A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track (permanent way) to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.

Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most modern trains are powered by diesel locomotives or by electricity supplied by overhead wires or additional rails, although historically (from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century) the steam locomotive was the dominant form of locomotive power. Other sources of power (such as horses, rope or wire, gravity, pneumatics, batteries, and gas turbines) are possible.

The word 'train' comes from the Old French ''trahiner'', itself from the Latin ''trahere'' 'pull, draw'.

Types of trains

There are various types of train designed for particular purposes. A train can consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit (or occasionally a single or articulated powered coach, called a railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity.

Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways.

A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives and coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly the Far East and Europe, high-speed rail is used extensively for passenger travel.

Freight trains comprise of wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains.

Trains can also be 'mixed', comprising both passenger accommodation and freight vehicles. Such mixed trains are most likely to occur where services are infrequent, and running separate passenger and freight trains is not cost-effective, though the differing needs of passengers and freight usually means this is avoided where possible.

Special trains are also used for track maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way.

In the United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in Canada and the United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three or more locomotives. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as 'top and tailed', this practice typically being used when there are no reversing facilities available. Where a second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades (or down them by providing braking power) it is referred to as 'banking' in the UK, or 'helper service' in North America. Recently, many loaded trains in the US have been made up with one or more locomotives in the middle or at the rear of the train, operated remotely from the lead cab. This is referred to as "DP" or "Distributed Power."

Terminology

The railway terminology that is used to describe a 'train' varies between countries. ;United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the interchangeable terms set and unit are used to refer to a group of permanently or semi-permanently coupled vehicles, such as those of a multiple unit. While when referring to a train made up of a variety of vehicles, or of several sets/units, the term formation is used. (Although the UK public and media often forgo 'formation', for simply 'train'.) The word rake is also used for a group of coaches or wagons.

In the United Kingdom Section 83(1) of the Railways Act 1993 defines "train" as follows: :a) two or more items of rolling stock coupled together, at least one of which is a locomotive; or :b) a locomotive not coupled to any other rolling stock.

;United States In the United States, the term consist is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. When referring to motive power, consist refers to the group of locomotives powering the train. Similarly, the term trainset refers to a group of rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment (the term is most often applied to passenger train configurations).

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's 1948 operating rules define a train as: "An engine or more than one engine coupled, with or without cars, displaying markers."

Bogies

A bogie ( ) is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar tracked vehicle.

Motive power

The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses. From the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1910s onwards the steam locomotives began to be replaced by less labour intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive) diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service. In most countries dieselisation of locomotives in day-to-day use was completed by the 1970s. A few countries, most notably the People's Republic of China, where coal and labour are cheap, still use a few steam locomotives, but most have been phased out. Historic steam trains still run in many other countries, for the leisure and enthusiast market.

Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a higher initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Since the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is less viable for long-distance lines with the exception of long-distance high speed lines. Electric trains receive their current via overhead lines or through a third rail electric system.

A recent variation of the electric locomotive is the fuel cell locomotive. Fuel cell locomotives combine the advantage of not needing an electrical system in place, with the advantage of emissionless operation. However, the initial cost of such fuel cell vehicles is still substantial at the moment.

Passenger trains

A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles. It may be a self-powered multiple unit or railcar, or else a combination of one or more locomotives and one or more unpowered trailers known as coaches, cars or carriages. Passenger trains travel between stations or depots, at which passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have superior track occupancy rights over freight trains.

Oversight of a passenger train is the responsibility of the conductor. He or she is usually assisted by other crew members, such as service attendants or porters. During the heyday of North American passenger rail travel, long distance trains carried two conductors: the aforementioned train conductor, and a Pullman conductor, the latter being in charge of sleeping car personnel.

Many prestigious passenger train services have been given a specific name, some of which have become famous in literature and fiction. In past years, railroaders often referred to passenger trains as the "varnish", alluding to the bygone days of wooden-bodied coaches with their lustrous exterior finishes and fancy livery. "Blocking the varnish" meant a slow-moving freight train was obstructing a fast passenger train, causing delays.

Some passenger trains, both long distance and short distanced, may use bi-level (double-decker) cars to carry more passengers per train. Car design and the general safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making travel by rail remarkably safe.

Long-distance trains

Long-distance trains travel between many cities and/or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have a dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have sleeping cars.

High-speed rail

One notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed rail. Generally, high speed rail runs at speeds above and often operates on dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to accommodate high speeds. Japan's Shinkansen ("bullet-train") commenced operation in 1964, and was the first successful example of a high speed passenger rail system.

The fastest wheeled train running on rails is France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), which achieved a speed of , twice the takeoff speed of a Boeing 727 jetliner, under test conditions in 2007. The highest speed currently attained in scheduled revenue operation is on the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail and Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway systems in China. The TGV runs at a maximum revenue speed of , as does Germany's Inter-City Express.

In most cases, high-speed rail travel is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed , as airport check-in and boarding procedures may add as many as two hours to the actual transit time. Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is considered. As travel distance increases, the latter consideration becomes less of the total cost of operating an airliner and air travel becomes more cost-competitive.

Some high speed rail equipment employs tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of such equipment are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino, the N700 Series Shinkansen, Amtrak's Acela Express and the Talgo. Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation, allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use the same trackage (though not simultaneously, of course), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers.

Maglev

In order to achieve much faster operation over , innovative Maglev technology has been researched for years. The Shanghai Maglev Train, opened in 2003, is the fastest commercial train service of any kind, operating at speeds of up to . So far, however, Maglev has not been used for inter-city mass transit routes.

Inter-city trains

Passenger trains can be divided into three major groups:

Intercity trains: connecting cities in the fastest time possible, by passing all intermediate stations

Fast trains: calling at larger intermediate stations between cities, serving large urban communities

Regional trains: calling at all intermediate stations between cities, serving all lineside communities

The distinction between the types can be thin or even non-existent. Trains can run as Intercity services between major cities, then revert to a fast or even regional train service to serve communities at the extremity of their journey. This practice allows marginal communities remaining to be served while saving money at the expense of a longer journey time for those wishing to travel to the terminus station.

Regional trains

Regional trains usually connect between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs like inter-city train, and serve local traffic demand in relatively rural area.

Short-distance trains

Commuter trains

For shorter distances many cities have networks of commuter trains, serving the city and its suburbs. Trains are a very efficient mode of transportation to cope with large traffic demand in a metropolis. Compared with road transport, it carries many people with much smaller land area and little air pollution.

Some carriages may be laid out to have more standing room than seats, or to facilitate the carrying of prams, cycles or wheelchairs. Some countries have double-decked passenger trains for use in conurbations. Double deck high speed and sleeper trains are becoming more common in mainland Europe.

Sometimes extreme congestion of commuter trains becomes a problem. For example, an estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Yamanote Line in Tokyo, Japan, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 4.8 million passengers per day on 24 services serving 468 stations. To cope with large traffic, special cars in which the bench seats fold up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour (until 10 a.m.) are operated in Tokyo (E231 series train). In the past this train has included 2 cars with six doors on each side to shorten the time for passengers to get on and off at station.

Passenger trains usually have emergency brake handles (or a "communication cord") that the public can operate. Misuse is punished by a heavy fine.

Rapid transit

Large cities often have a metro system, also called underground, subway or tube. The trains are electrically powered, usually by third rail, and their railroads are separate from other traffic, usually without level crossings. Usually they run in tunnels in the city centre and sometimes on elevated structures in the outer parts of the city. They can accelerate and decelerate faster than heavier, long-distance trains.

The term rapid transit is used for public transport such as commuter trains, metro and light rail. However, in New York City, services on the New York City Subway have been referred to as "trains".

