the day...
Images: Me, dad and sister Leoni in 1985. We rented a house in Altea, Spain from Lin the then girlfriend of Gary brewer from the band Little Sister. A year later we moved to Spain permanently.
Like Yusuf, I became way more introvert, suffered panic attacks and changed my surname to Jones rather than Braganza Jones all to sound more British rather than foreign and different...
Not many years later I became proud of what is actually an extremely interesting background and our ancestry results are quite the read: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Germany, Iceland, Vietnam, Scotland, Ireland, England....boring we are not!
Coincidences...
As I made my way through the book I found myself comparing interesting coincidences; Yusuf's parents met in Lyon's tea house, my parents first date was in a Lyon's tea house His family's cafe was on Shaftesbury Ave, my grandparents lived on a different Shaftesbury Ave in Southall , Middlesex.
Cat's mother was a Swedish aupair in Richmond, my mother had just returned from working as an aupair in Germany and was also living in Richmond.
My Indian uncle then married a Swedish au pair and moved over to Sweden.
Both Yusuf/Cat and my father nearly drowned during the same period albeit in very different places and circumstances, Cat in the Pacific, dad in the Thames!
Cat and my mother Theresa were both born in 1948...
Maybe everyone went to Lyon's tea house back then, lived in Richmond and married au pairs! Or I just spend too much time trying to find coincidences, but that's how my curious brain works...
Image from Yusuf/Cat's book
Yusuf/Cat gained fame very young in his late teens which transformed his life considerably, bringing him into contact with many great artists including the likes of Jimi Hendrix.
He speaks candidly about his behaiour at that time, his inflated ego and his more unpleasant outbursts. It's not surprising really as a young testosterone fuelled male being adored globally and amassing such wealth. However, this also brought additional lonliness especially when having to leave the UK for Brazil as a tax exile.
It's pretty revealing reading about Yusuf/Cat's loneliness, the fun but also vacuous experiences and often complicated moments of distinguishing who were friends and who were hangers on ...
This is the price of fame in general: Who sees the real you? Who cares?
It can be extremely complicated when you reach fame at such a young age as he did, still a long way off from wisdom and maturity, despite the depth of his lyrics.
My father and Cat...
Dad began working with Cat at some point in the mid 70s, 1975 I believe.
Dad and Cat at recording studio perhaps Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada
Alun Davis, guitarist and Yusuf/Cat's long term band member, got dad the job. I'm told he and dad used to drink in the same local pub, perhaps in Wimbledon back in the day. Dad was doing some roadie work for various bands and then got the gig working for Cat and life for us all changed considerably!
My father was very loyal to Cat and his memory of that time. He told us that various media sources had approached him for stories back in the day which he steadfastly refused to divulge...
I was constantly surrounded by music and musicians: my friend's dad was in the band the Pretty Things, our close friends were the blues artist Gerry Lockran and family. Another close family friend was John dodd and partner Suzie, John worked closely with Jeff Beck whilst another school friend's dad was in the Yardbirds... Music and it's influence was everywhere.
I remember music sessions at the house, dad playing bongos ( he was a frustrated drummer who had it beaten out of him as a kid) the haze of sweet smelling grass and long haired musos. I grew up thinking short haired men were slightly odd, like something was missing ( I kind of still do! I clearly never left the 70s, oh dear...)
2 polaroids I found of Cat's band one with dad in the other without. Either when in the studio or on tour.
Home life
Dad was a ' collector' so our home was far from boring though mum was not always so keen on everything he brought home! All kinds of curious things would appear, an eccletic variety of instruments, percussion , a kind of digeridoo, synthesizer and one day some doves and a rabbit! Mum confirmed this memory that they were indeed from the Magikat tour and we were taking care of them in between concerts I believe...
I remember a diary where Cat had written about a meeting with John Lennon...
I'm pretty sure I managed to scribble on it before it was hastily removed!
Occasionally my father would bring back tour merchandise and I distinctly remember wearing a fabulous bomber style silk Iron Maiden jacket, maybe Beast on the road ( Number of the beast) and Kiss studded leather wrist bands. No wonder I got into the metal scene later on...I must have looked pretty cool for a 10 year old!
That period of my father's life had a huge impact on him. The music, the tours, excitement, stress, meeting people from every corner of the planet, the highs and lows, adapting to 'normal ' life after 5 star hotels and no room service back in our Surrey flat...
It was not always easy for mum either with dad being off on the road for days, weeks or even months at a time..
Clearly having a family was what kept him more balanced in that heady crazy exhilarating world.
Like Yusuf, my father was a very complicated complex soul and very much a seeker in his own way...
My father sometimes wore a straw hat and dreamt of owning land. Dad shared his dream with Yusuf who called him the tillerman ( reference from Tea for the Tillerman, Cat's famous album)
And dad did indeed become the tillerman just over a decade later...
Cyprus
Cat on a donkey in Cyprus around the same period. Image from the book.
According to my mother, we accompanied Cat's niece and nephew on the plane to Cyprus.
We stayed with Cat's uncle Nicky and Maria who very kindly gave up their bedroom for us. Maria would walk the goat up to their daughters house in the evenings.
