"CatStevens…LadyD’Arbanville"
"CatStevens…"
BornStevenDemetreGeorgiou,thesonofaGreekCypriotrestaurantownerandSwedishmother,
hegrewupinaflatabovethefamilyshopinLondon’stheatredistrict,situatedatthenorthernmostjunctionof
ShaftesburyAvenueandNewOxfordStreet,
neartheheartoftheWestEnd.
Thebackstreetsandalleywaysofthiscosmopolitandistrict]
becameSteven’sconcreteplaygroundandaplaceoflearning.
Fullofbrightlights,famoustheatresandcinemas,stripclubs
andmusicalinstrumentstores,thisbusypartofthecitythrobbed
withexcitementandentertainment.
Atnight,musicalswouldechofromDruryLane
justacrosstheroadanddriftupthroughhiswindow;
hewouldoftentimesbefoundhangingaround
incoffeebars,wherethelatesthitsingles
werecontinuouslyplaying.
Earlyon,Stevendevelopedanaturalloveforartandmusic.
At15,hemanagedtogethisfathertobuyhimaguitarfor8.
Hebeganpenninghisownsongsalmostimmediately,
anditsoonbecamecleartohisfamilyandfriends
thathehadauniquetalenttopaintaswellassing.
Thattalentseparatedhimfromtherest.Hedidn’thavemanyfriends,
sohebecamesomethingofaloner.
Onmostevenings,hewouldclimbhighuptotherooftopsandgazeatthenoisycity
below;allowingformomentsofpeaceful
andelevateddetachmentunderthecapital’snightsky.
Asachild,hewasnaturallyinquisitive
(“Iusedtolookupintotheheavensandwonder:wheredoesthenightend?”).
WhilestudyingatHammersmithArtCollege,hewasauditionedbyMikeHurst,
arecordproducerformerlyofthepop-folktriotheSpringfields.
HurstwasabouttoemigratetoAmerica
whenhedecidedtorecordthishandsomeyoungdiscovery.
Theresults,“ILoveMyDog”and“PortobelloRoad,”impressedDeccaRecordssomuch
thattheyoungartist?nowtobeknownasCatStevens?
wasselectedtolaunchthenewDeramlabel,
whichalsosignednewBritishtalentsuchasDavidBowieandtheMoodyBlues.
Power-playedbypirateradiostations,inNovember1966
“ILoveMyDog”reachedNo.28ontheU.K.charts.Hisnexthit,“MatthewandSon,”wenttoNo.2,stoppingbehind
theMonkees’“I’maBeliever.”Stevens’earningsjumped
from2poundsaweekto300poundspernight.
Atnineteen,hewasgettingareputationforTopTenhits.
Hissong“I’mGonnaGetMeaGun”reachednumbersix.
Hewasalsoapopularsongwriter:theTremeloescovered
“HereComesMyBaby”whichwenttoNo.
4,andP.P.Arnold,aformerIkettefromtheIkeand
TinaTurnerRevue,cutaversionof“TheFirstCutIs
TheDeepest”whichreachedNo.18.
ManyyearslaterRodStewartmadethesong
aworldwidesmashhit.
Cleancut,insharp,blackvelvetCarnabyStreetsuits,
Stevenswasaprimesixtiesrecordingartistatatimewhen
themusicbusinesswasinitsinfancyandsingersweren’theavilytargetedtoanyoneaudience.
Heregularlyappearedonwhatwouldhavebeenhighlyunusualtoursbytoday’sstandards?
alongsidetheWalkerBrothers,EngelbertHumperdinckandtheJimiHendrixExperience!
AsStevens’debutalbumMatthewandSonclimbedtoNo.7in1967,hewasnowkeeping
toarigorouspromotionscheduleofliveperformances,televisionappearances
andrecordstoresigningsandwasregularlylockedawayinthestudio.
Withaproducerandmusicaldirector,itwasnotunusualtorecordthreetracksinonesession.
Whilehislate-sixtiesmaterialhadadistinctiveorchestratedsound?
easytoremember,oddlyrics,quirkyandinfectious?
Stevenspreferredsittingcross-leggedandrelaxedonthefloor,
andpluckinghisguitarlikethefolk-bluesartistsheadmiredandlistened
toathisfavouriteSohohang-out,LesCousins,
adankbasementclubwherePaulSimonandAlStewartoccasionallyplayed.
Theseweretheearlydaysofanewtraditionthatusedfolkidioms
inmelodicacousticballads,therootsoftheseventiessinger-songwritermovement,
whichwouldproduceperformerslikeJamesTaylorandJoniMitchell.