Tram

In most countries, such as the United Kingdom, the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law. In the US and Canada such street railways are mostly referred to as trolleys. The key difference between a railroad and a trolley system is the latter running primarily on public streets, whereas trains have a right of way separated from the public. Often the US style interurban and modern light rail are confused with a trolley system, as it too may run on on the street for short or medium long sections. In some languages the word tram also refers to interurban and light rail -style networks, in particular Dutch.

The length of a tram or trolley may be determined by national regulations. Germany has the so-called Bo-Strab standard, restricting the length of a tram to 75 metres, while in the US, vehicle length is normally restricted by local authorities, often allowing only a single type of vehicle to operate on the network.

Light rail

The term light rail is sometimes used for a modern tram system, but it may also mean an intermediate form between a tram and a train, similar to a subway except that it may have level crossings. These are then usually protected with crossing gates. In US terminology these systems are often referred to as interurban, as they connect larger urban areas in the vicinity of a major city to that city. Modern light rail systems often use abandoned heavy rail rights of way (e.g. former railway lines) to revitalize deprived areas and redevelopment sites in and around large agglomerations.

Monorail

Monorail was developed to meet medium-demand traffic in urban transit, but represents a relatively small part of the overall railway field.

Named trains

Railway companies often give a name to a train service as a marketing exercise, to raise the profile of the service and hence attract more passengers (and also to gain kudos for the company). Usually, naming is reserved for the most prestigious trains: the high-speed express trains between major cities, stopping at few intermediate stations. The names of services such as the Orient Express, the Flying Scotsman, the Flèche d'Or and the Royal Scot have passed into popular culture.

A somewhat less common practice is the naming of freight trains, for the same commercial reasons. The "Condor" was an overnight London-Glasgow express goods train, in the 1960s, hauled by pairs of "Metrovick" diesel locomotives. In the mid-1960s, British Rail introduced the "Freightliner" brand, for the new train services carrying containers between dedicated terminals around the rail network. The Rev. W. Awdry also named freight trains, coining the term ''The Flying Kipper'' for the overnight express fish train that appeared in his stories in The Railway Series books.

Other types

;Heritage trains Heritage trains are operated by volunteers, often railfans, as a tourist attraction. Usually trains are formed from historic vehicles retired from national commercial operation.

;Airport trains Airport trains transport people between terminals within an airport complex.

;Mine trains Mine trains are operated in large mines and carry both workers and goods. ;Overland trains Overland trains are used to carry cargo over rough terrain.

Freight trains

A freight train (also known as goods train) uses freight cars (also known as wagons or trucks) to transport goods or materials (cargo) – essentially any train that is not used for carrying passengers. Much of the world's freight is transported by train, and in the United States the rail system is used more for transporting freight than passengers.

Under the right circumstances, transporting freight by train is highly economic, and also more energy efficient than transporting freight by road. Rail freight is most economic when freight is being carried in bulk and over long distances, but is less suited to short distances and small loads. Bulk aggregate movements of a mere twenty miles (32 km) can be cost effective even allowing for trans-shipment costs. These trans-shipment costs dominate in many cases and many modern practices such as Intermodal container freight are aimed at minimizing these.

The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. For this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road competition. Many governments are now trying to encourage more freight onto trains, because of the benefits that it would bring.

There are many different types of freight trains, which are used to carry many different kinds of freight, with many different types of wagons. One of the most common types on modern railways are container trains, where containers can be lifted on and off the train by cranes and loaded off or onto trucks or ships.

In the U.S. this type of freight train has largely superseded the traditional boxcar (wagon-load) type of freight train, with which the cargo has to be loaded or unloaded manually. In Europe the sliding wall wagon has taken over from the ordinary covered goods wagon.

In some countries "piggy-back" trains or rolling highways are used: In the latter case trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used through the Channel Tunnel between England and France, and for the trans-Alpine service between France and Italy (this service uses Modalohr road trailer carriers). "Piggy-back" trains are the fastest growing type of freight trains in the United States, where they are also known as "trailer on flatcar" or TOFC trains. Piggy-back trains require no special modifications to the vehicles being carried. An alternative type of "inter-modal" vehicle, known as a Roadrailer, is designed to be physically attached to the train. The original trailers were fitted with two sets of wheels — one set flanged, for the trailer to run connected to other such trailers as a rail vehicle in a train; and one set tyred, for use as the semi-trailer of a road vehicle. More modern trailers have only road wheels and are designed to be carried on specially adapted bogies (trucks) when moving on rails.

There are also many other types of wagons, such as "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles. There are refrigerator cars for transporting foods such as ice cream. There are simple types of open-topped wagons for transporting minerals and bulk material such as coal, and tankers for transporting liquids and gases. Today, however, most coal and aggregates are moved in hopper wagons that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.

Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by passengers who do not wish to pay money, or do not have the money to travel by ordinary means. This is referred to as "freighthopping" and is considered by some communities to be a viable form of transport. A common way of boarding the train illegally is by sneaking into a train yard and stowing away in an unattended boxcar; a more dangerous practice is trying to catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities. Railroads treat it as trespassing and may prosecute it as such.

Trains in popular culture

See:

See also

Rail accidents

Lists of rail accidents

References

Further reading

, 256 pp.

External links

Category:Rail transport

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Name	All Angels
Background	group_or_band
Origin	London, England
Genre	Classical crossover, Operatic pop
Years active	2006-present
Current members	Melanie NakhlaCharlotte RitchieDaisy ChuteRachel Fabri|Previous_members Laura Wright }}

All Angels are a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla and Charlotte Ritchie The group's style is classical crossover music and close harmony arrangement, with a repertoire spanning classical, choral, opera and pop including Franz Schubert's ''Ellens dritter Gesang'', ''Agnus Dei'' (the choral arrangement of Samuel Barber's ''Adagio for Strings'') and the ''Sancta Maria intermezzo'' from Pietro Mascagni's ''Cavalleria rusticana'', along with the ''Flower Duet'' from Léo Delibes' ''Lakmé'' and the ''Barcarolle'' from Jacques Offenbach's ''The Tales of Hoffmann'', plus pop songs such as Robbie Williams' ''Angels'', Fleetwood Mac's ''Songbird'', Coldplay's ''The Scientist'', True Colours, Goodnight my Angel (Billy Joel) Muses' Starlight and Prince's ''Nothing Compares 2 U''. They have also performed the National Anthem at Twickenham and at the England vs. USA football match in Wembley Stadium in the summer of 2008.

They recorded their first three albums with Universal and have over 1 million sales. Their self-titled debut album, ''All Angels'' was released in 2006, and their second album, ''Into Paradise'' was released on 26 November 2007. A third album ''Fly away'' was released in January 2010. Songs on this album include Norah Jones's Come Away With Me, Send In The Clowns, Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, Eric Whitacre's Sleep, and a duet with The Harlem Gospel Choir on I'll Fly Away. They have sold over 1,000,000 albums to date. All Angels are managed by TCB Group.

They undertook a UK tour supporting Katherine Jenkins in Summer 2009 and completed an arena tour later that year with Young Voices. The have been invited to perform in Los Angeles as part of the Inspiration Awards raising money for a Breast Cancer charity they have been affiliated with for the last four years.

History

All Angels signed a five album deal with Universal Classics and Jazz in 2006 to be targeted at the populist classical crossover market. Each of the groups members had to go through an audition process in order to join the group, and were selected from 120 auditionees. Their first live performance was at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, London.

The group released their first album at the end of 2006, entering the United Kingdom (UK) charts at number nine. It was the UK's fastest selling debut for a classical act and won them a platinum disc, and was also nominated in the Classical BRIT Awards album of the year category in 2007. They sang in front of the Queen at the Festival of Remembrance held at the Royal Albert Hall on 9 November and at ''Silence in the Square'', a concert held in Trafalgar Square on 11 November. In December 2006 they released the single ''Angels'', the first ever Christmas single to be released in association with the Royal British Legion and their Poppy Appeal.