Given my young age, memories are limited, though I remember the smells of mediterranean food, figs, the bright skies and crystal waters..
Unfortunately I suffered travel sickness so I seem to remember vomiting nearly everywhere we drove and as a curious kid could not get over the grossness of chickens eating up my sick by the roadside!
Sorry guys, that's childhood memories for you...
I also recall suffering from a terrible ear infection and being taken to hospital in a red sports car, maybe Cat's cousin's...
Image: Uncle Nicky and Maria
My mother tells me uncle Nicky worked as a driver at the British Army base. I do seem to recall in the above picture he was removing what could be a cactus a thorn from his hand while taking us on a trip up to the Troodos mountains.
Mum informs me that Friday evening was goats head eating!! Glad I don't remember that part...no wonder I became a vegetarian in my late teens!
Image: Me, dad and uncle Nicky
Cat discovers Islam and becomes Yusuf...
Despite being a huge shock for most of Yusuf's fans, followers and acquaintances, it can't have been entirely a shock to those that knew he was on an infinite journey to find his true spiritual path.
Yusuf describes in depth his journey, both internal and external as he travels to Pakistan, Palestine, Saudia Arabia, Egypt etc on his spiritual quest towards Islam and also for the immense charity work he has always partaken in.
We see the extremly unfortunate timing with world events like the Ayatollah taking power in Iran, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the huge division between East and West ( fuelled by the media and politics)
I do remember people shouting at my own father calling him the Ayatollah Khomeini because of his long beard.!Oh the joys of ignorance!
All of this was further complicated later with the launch of Salman Rushdie's book, 'The Satanic Verses' when Yusuf's unfortunate naivety as a 'young convert' complicated his communication with the press over his related comments on the imposed Fatwah...
All of which were taken out of context and caused immense controversy.
Yusuf/Cat was not a popular figure at this time and there was a backlash against his music.
It does however highlight the often hideous nature of mainstream media and their witch hunts. Unfortunately not much has changed as we can see time and time again with the labelling,' anti semitic' 'anti vaxxer' anti anything if you dare question official rhetoric or the actions of those in 'power'...
Yusuf's spiritual journey has always been of great interest to me and indeed we inherited many of his books which I devoured as a teenager when I began my own seeking...
I experimented with LSD age 18 on a quest to open the doors of perception...
And boy did those doors open! That particular book I believe was Cats' also the collection of Carlos Castaneda among many others...
In the above images you can see just a few of the books that still remain, Teaser and the Firecat was given to me as a kid, the book that Cat wrote and illustrated. Others were from his personal collection and gifts from friends and fans...
There's also a book entitled 'understanding Islam' from Pakistan perhaps from Yusuf's early journeys...
I'm thankful we had such an incredible home library growing up, which I predominantly read from 13 to 18 when I then left home...
There are also paintings and pictures that have been with us forever and only upon removing them from the wall did I discover they were also Yusuf's, like the one below, a gift from his former promotor Harvey Goldsmith:
Unicef, Year of the child concert, London, Wembley 1979
At the tender age of 7 I attended this historic gig with mum, (dad was working there behind the scenes) both wearing our matching colorful Peruvian hand knit sweaters (remember these are my childhood memories!)
I'm pretty sure it was David Esssex singing 'Silver dream machine' and Gary Numan who had the most musical impact on me back then! I still love the Gary Numan track, Are friends electric?
However the most impactful memory is going backstage and speaking to Herbie Flowers, world famous bass player (think bass line, Walk on the Wild side, Lou Reed and Space Oddity, David Bowie etc) He was then in the band, Sky, and also happened to be wearing a colorful sweater so mutual admiration all round for our very vibrant sweaters!
Upon hearing my tooth had fallen out, he gave a generous donation to the tooth fairy fund! ( a fiver I think)
The band Sky:
https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2014/12/23/sky-sky-sky-2/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The band Sky were in our lives for a few years. Mum and dad were also friends with Kevin Peek and his wife who were living locally to us. A few years later upon their return to Australia dad joined them in WA Perth for a number of months in 1983 in an attempt to secure emigration papers for us to move over there. For various reasons this did not happen and 3 years later we settled in Spain instead...
Sky live:
https://youtu.be/P8_H2Iicd0c?si=jUVyEkQnQ0qLWDRG
During that period I also remember the Australian band, 'The Eurogliders' staying over at our flat, maybe this was in 83 when dad returned from Oz...
Eurogliders track, Heaven:
https://youtu.be/ps8g0Y89An0?si=LhMRmqw1SCtyXK0I
The same year , 1979, Yusuf married Fauzia Mubarak Ali at London Regent's Park Mosque
Image from 'Cat on the road to findout'
On attending Yusuf/Cats's wedding with my parents, all I remember is the beautiful blue outfit my mother wore, even the sensation of the material and then the ghastly experience of vomiting over my shiny black patent shoes after being car sick in the cab to London (again) !
Yusuf mentions my father's appearance at his wedding in the extract below:
'Even my excessively curly and long haired personal road manager, Carlos Braganza Jones, looked respectable with a colourful Turkistan cap he'd picked up for the occasion'
A couple years on I was bridesmaid at my parent's weddings as was my own daughter at my wedding only a decade or so later!