Despitetherowingundergroundpularityofacousticmusic,
alloftevens’attemptstochangehisstyleweremetwithresistancebyhisrecordcompany.
Theyoungsingerwascaughtinasound-trap.
CatStevenssoonfoundthathedidn’tlikepersonalappearanceseither.
Thisfrustration,addedtothewhirlwindroundsofdoublegigs,
smokingthirtycigarettesaday,drinkingandlatenights,finallytookitstoll.
Inthewinterof1968hecaughtacoldthatgrewprogressivelyworse.
Eventuallyhewashospitalisedwithtuberculosisandacollapsedlung.
Thenearlyyearlongconvalescenceprobablysavedhislife.
Thiswashischanceforpeaceandmeditation.
Stevensremembered,“Togofromtheshowbusinessenvironmentandfind
youareinhospital,gettinginjectionsdayinanddayout,andpeoplearound
youaredying,itcertainlychangesyourperspective.
Igotdowntothinkingaboutmyself.
ItseemedalmostasifIhadmyeyesshut.”Whenhedidemerge,
hewasachastenedandbeardedyoungman.
Themostprofoundtransformation,however,wasmusical.
Hebegantowriteastringofdeeplyinspiringsongs.
Manyoftheunreleaseddemosherecordedawayfromthespotlightduring
thisexperimentalperiodlike“I’veGotAThingAboutSeeing
MyGrandsonGrowOld”reflectedhisnew,uniquefolk-popstyle.
Stevens’lyricsbecamemoresubtleandintuitive;hisinnerstrengthwasnow
beginningtoshowandhewasalsonowbeginningtoexploreEasternreligions.
Ina1973interviewwithPaulGambacciniinRollingStone,
heanalysedhisearlysingles.
“Intheolddays,Iwasmoreconcernedwithmelody.
Nowit’swhatIhavetosay.IdorealiseIamusingmorewords.
AndsometimesIstopthemelody,Istopsinging…andmakeastatement.”
Amorehoneststyle,imbuedwithemotion,wasnurturedbyhisnewproducer
PaulSamwell-Smith,formerlyoftheYardbirds.
WithguitaristAlunDavies,bassistJohnRyananddrummerHarvey
Burnsand,featuringononesong,anervousPeterGabrielonflute,intimateacoustic
playingcharacterisedStevens’firstrockalbum,MonaBoneJakon(April,1970).
Stevenspreferredlayingdownmanyofthesongslive,
eitherwithaguitaroratthepiano.
Themadrigal-inspired“LadyD’Arbanville”zoomedtoNo.
8andnowAmericawaslisteningmoreattentively.
YusufandhisPeaceVaninEastLondonStreet
From1970to1974herecordedandreleasedthealbumsthatwouldestablish
himasaleadingsinger-songwriterofhisgeneration.
Hisnextmajoralbum,TeafortheTillerman,fromwinter1970,wentgoldintheU.S.withsuch
songsas“WildWorld,”“HardHeadedWoman,”“WhereDotheChildrenPlay”and“Father&Son,”
whichre-orbitedasamassivehitinthe‘90sfortheyoungIrishband,Boyzone.
ButnodoubtitwasTeaserandtheFirecat(September,1971)thatmadehimamegastar.
Thealbumbecameastapleinteenagegirls’recordcollectionsonbothsidesoftheAtlantic,
earninghimthereputationasthevoiceofthebed-sittersintheU.K.
andcollegedormsintheU.S.ClimbingtoNo.22ontheU.K.singleschart,
“Moonshadow”madeBillboardMagazine’s
U.S.TopTen,alongwith“PeaceTrain”and“MorningHasBroken,”
atraditionalhymnStevensrediscoveredinthereligioussectionofaLondonbookstore.
Withcurlyblackhairandatrimbeard,thehandsomeGreek-looking
youngcomposer/singerreplacedthesharpsixtiessuitswithjeansandT-shirts.
Whenquestioned,hehaddifficultyexplaininghismusicalappeal,
“I’mjustlikeamirror,andyouseeyourselfinme.”
StevenshadatthistimealsostartedtoinvestigateZenBuddhism,
vegetarianism,numerologyandastrology.
Therewerestillmanymysteriestolifeand
thesehereflectedinhisincreasinglypersonallyrics.
Stevens’musicfortheclassicfilmHaroldandMaude(1971)
becamesourcenourishmentfortheWestCoastgeneration.
Itcontainedseveraltracksfromhisfirstthreealbums.
Thesongs“ 