They sang at the Classical BRIT Award ceremony held on 3 May and broadcast on ITV on 6 May.

They made a cameo appearance in the British soap opera, Emmerdale during a wedding on 9 October 2007 singing ''Songbird''. They again sang at the Festival of Remembrance on 10 November. On 26 November they released a second album, ''Into Paradise'', which features ''Nothing Compares 2 U'' and ''Sancte Deus''. At the same time the album was released the winner was announced of the national ''Angel Idol'' competition, run in conjunction with Classic FM to find a fifth member for the group. The winner was Alexandra Lawrie who then had the opportunity to record a track and perform with the girls at a concert in London on 28 November.

They appeared on the BBC Radio 4 2007 Christmas Service, held at Wesley's Chapel in London and on the BBC 2007 New Year's Eve show, singing ''Nothing Compares 2 U''.

On 14 January 2008 All Angels sang ''The Sound of Silence'' and ''Pie Jesu'' in a one-off concert at the International Eisteddfod’s launch in Cardiff. They appeared at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen on 11 July 2008. On 27 January they appeared on Songs of Praise on BBC One. In 2008 they embarked on a Cathedral tour in the Spring and further touring at open air concerts venues including Sandringham and Gawsworth Hall. They performed for the "Make a wish Foundation Summer Ball at Blenheim Palace. They went into the recording studio at the end of 2008 and into early 2009 recording tracks for their third cd.

On 13 October 2009 All Angels performed a concert at Paisley Abbey with the Glasgow-based Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir as part of the Paisley Choral Festival. The two groups collaborated on the song I'll Fly Away as a joint finale. They also performed their own concert at The Thaxted Festival.

On 10 December 2009, they participated in the Birmingham Young Voices concert. They sang with VV Brown, a singer from Northampton. All Angels are preparing for an EP to come out in november-december time of 2010. They are also returning for a secound year to participate in the yound voices tour 2010 which kicked off in Birmingham where they shared the stage with Island artists such as Dionne Bromfield (Amy Winehouse's goddaughter) and Josh Osho. They have performed several times at charity dinners at The Houses of Parliament and at many private corporate occasions. They were honoured to be performing in the Spring of 2011 for the 90th Anniversary for the Royal British Legion in Alicante, Spain. All Angels were thrilled to be asked to record the theme to the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final and to perform it at the match at Wembley Stadium between Barcelona and Manchester United.

Members

Daisy Chute

Daisy Chute (born 17 August 1989) is from Edinburgh. She studied at St Mary's Music School Edinburgh,where she was a chorister at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral and Loretto School and began her performing career at the age of nine as the young Cosette in the touring production of Les Misérables. At the age of thirteen she appeared as a young Judy Garland in Stars In Their Eyes Kids, and made her first appearance on the Edinburgh Fringe. At fifteen she recorded her debut album, ''Simply Jazz'' after she performed with a trio at a jazz cabaret show at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. A track from her ''Simply Jazz'' album was played by Humphrey Lyttelton on his BBC Radio 2 ''Best of Jazz'' show making Chute the youngest performer to ever be showcased on his show. Chute finished her secondary schooling at the Purcell School of Music in Bushey, Hertfordshire where she studied voice, piano and composition and gained 3 A's at A level examinations. In 2005 she was a joint winner, of a Scottish songwriting competition for the music festival ''Burnsong'', with her song, ''Promises to Keep''. All the winning songs were performed professionally and broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland.

After meeting composer, Howard Goodall at the Royal Albert Hall's School Proms where she was fronting Loretto School ensemble, she was asked to sing on his television show, ''How Music Works'' where she performed the Shaker song '''Tis A Gift To Be Simple'' with Anastacia Nosobin on guitar on the first programme of the series. She also recorded the theme tune for the BBC Radio series ''What is Melody'' written by Dr Richard Niles.

In June 2006 she was a "Highly Commended" finalist in the joint BBC Proms and The Guardian newspaper Young Composer Competition.

On 24 September 2006 she performed at Wigmore Hall in London, giving a solo recital of Alec Wilder songs. She was signed to Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ) on the day she turned seventeen, as part of All Angels. Chute has also had a brief stint presenting the CBBC news programme, Newsround at the Pop Poll Awards and interviewed Ronan Keating, Billie Piper and Westlife. In summer 2008, she was featured in ''Highland Heartbeat'', a Scottish music special filmed by American broadcaster PBS and broadcast throughout the USA in the Spring of 2009. She performed last year touring the music societies as guest vocalist with classical guitarist, Simon Thacker and Camerata Ritmata.

In 2008 Chute won the Scottish Music Centre's Young Composer's competition.

She has now received a Bachelor of Music degree at King's College, University of London.

Melanie Nakhla

Melanie Nakhla (born 29 December 1988 in Malta) She moved with her family to Shrewsbury, Shropshire when she was three years old, where she attended Prestfelde School. She began singing at a young age, joining the Shrewsbury Children's Choir when she was eight years old. She competed in the Oswestry Eisteddfod when she was ten years old coming first in a singing competition. She was a student at Wycombe Abbey in High Wycombe where she was head of choir. She has also appeared at the opening of the Severn Theatre in Shrewsbury. She is studying French and Spanish at University College London.

Charlotte Ritchie

Charlotte Ritchie, (born 29 August 1989 in Clapham, London) joined the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) aged eleven and performed in a touring production of ''Pendragon'' in Japan, as well as appearing in summer productions in London, Devon and Edinburgh with the NYMT and Youth Music Theatre:UK. Educated at James Allen's Girls' School in Dulwich South London, she appeared as an extra in Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire and went on to play the lead character in a short film ''The Open Doors'' with Michael Sheen and Cherie Lunghi. She appeared in ''The Pierglass'', at the Young Pleasance Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2006.

Ritchie was presenter on ''Boomerang'' and played a neighbour in the BBC's ''Life of Riley''. She is has now completed her degree in English and Drama at Bristol University.

Rachel Fabri

Rachel Fabri (born 12 September 1985 in Malta) - Raised in Malta, she trained at the Masquerade Theatre Arts School. She also trained privately under the tuiton of soprano Gillian Zammit. She later received a masters degree in musical theatre at the Guildford School of Acting. She is an actor as well as a singer singing all kinds of different styles. Rachel is the newest member of the group, having joined the All Angels in July 2010. Rachel is a Psychology graduate from the University of Malta. Rachel's roles have included performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as the lead role in 'Persephone', the London Palladium in 'Me and My Girl' and Abdel Akle in the Lee Tamahori film 'The Devil's Double'

Laura Wright

Laura Wright, (born 17 June 1990) left the group in Spring 2010 but continued performing with the group until June 2010.

Discography

Albums

2006: ''All Angels''

2007: ''All Angels (Revised) - Digital release''

2007: ''Into Paradise''

2009: ''Fly Away''

2010: "Starlight" (EP Digital Release 22 November)

Singles

2006: ''Songbird''

2006: ''Angels''

2007: ''Nothing Compares 2 U''

Featured

2007: ''The Number One Classical Album 2008'' - "Sancte Deus (Nimrod)

2008: ''Tenor at the Movies'' - "Vois Sur Ton Chemin" from Les Choristes with Jonathan Ansell

2008: ''A New World'' - "Anytime Anywhere" with Will Martin

References

External links

Official website

All Angels International Online

Official MySpace site

Daisy Chute's Myspace musician page

Rachel Fabri's Myspace page

Interview 2007 on ilikemusic.com

All Angels on classicalx.com

All Angels interview on classicalx.com

Category:British vocal groups Category:Girl groups Category:Opera crossover singers Category:People educated at James Allen's Girls' School Category:British girl groups Category:Malta

de:All Angels fi:All Angels

name	Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens
background	solo_singer
birth name	Steven Demetre Georgiou
alias	Steve Adams, Yusuf
born	July 21, 1948Marylebone, LondonEngland, United Kingdom
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin, organ, piano, mellotron, double bass, percussion
genre	Folk rock, psychedelic rock, soft rock, pop rock, nasheed, spoken word, hamd
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	1966–1980 (as Cat Stevens)1995–present (as Yusuf Islam)
label	Deram (1966-1969)Island (1970-1980) A&M; (1970-1980) Jamal Records Ya Records
associated acts	Alun Davies
website	www.yusufislam.org.uk
notable instruments	Baldwin PianoEpiphone CasinoEpiphone EJ-200Fender RhodesFender TelecasterGibson Everly Brothers FlattopGibson ES-335Gibson J-200Hagstrom BJ12Ovation electro-acoustic Guitar }}

Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou, 21 July 1948) originally and commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.