My wedding. Morning has broken was played when I walked down the aisle
It's amusing now looking back and remembering my shock as a young teen with the realisation of how famous Yusuf Cat Stevens actually was as it had been all so normal for me.
I didn't think anyone else really knew who
he was. Oh how liberating the naivety of youth !
I was never a great fan of Cat's music, especially as a teen and in my 20s when I was far more into various genres of rock, Grunge and Metal and tending towards more psychedelic rock. When it came to the deeper tunes I always leant way more towards Pink Floyd who have always had a deep impact on me since very young,,,
However, one track that has never failed to move me is, 'Where do the children play' which has been present my entire life and remains infinitely relevant to the world. Cat's vision always seemed way ahead on various aspects of the world...
My father was adamant I should never work in the music business despite my insistence to the contrary growing up and citing Sharon Ozbourne as an example.
Of course I did not listen to my father. My very brief attempt at managing some bands in Spain didn't end well when my then 'business partner' disappeared overnight with the bands equipment and more...
From the music business to Islam
Yusuf left the business in his early years as a Muslim and donated most of his musical instruments and Gold albums to charity...
Though we ended up with many items including Cat's famous piano as Yusuf remembers in his book:
My sister and I at the infamous piano
Years later, after many decades in the family, Cat's Barret and Robinson piano was finally auctioned off at Bonhmans in 2018 alongside an amazing vinyl collection, that included many of Cat's personal collection, dad and mum's and mine!
I was not too happy about that nor my personal autograph from Cat which I'd had since my childhood! It all went including my Star Wars sountrack, Abba albums and not to mention an incredible collection of Led Zep, Floyd, Black Sabbath, Santana and so much more that I loved!
Cassettes, bootlegs and studio demos. Really interesting stuff.
We had a bit of a barney over that. Dad was on a path of 'the past is the past' time to clear everything out, a mental and spiritual clear out. Not to mention an OCD clearing spree! I was rather used to these over the years...but I understand more and more given my own brain issues now.
He was helping fund some of my offspring's education which was more important than nostalgia. Given my years as a single parent and on pretty crap wages in Spain, the grandparents helped out when they could. But still , my attachment to some of the old vinyl and photos that we'd had nearly my entire life felt like a sad ending...
The final years
Dad and Yusuf/Cat eventually parted ways in the early 80s and we began a new life in Spain...
We bought land and a ruin and so began the long journey (10 years) of building the family home and many other adventures...
I went on to have 2 daughters and five rescue cats, wrote some books and began my own nomadic journey..
Not long before I heard about Yusuf's new book, I wrote my first kid's book, a great feat for me after suffering a brain injury. The book is dedicated to my two nieces in Dubai, a true story about their runaway cat Lulu in which I found myself quoting from Cat's song, 'Wild World'.
Sometimes it seems his music is always unconsciously present in our lives...
There was no contact with Yusuf/Cat for decades then suddenly my sister went to Yusuf's former book signing in Dubai where she resides. When she approached him she told him who she was and got a personal note in the book for our father and a promise of contact through his PA.
Dad had become a bit of a recluse over the last years but seemed excited about reconnecting with Yusuf who clearly has a very busy life with non stop travelling...
So while my father secretly hoped for a reunion, their's were two very different lives now...
Unfortunately it was not to be.
2021 was for us and many others, a hideous year. We had already lost my young cousin in very traumatic circumstances only months before, then my 'Swedish' uncle Ashley passed and finally after 6 weeks fighting for his life in hospital, dad passed age 79...
Three very special males in our family gone.
My brother and I were following Yusuf on instagram where my brother commented on a post asking for prayers for our father's recovery. Someone close to Cat picked up on it and passed on the message..
Yusuf recorded a message to dad which was played at his beside. Due to horrid Covid restrictions, we were not permitted to be in there but some kind nurses played the message as well as Cat's songs for him...
So dad did connect with Yusuf in the end.
We know even in a coma there is awareness, so in spite of everything, at the end of our father's life Yusuf and his music was present once again...
Image: Dad, Lola and Yas
Conclusion
Yusuf's book is well recommended, not just for fans of his music but for an insight into an incredibly interesting life journey: The life of a music icon, his path to Islam and his observations of that period through political turmoils.
This includes the height of tension between East and West post 9/11 when the world changed forever and how he and his faith were portrayed during this dark period...
He offers us a glimpse into the highs and lows of the music industry and many personal disclosures such as the emotive heart wrenching experience of losing their infant son and his beloved mother soon after...
For me personally, reading the book has been both an emotional and enlightening journey down memory lane, giving me greater insight into the world my father worked in as well as who is Yusuf.
I feel gratitude for having had such an interesting vibrant childhood and especially growing up surrounded by live music, a love that has never left me .
Yusuf/Cat Stevens book
Link to Yusuf's website:
https://somuchlefttoknow.catstevens.com/
For some brilliant tracks from the 70s and 80s here is my track list:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbiPhx0kPN5UKx119xs1VAHZU4cpjpNNQ&si=ee63NbBQUJO9t1f-
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