His early 1970s record albums ''Tea for the Tillerman'' and ''Teaser and the Firecat'' were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his 1972 album ''Catch Bull at Four'' sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone and was ''Billboard'''s number-one LP for three consecutive weeks. He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which has been a hit single for four different artists.

Stevens converted to Islam in December 1977 and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award, and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled ''An Other Cup''. He now goes professionally by the single name Yusuf. His newest album, ''Roadsinger'', was released on 5 May 2009.

Early life (1948–1965)

Steven Georgiou, born in Marylebone, London, England, was the third child of a Greek-Cypriot father, Stavros Georgiou (b. 1900), and a Swedish mother, Ingrid Wickman (b. 1915). He has an older sister, Anita, and brother, David. The family lived above Moulin Rouge, the restaurant that his parents operated on the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue, a short walk from Piccadilly Circus in the Soho theatre district of London. All family members worked in the restaurant. His parents divorced when he was about 8 years old, but they continued to maintain the family restaurant and live above it.

Although his father was Greek Orthodox and his mother a Swedish Baptist, Georgiou was sent to a Catholic school, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Primary School in Macklin Street, which was closer to his father's business on Drury Lane. Georgiou developed an interest in piano at a fairly young age, eventually using the family baby grand piano to work out the chords, since no one else there played well enough to teach him. Inspired by the popularity of The Beatles, at age 15 he extended his interest to the guitar, convinced his father to pay £8 for his first instrument, and began playing it and writing songs. He would escape at times from his family responsibilities to the rooftop above their home, and listen to the tunes of the musicals drifting from just around the corner; from Denmark Street, which was then the centre of the British music industry. Later, Stevens has emphasized that the advent of ''West Side Story'' in particular affected him, giving him a "different view of life", he said in 2000, on a VH1 ''Behind the Music'' programme. With interests in both art and music, he and his mother moved to Gävle, Sweden, where he attended primary school (Solängsskolan). In Gävle he also started developing his drawing skills after being influenced by his uncle Hugo Wickman, a painter.

He attended other local West End schools, where he says he was constantly in trouble, and did poorly in everything but art. He was called "the artist boy" and mentions that "I was beat up, but I was noticed". He went on to take a one-year course of study at Hammersmith School of Art, as he considered a career as a cartoonist. Though he enjoyed art (his later record albums would feature his original artwork on his album covers), he wanted to establish a musical career and began to perform originally under the stage name "Steve Adams" in 1965 while at Hammersmith. At that point, his goal was to become a songwriter. Among the musicians who influenced him were Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, blues artists Lead Belly and Muddy Waters, John Lennon, Biff Rose (who played on his first album), Leo Kottke, and Paul Simon. He also wanted to emulate composers who wrote musicals, like Ira Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. In 1965 he signed a publishing deal with Ardmore & Beechwood and cut several demos, including "The First Cut Is the Deepest".

Musical career (1966–1970)

Early musical career

Georgiou began to perform his songs in coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried forming a band, but soon realised he preferred performing solo. Thinking that his given name might not be memorable to prospective fans, he chose a stage name ''Cat Stevens'', in part because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because he said, "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals." In 1966, at age 18, he impressed manager/producer Mike Hurst, formerly of British vocal group The Springfields, with his songs and Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and then helped him get a record deal. The first singles were hits. "I Love My Dog" charted at #28, and "Matthew and Son", the title song from his debut album, went to #2. "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" reached Britain's Top 10, and the album ''Matthew and Son'' itself began charting. The original version of the The Tremeloes cover hit, "Here Comes My Baby", was written and recorded by Stevens.

Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Engelbert Humperdinck. The music business had not yet begun targeting specific audiences, so he frequently toured with what now would be considered an unusual array of celebrities. Stevens was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the British pop music charts. Some of that success was attributed to the pirate radio station Wonderful Radio London, which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he went on the air with other recording artists who had benefited from the station to mourn its closure.

His December 1967 album ''New Masters'' failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The album is now most notable for his song "The First Cut Is the Deepest", a song he sold for £30 to P.P. Arnold that was to become a massive hit for her, and an international hit for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, James Morrison, and Sheryl Crow. Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him two back-to-back ASCAP "Songwriter of the Year" awards, in 2005 and 2006.

Tuberculosis

Stevens contracted tuberculosis in 1969 and was close to death at the time of his admittance to the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst; he spent months recuperating in hospital and a year of convalescence. During this time Stevens began to question aspects of his life, and spirituality. He later said, "to go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut."

He took up meditation, yoga, and metaphysics; read about other religions; and became a vegetarian. As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence, and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as forty songs, many of which would appear on his albums in years to come.

Changes in musical sound after illness

The lack of success of Stevens' second album mirrored a difference of personal tastes in musical direction, and a growing resentment at producer Mike Hurst's attempts to re-create another album like that of his debut, with heavy-handed orchestration, and over-production, rather than the folk rock sound Stevens was attempting to produce. He admits having purposefully sabotaged his own contract with Hurst, making outlandishly expensive orchestral demands and threatening legal action, which resulted in his goal: release from his contract with Deram Records, a sub-label of major Decca Records. Upon regaining his health at home after his release from the hospital, Stevens recorded some of his newly written songs on his tape recorder, and played his changing sound for a few new record executives. After hiring agent Barry Krost, who had arranged for an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Records, Blackwell offered him a "chance to record [his songs] whenever and with whomever he liked, and more importantly to Cat, however he liked". With Krost's recommendation, Stevens signed with Paul Samwell-Smith, previously the bassist of the Yardbirds, to be his new producer.

Musical career (1970–1978)

Height of popularity

Healthy and sporting a new beard, Stevens was armed with a catalogue of new songs that reflected his new perspective on what he wanted to bring to the world with his music. His previous work had sold in the United Kingdom, but Stevens was still relatively unknown by the public across the Atlantic. To rectify this, after signing with Island Records in 1970, an American distribution deal was arranged with A&M; Records' Jerry Moss in North America. Stevens began work on ''Mona Bone Jakon'', a folk-rock based album that was quite different from his earlier "pop" style records, drawing on his new, introspective work. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith paired guitarist Alun Davies, who was currently working as a session musician, with Stevens. Alun was the more experienced veteran of two albums which already had begun to explore the emerging genres of skiffle and folk rock music. Davies was also thought a perfect fit in particular for his "fingerwork" on the guitar, harmonizing and contributing backing vocals with Stevens. They originally met just to record ''Mona Bone Jakon'', but developed a fast friendship; Davies, like Stevens, was a perfectionist, appearing after all the sound checks had been completed, just to be sure that all the equipment and sound were prepared for each concert. He recorded on all but two of the succeeding pop music albums Stevens released, and continued performing and recording with him until Stevens' retirement. The two remained friends, however, and years later, when Stevens re-emerged as Yusuf Islam after 27 years, Davies appeared again performing at his side, and has remained there.

The first single released from ''Mona Bone Jakon'' was "Lady D'Arbanville", which Stevens wrote about his young American girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville. The record, with a madrigal sound unlike most music played on pop radio, with sounds of djembes and bass in addition to Stevens' and Davies' guitars, reached #8 in the UK. It was the first of his hits to get real airplay in the United States. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record in 1971. Other songs written for her included "Maybe You're Right", and "Just Another Night". In addition, the song, "Pop Star", about his experience as a teen star, and "Katmandu", featuring Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel playing flute, were featured. ''Mona Bone Jakon'' was an early example of the solo singer-songwriter album format that was becoming popular for other artists as well. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine compared its popularity with that of Elton John's ''Tumbleweed Connection'', saying it was played "across the board, across radio formats".

''Mona Bone Jakon'' was the precursor for Stevens' international breakthrough album, ''Tea for the Tillerman'', which became a top-10 ''Billboard'' hit. Within six months of its release, it had sold over 500,000 copies, attaining gold record status in the United States and in Britain. The combination of Stevens' new folk-rock style and accessible lyrics which spoke of everyday situations and problems, mixed with the beginning of spiritual questions about life, would remain in his music from then on. The album features the top 20 single "Wild World"; a parting song after D'Arbanville moved on. "Wild World" has been credited as the song that gave ''Tea for the Tillerman'' 'enough kick' to get it played on FM radio; and the head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, was quoted as calling it "the best album we’ve ever released". Other album cuts include "Hard-Headed Woman", and "Father and Son", a song sung both in baritone and tenor, about the struggle between fathers and their sons who are faced with their own personal choices in life. In 2001, this album was certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record, having sold 3 million copies in the United States at that time. It is ranked at #206 in ''Rolling Stone Magazine's'' 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

After the end of his relationship with D'Arbanville, Stevens noted the effect it had on writing his music, saying,

"Everything I wrote while I was away was in a transitional period and reflects that. Like Patti. A year ago we split; I had been with her for two years. What I write about Patti and my family... when I sing the songs now, I learn strange things. I learn the meanings of my songs late..."

Having established a signature sound, Stevens enjoyed a string of successes over the following years. 1971's ''Teaser and the Firecat'' album reached number two and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release in the United States. It yielded several hits, including "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken" (a Christian hymn with lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon), and "Moon Shadow". This album was also certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record in 2001, with over three million US sales through that time. When interviewed on a Boston radio station, Stevens said about ''Teaser and the Firecat'':

"I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want... 'Moonshadow'? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there... right on the rocks where the waves were, like, blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs."

For seven months from 1971 to 1972 Stevens was romantically linked to popular singer Carly Simon while both were produced by Samwell-Smith. During that time both wrote songs for and about one another. Simon wrote and recorded at least two top 50 songs, "Legend in Your Own Time" and "Anticipation" about Stevens. He reciprocated in his song to her, after their romance, entitled, "Sweet Scarlet".

His next album, ''Catch Bull at Four'', released in 1972, was his most rapidly successful album in the United States, reaching gold record status in 15 days, and holding the number-one position on the ''Billboard'' charts for three weeks. This album continued the introspective and spiritual lyrics that he was known for, combined with a rougher-edged voice and a less acoustic sound than his previous records, utilizing synthesizers and other instruments. Although the sales of the album indicated Stevens' popularity, the album did not produce any real hits, with the exception of the single "Sitting", which charted at #16. ''Catch Bull at Four'' was Platinum certified in 2001.

Exploration with movie soundtracks

In July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, "But I Might Die Tonight", for the Jerzy Skolimowski film ''Deep End''. In 1971, Stevens provided nine songs to the soundtrack of the black comedy ''Harold and Maude'' which became a popular cult movie celebrating the free spirit, and brought Stevens' music to a wider audience, continuing to do so long after he stopped recording in the late 1970s. Among the songs were "Where Do the Children Play?," "Trouble," and "I Think I See the Light." Two of the songs, "Don't Be Shy" and "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out," were not released on any album until their inclusion in 1984 on a second "greatest hits" collection: ''Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.''

After his religious conversion in the late 1970s, Stevens stopped granting permission for his songs to be used in films. However, almost twenty years later, in 1997, the movie ''Rushmore'' was allowed to use his songs "Here Comes My Baby" and "The Wind", showing a new willingness on his part to release his music from his Western "pop star" days. This was followed in 2000 by the inclusion of "Peace Train" in the movie ''Remember the Titans'', in 2000 by the use in ''Almost Famous'' of the song "The Wind", and in 2006 the inclusion of "Peace Train" on the soundtrack to ''We Are Marshall''. In 2007, an excerpt of "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out" is sung by characters in ''Charlie Bartlett'' whose title character resembles the character of Harold in ''Harold and Maude'', where the song first appeared. In 2009, the song "Father and Son" was in the soundtrack of the movie ''The Boat That Rocked'' (known as ''Pirate Radio'' in the U.S.).

Later Cat Stevens recordings

Subsequent releases in the 1970s also did well on the charts and in ongoing sales, although they did not touch the success he had from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Stevens moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a tax exile from the United Kingdom, (however, he later donated the money to UNESCO). During that time he created the album ''Foreigner'', which was a departure from the music that had brought him to the height of his fame. It differed in several respects: entirely written by Stevens, he dropped his band and produced the record without the assistance of Samwell-Smith, who had played a large role in catapulting him to fame, and instead of guitar, he played keyboard instruments throughout the album. It was intended to show a funk/soul element rising in popularity that Stevens had come to appreciate. One side of ''Foreigner'' was continuous, much different from the radio-friendly pop tunes fans had come to expect. In November 1973 he performed side two of the album at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, with a pre-arranged uninterrupted quadraphonic simulcast on the ABC network titled the "Moon and Star" concert; this performance included his band, but they were all but overshadowed by an orchestra. The album produced a couple of singles including "The Hurt", but did not reach the heights he had once enjoyed.

The follow-up to ''Foreigner'' was ''Buddha and the Chocolate Box'', largely a return to the instrumentation and styles employed in ''Teaser and the Firecat'' and ''Tea for the Tillerman''. Featuring the return of Alun Davies and best known for "Oh Very Young", ''Buddha and the Chocolate Box'' reached platinum status in 2001. Stevens' next album was the concept album ''Numbers'', a less successful departure for him.

The 1977 ''Izitso'' included his last chart hit, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks. Linda Lewis appears in the song's video, with Cat Stevens singing to her, as they portray former schoolmates, singing to each other on a schoolyard merry-go-round. This is one of few videos that Stevens made, other than simple videos of concert performances. The album is also notable for "Was Dog a Doughnut", a precursor to the electro music genre of the 1980s.

His final original album under the name Cat Stevens was ''Back to Earth'', released in late 1978, which was also the first album produced by Samwell-Smith since his peak in single album sales in the early 1970s.

Several compilation albums were released before and after he stopped recording. After Stevens left Decca Records they bundled his first two albums together as a set, hoping to ride the commercial tide of his early success; later his newer labels did the same, and he himself released compilations. The most successful of the compilation albums was the 1975 ''Greatest Hits'' which has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In May 2003 he received his first Platinum Europe Award from the IFPI for ''Remember Cat Stevens, The Ultimate Collection'', indicating over one million European sales.

Religious conversion

While on holiday in Marrakech, Morocco, shortly after visiting Ibiza, Stevens was intrigued by the sound of the Aḏhān, the Islamic ritual call to prayer, which was explained to him as "music for God". Stevens said, "I thought, music for God? I’d never heard that before – I’d heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God!"

In 1976 Stevens nearly drowned off the coast of Malibu, California, USA and said he shouted: “Oh God! If you save me I will work for you.” He related that right afterward a wave appeared and carried him back to shore. This brush with death intensified his long-held quest for spiritual truth. He had looked into "Buddhism, Zen, I Ching, Numerology, tarot cards and Astrology". Stevens' brother David Gordon brought him a copy of the Qur'an as a birthday gift from a trip to Jerusalem. Stevens took to it right away, and began his transition to Islam.

During the time he was studying the Qur'an, he began to identify more and more with the name of Joseph, a man bought and sold in the market place, which is how he says he had increasingly felt within the music business. Regarding his conversion, in his 2006 interview with Alan Yentob, he stated, "to some people, it may have seemed like an enormous jump, but for me, it was a gradual move to this." And, in a ''Rolling Stone'' magazine interview, he reaffirmed this, saying, "I had found the spiritual home I'd been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like "Peace Train" and "On The Road To Find Out", it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling."

Stevens formally converted to the Islamic religion on 23 December 1977, taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. Yusuf is the Arabic rendition of the name Joseph. He stated that he "always loved the name Joseph" and was particularly drawn to the story of Joseph in the Qur'an. Although he discontinued his pop career, he was persuaded to perform one last time before what would become his twenty-five year musical hiatus. Appearing with his hair freshly shorn and an untrimmed beard, he headlined a charity concert on 22 November 1979 in Wembley Stadium to benefit UNICEF's International Year of the Child. The concert closed with a performance by Stevens, David Essex, Alun Davies, and Stevens' brother, David, who wrote the song that was the finale, "Child for a Day".

Yusuf married Fauzia Mubarak Ali on 7 September 1979, at Regent's Park Mosque in London. They have five children and currently live in London, spending part of each year in Dubai.

Life as Yusuf Islam (1978–present)

Muslim faith and musical career

Following his conversion, Yusuf abandoned his music career. When he became a Muslim in 1977, he said, the Imam at the mosque was told that he was a pop star, and he told Yusuf that it was fine to continue as a musician, so long as the songs were morally acceptable. But Yusuf says he knew there were aspects of the music business, such as vanity and temptations, that did go against the teachings of the Qur'an, and this was the primary reason he gave for retreating from the spotlight. But in his first performance on the television show ''Later... with Jools Holland'', 27 years after leaving the music business, and in other interviews, he gave different reasons for leaving: "A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing," he said. "You come to a point where you have sung, more or less ... your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."

Estimating in January 2007 that he continues to earn approximately $1.5 million USD a year from his Cat Stevens music, he decided to use his accumulated wealth and ongoing earnings from his music career on philanthropic and educational causes in the Muslim community of London and elsewhere. In 1981, he founded the Islamia Primary School in Salusbury Road in the north London area of Kilburn and, soon after, founded several Muslim secondary schools; in 1992, Yusuf set up The Association of Muslim Schools (AMS-UK), a charity that brought together all the Muslim schools in the UK, and served as chairman. He is also the founder and chairman of the ''Small Kindness'' charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans, Indonesia, and Iraq. He served as chairman of the charity Muslim Aid from 1985 to 1993.

In 1985, Yusuf decided to return to the public spotlight for the first time since his religious conversion, at the historic Live Aid concert, concerned with the famine threatening Ethiopia. Though he had written a song especially for the occasion, his appearance was skipped when Elton John's set ran too long.

Salman Rushdie controversy

The singer attracted controversy in 1989, during an address to students at London's Kingston University, where he was asked about the fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie. The media interpreted his response as support for the fatwa. Yusuf released a statement the following day denying that he supported vigilantism, and claiming that he had merely recounted the legal Islamic punishment for blasphemy. In a BBC interview, he displayed a newspaper clipping from that period, with quotes from his statement. Subsequent comments made by him in 1989 on a British television programme were also seen as being in support of the fatwa. In a statement in the FAQ section of one of his Web sites, Yusuf asserted that while he regretted the comments, he was joking and that the show was improperly edited. In the years since these comments, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.

September 11 attacks

Immediately following the 11 September 2001, attacks on the United States, he said:

:I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment.

He appeared on videotape on a VH1 pre-show for the October 2001 Concert for New York City, condemning the attacks and singing his song "Peace Train" for the first time in public in more than 20 years, as an ''a cappella'' version. He also donated a portion of his box-set royalties to the Fund for victims' families, and the rest to orphans in underdeveloped countries. During the same year, Yusuf Islam dedicated time and effort in joining the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism, an organization that worked towards battling misperceptions and acts against others because of their religious beliefs and/or racial identity, after many Muslims reported a backlash against them due in part to the grief caused by the events in the United States on 9-11.

Denial of entry into the United States

On 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, travelling to a meeting with U.S. entertainer Dolly Parton, who had recorded "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, his name was flagged as being on a no fly list. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by officers from the Department of Homeland Security.

The following day, Yusuf was denied entry and flown back to the United Kingdom. A spokesman for Homeland Security claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities". The Israeli government had deported Yusuf in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to the Palestinian organisation Hamas; he denied doing so knowingly. "I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas," says Yusuf, who repeatedly has condemned terrorism and Islamic extremism. "At the time I was reported to have done it, I didn't know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land." However, the United States Department of Homeland Security added him to a "watch list". The US removal provoked a small international controversy, and led British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations. Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, "I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right".

Yusuf believed his inclusion on a "watch list" may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 Yusuf requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the US authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to a statement by Yusuf, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Yusuf himself was not the suspected terrorism supporter. Romanization of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings: the transliteration of the Islamic name for Joseph (Yusuf's chosen name) lists a dozen spellings.

Two years later, in December 2006 Yusuf was admitted without incident into the United States for several radio concert performances and interviews to promote his new record. Yusuf said of the incident at the time, that, "No reason was ever given, but being asked to repeat the spelling of my name again and again, made me think it was a fairly simple mistake of identity. Rumors which circulated after made me imagine otherwise."

Yusuf has written a song about the 2004 exclusion from the U.S., entitled "Boots and Sand", recorded in the summer of 2008 and featuring Paul McCartney, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, and Terry Sylvester.

Libel cases

British reports regarding inadmissibility to the U.S.

In October 2004 the British newspapers ''The Sun'' and ''The Sunday Times'' voiced their support for Yusuf's exclusion from the U.S., claiming that he had supported terrorism. Yusuf successfully sued for libel and received a substantial out-of-court financial settlement and apologies from the newspapers stating that he had never supported terrorism and acknowledging that he had recently been given a Man of Peace award from the private Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Committee. However ''The Sunday Times'' managing editor Richard Caseby said that while there was an "agreed settlement", they "always denied liability" and "disagreed with Cat Stevens' lawyers interpretation", but took a "pragmatic view" of the lawsuit.

Yusuf responded that he was "delighted by the settlement [which] helps vindicate my character and good name. ... It seems to be the easiest thing in the world these days to make scurrilous accusations against Muslims, and in my case it directly impacts on my relief work and damages my reputation as an artist. The harm done is often difficult to repair", and added that he intended to donate the financial award given to him by the court to help orphans of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

Yusuf wrote about the experience in a newspaper article titled "A Cat in a Wild World".

False rumour regarding unveiled women

On 18 July 2008, Yusuf received substantial undisclosed damages from the World Entertainment News Network following their distribution of the false rumour that the singer did not speak to unveiled women. The allegations first surfaced in German newspaper [[B.Z. (newspaper)| B.Z.]] after Yusuf's trip to Berlin in March 2007 to collect the Echo music award for "life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures". Once again he was awarded damages after the World Entertainment News Network allowed an article to be published on Contactmusic.com, a "website said to have 2.2 million page views a month", alleging that Yusuf would not speak to unveiled women with the exception of his wife. His solicitor was reported as having said that "he was made out to be 'so sexist and bigoted that he refused at an awards ceremony to speak to or even acknowledge any women who were not wearing a veil'". The offending news agency apologized, admitting that Yusuf has never had any problem in working with women and, contrary to the article in question, never has required a third party as an intermediary to function at work. The money from this lawsuit will go to Yusuf's ''Small Kindness'' Charity.

Yusuf himself discusses this topic on his website, saying, "It’s true that I have asked my manager to respectfully request lady presenters refrain from embracing me when giving awards or during public appearances, but that has nothing to do with my feelings or respect for them. Islam simply requires me to honour the dignity of ladies or young girls who are not closely related to me, and avoid physical intimacy, however innocent it may be." He adds, "My four daughters all follow the basic wearing of clothes which modestly cover their God-given beauty. They’re extremely well educated; they do not cover their faces and interact perfectly well with friends and society."

Return to music

Yusuf gradually resumed his musical career in the 1990s. His initial recordings had not included any musical instruments other than percussion, and featured lyrics about Islamic themes. He invested in building his own recording studio which he named Mountain of Light Studios in the late 1990s, and he was featured as a guest singer on "God Is the Light", a song on an album of nasheeds by the group Raihan. In addition, he invited and collaborated with other Muslim singers, including Canadian artist Dawud Wharnsby. After Yusuf's friend, Irfan Ljubijankic, the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was killed by a Serbian rocket attack, Yusuf appeared at a 1997 benefit concert in Sarajevo and recorded a benefit album named after a song written by Ljubijankic, ''I Have No Cannons That Roar''. Realizing there were few educational resources designed to teach children about the Islamic religion, Yusuf wrote and produced a children's album, ''A Is for Allah'', in 2000 with the assistance of South African singer-songwriter Zain Bhikha. The title song was one Yusuf had written years before to introduce his first child to both the religion and the Arabic alphabet. He also established his own record label, "Jamal Records", and Mountain of Light Productions, and he donates a percentage of his projects' proceeds to his ''Small Kindness'' charity, whose name is taken from the Qur'an.

On the occasion of the 2000 re-release of his Cat Stevens albums, he explained that he had stopped performing in English due to his misunderstanding of the Islamic faith. "This issue of music in Islam is not as cut-and-dried as I was led to believe ... I relied on heresy ''[sic]'', that was perhaps my mistake."

Yusuf has reflected that his decision to leave the Western pop music business was perhaps too quick with too little communication for his fans. For most, it was a surprise, and even his guitarist, Alun Davies said in later interviews that he hadn't believed that Stevens would actually go through with it, after his many forays into other religions throughout their relationship. Yusuf himself has said the "cut" between his former life and his life as a Muslim might have been too quick, too severe, and that more people might have been better informed about Islam, and given an opportunity to better understand it, and himself, if he had simply removed those items that were considered ''harām'', in his performances, allowing him to express himself musically and educate listeners through his music without violating any religious constraints.

In 2003, after repeated encouragement from within the Muslim world, Yusuf once again recorded "Peace Train" for a compilation CD, which also included performances by David Bowie and Paul McCartney. He performed "Wild World" in Nelson Mandela's 46664 concert with his former session player Peter Gabriel, the first time he had publicly performed in English in 25 years. In December 2004, he and Ronan Keating released a new version of "Father and Son": the song entered the charts at number two, behind Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". They also produced a video of the pair walking between photographs of fathers and sons, while singing the song. The proceeds of "Father and Son" were donated to the Band Aid charity. Keating's former group, Boyzone, had a hit with the song a decade earlier. As he had been persuaded before, Yusuf contributed to the song, because the proceeds were marked for charity. However, this marked a point in his artistic career where he entertained the concept of using more than simply voice and drums.

On 21 April 2005 Yusuf gave a short talk before a scheduled musical performance in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the anniversary of Muhammad's birthday. He said, "There is a great deal of ignorance in the world about Islam today, and we hope to communicate with the help of something more refined than lectures and talks. Our recordings are particularly appealing to the young, having used songs as well as Qur'an verses with pleasing sound effects..." Yusuf observed that there are no real guidelines about instruments and no references about the business of music in the Qur'an, and that Muslim travellers first brought the guitar to Moorish Spain. He noted that Muhammad was fond of celebrations, as in the case of the birth of a child, or a traveller arriving after a long journey. Thus, Yusuf concluded that healthy entertainment was acceptable within limitations, and that he now felt that it was no sin to perform with the guitar. Music, he now felt, is uplifting to the soul; something sorely needed in troubled times. At that point, he was joined by several young male singers who sang backing vocals and played a drum, with Yusuf as lead singer and guitarist. They performed two songs, both half in Arabic, and half in English; "Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna", an old song in Arabic which Yusuf recorded with a folk sound to it, and another song, "The Wind East and West", which was newly written by Yusuf and featured a distinct R&B; sound.

With this performance, Yusuf began slowly to integrate instruments into both older material from his Cat Stevens era (some with slight lyrical changes) and new songs, both those known to the Muslim communities around the world and some that have the same Western flair from before with a focus on new topics and another generation of listeners.

In a 2005 press release, he explained his revived recording career:

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In early 2005, Yusuf released a new song entitled "Indian Ocean" about the 2004 tsunami disaster. The song featured Indian composer/producer A. R. Rahman, a-ha keyboard player Magne Furuholmen and Travis drummer Neil Primrose. Proceeds of the single went to help orphans in Banda Aceh, one of the areas worst affected by the tsunami, through Yusuf's ''Small Kindness'' charity. At first, the single was released only through several online music stores but later featured on the compilation album ''Cat Stevens: Gold''. "I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I've done it all and there's a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again."

On 28 May 2005, Yusuf delivered a keynote speech and performed at the Adopt-A-Minefield Gala in Düsseldorf. The Adopt-A-Minefield charity, under the patronage of Paul McCartney, works internationally to raise awareness and funds to clear landmines and rehabilitate landmine survivors. Yusuf attended as part of an honorary committee which also included George Martin, Richard Branson, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Klaus Voormann, Christopher Lee and others.

In mid-2005, Yusuf played guitar for the Dolly Parton album, ''Those Were the Days'', on her version of his "Where Do the Children Play?". (Parton had also covered "Peace Train" a few years earlier.)

In May 2006, in anticipation of his forthcoming new pop album, the BBC1 programme "Imagine" aired a 49-minute documentary with Alan Yentob called ''Yusuf: The Artist formerly Known as Cat Stevens''. This documentary film features rare audio and video clips from the late 1960s and 1970s, as well as an extensive interview with Yusuf, his brother David Gordon, several record executives, Bob Geldof, Dolly Parton, and others outlining his career as Cat Stevens, his conversion and emergence as Yusuf Islam, and his return to music in 2006. There are clips of him singing in the studio when he was recording ''An Other Cup'' as well as a few 2006 excerpts of him on guitar singing a few verses of Cat Stevens songs including "The Wind" and "On the Road to Find Out".

Yusuf has credited his then 21-year-old son Muhammad Islam, also a musician and artist, for his return to secular music, when the son brought a guitar back into the house, which Yusuf began playing. Muhammad's professional name is Yoriyos and his debut album was released in February 2007. Yoriyos created the art on Yusuf's album ''An Other Cup'', something that Cat Stevens did for his albums in the 1970s.

Starting in 2006, the Cat Stevens song "Tea for The Tillerman" was used as the theme tune for the Ricky Gervais BBC-HBO sitcom ''Extras''. A Christmas-season television commercial for gift-giving by the diamond industry aired in 2006 with Cat Power's cover of "How Can I Tell You". That song is also covered by John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers frequently in concert.

In December 2006, Yusuf was one of the artists who performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, in honour of the prize winners, Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank. He performed the songs "Midday (Avoid City After Dark)", "Peace Train", and "Heaven/Where True Love Goes". He also gave a concert in New York City that month as a ''Jazz at Lincoln Center'' event, recorded and broadcast by KCRW-FM radio, along with an interview by Nic Harcourt. Accompanying him, as in the Cat Stevens days, was Alun Davies, on guitar and vocals.

In April 2007, BBC1 broadcast a concert given at the Porchester Hall by Yusuf as part of ''BBC Sessions'', his first live performance in London in 28 years (the previous one being the UNICEF "Year of the Child" concert in 1979). He played several new songs along with some old ones like "Father and Son", "The Wind", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Don't Be Shy", "Wild World", and "Peace Train".

In July 2007, he performed at a concert in Bochum, Germany, in benefit of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Peace Centre in South Africa and the Milagro Foundation of Deborah and Carlos Santana. The audience included Nobel Laureates Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu and other prominent global figures. He later appeared as the final act in the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg performing some classic Cat Stevens songs and more recent compositions reflecting his concern for peace and child welfare. His set included Stevie Wonder's "Saturn", "Peace Train", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Ruins", and "Wild World". He performed at the Peace One Day concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 21 September 2007. In 2008 Yusuf contributed the song "Edge of Existence" to the charity album ''Songs for Survival'', in support of the indigenous rights organization Survival International.

In January 2009, Yusuf released a charity song in aid of children in Gaza. He recorded a rendition of the George Harrison song "The Day the World Gets Round", along with the German bassist and former Beatles collaborator Klaus Voorman. Yusuf said that all proceeds from the song will be donated to the U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and to the nonprofit group Save the Children to be directed to aiding Gaza residents. Israeli Consul David Saranga criticized Yusuf for not dedicating the song to all the children who are victims of the violence, including Israeli children.

2006: ''An Other Cup''

In March 2006, Yusuf finished recording his first all-new pop album since 1978. The album, ''An Other Cup'', was released internationally in November 2006 on his own label, Ya Records (distributed by Polydor Records in the UK and internationally by Atlantic Records) — the 40th anniversary of his first album, ''Matthew and Son''. A single, called ''Heaven/Where True Love Goes'', was simultaneously released. The album was produced with Rick Nowels, who has worked with Dido and Rod Stewart. The performer is noted as "Yusuf", with a cover label identifying him as "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens". The art on the album is credited to Yoriyos. Yusuf wrote all of the songs except "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and recorded it in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Yusuf actively promoted this album, appearing on radio, television and in print interviews. In November, 2006, he told the BBC, "It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course ... This is the real thing.... When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of, of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with." Originally, Yusuf began to return only to his acoustic guitar as he had in the past, but his son encouraged him to "experiment", which resulted in the purchase of a Stevie Ray Vaughan Fender Stratocaster in 2007.

Also in November 2006, ''Billboard'' magazine was curious as to why the artist is credited as just his first name, "Yusuf" rather than "Yusuf Islam". His response was "Because 'Islam' doesn't have to be sloganized. The second name is like the official tag, but you call a friend by their first name. It's more intimate, and to me that's the message of this record." As for why the album sleeve says "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens", he responded, "That's the tag with which most people are familiar; for recognition purposes I'm not averse to that. For a lot of people, it reminds them of something they want to hold on to. That name is part of my history and a lot of the things I dreamt about as Cat Stevens have come true as Yusuf Islam."

Yusuf was asked by the Swiss periodical ''Das Magazin'' why the title of the album was ''An Other Cup'', rather than "Another Cup". The answer was that his breakthrough album, ''Tea for the Tillerman'' in 1970, was decorated with Yusuf's painting of a peasant sitting down to a cup of steaming drink on the land. Yusuf commented that the two worlds "then, and now, are very different". His new album shows a steaming cup alone on this cover. His answer was that this was actually an ''other'' cup; something different; a bridge between the East and West, which Yusuf explained was his own perceived role. He added that, through him, "Westerners might get a glimpse of the East, and Easterners, some understanding of the West. The cup, too, is important; it's a meeting place, a thing meant to be shared."

On ''CBS Sunday Morning'' in December 2006, he said, "You know, the cup is there to be filled ... with whatever you want to fill it with. For those people looking for Cat Stevens, they'll probably find him in this record. If you want to find [Yusuf] Islam, go a bit deeper, you'll find him."

Yusuf has since described the album as being too "over-produced" and refers to ''An Other Cup'' as being a necessary hurdle he had to overcome before he could release his new album, ''Roadsinger.'' Yusuf compares the relationship between ''An Other Cup'' and ''Roadsinger'' to the relationship between the Cat Stevens albums ''Mona Bone Jakon'' and the landmark ''Tea for the Tillerman'' with the latter being superior in quality to the former.

2009–2011: ''Roadsinger'', appearances and tours

In January 2009, Yusuf recorded a George Harrison song, "The Day the World Gets Round", collaborating with Klaus Voormann. Proceeds from the single were donated to a charity to help the people of war-torn Gaza. To promote the new single, Voormann re-designed his famous Beatles ''Revolver'' album cover, drawing a picture of a young Cat Stevens along with himself and George Harrison. A new pop album, ''Roadsinger'', was released on 5 May 2009. The lead track, "Thinking 'Bout You", received its debut radio play on a BBC programme on 23 March 2009. Unlike ''An Other Cup'', Yusuf promoted the new album with appearances on American television as well as in the U.K. He appeared on the ''Chris Isaak Hour'' on the A&E; network in April 2009, performing live versions of his new songs, "World O'Darkness", "Boots and Sand", and "Roadsinger". On 13 May he appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' in Los Angeles, and on 14 May, on ''The Colbert Report'' in New York City, performing the title song from the ''Roadsinger'' album. On 15 May, he appeared on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', performing "Boots and Sand" and "Father and Son". On 24 May he appeared on the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, where he was interviewed and performed the title track of ''Roadsinger''. On 15 August, he was one of many guests at Fairport Convention's annual Fairport's Cropredy Convention where he performed five songs accompanied by Alun Davies, with Fairport Convention as his backing band.

A world tour was announced on his web site to promote the new album. He was scheduled to perform at an invitation-only concert at New York City's Highline Ballroom on 3 May and to go on to Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto, as well as some to-be-announced European venues. However, the New York appearance was postponed due to issues regarding his work visa. He appeared in May 2009 at Island Records' 50th Anniversary concert in London. In November and December 2009 Yusuf undertook his "Guess I'll Take My Time Tour" which also showcased his musical play ''Moonshadow''. The tour took him to Dublin, where he had a mixed reception; subsequently he was well received in Birmingham and Liverpool, culminating in an emotional performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In June 2010 he toured Australia for the first time in 36 years, and New Zealand for the first time ever.

On October 30, 2010 Yusuf appeared at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, DC, singing alongside Ozzy Osbourne. Yusuf performed "Peace Train" and Ozzy performed "Crazy Train" at the same time, followed by The O'Jays performance of "Love Train".

On March 2, 2011, Yusuf released his latest song, "My People", as a free download available through his official website, as well as numerous other online outlets. Said to have been recorded at a studio located within a hundred yards of the site of the Berlin Wall, the song is inspired by a series of popular uprisings in the Arab world.

On April 1, 2011, Yusuf launched a new tour website (yusufinconcert.com) to commemorate his first European tour in over 36 years scheduled from May 7 to June 2, 2011. The ten-date tour will visit Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and cities such as Stockholm, Hamburg, Oberhausen, Berlin, Munich, Rotterdam, Paris, Mannheim, Vienna and Brussels.

Awards

Philanthropic and humanitarian awards

2003 World Award also known as the "World Social Award" for "humanitarian relief work helping children and victims of war".

2004 Man for Peace Award presented by Mikhail Gorbachev for his "dedication to promote peace, the reconciliation of people and to condemn terrorism", the ceremony was held in Rome, Italy and attended by five Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

(2005) Honorary Doctorate by the University of Gloucestershire for services to education and humanitarian relief. 4 January 2007, The Mediterranean Prize for Peace in Naples, Italy. The award was received "as a result of the work he has done to increase peace in the world." 10 July 2007, honorary doctorate (LLD) by the University of Exeter, in recognition of "his humanitarian work and improving understanding between Islamic and Western cultures". The ceremony was attended by esteemed personalities including Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and guitarist Brian May.

6 November 2009, Special Achievement Award of the German Sustainability Award.

Music awards and recognition

2005 Nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 20 October 2005, ASCAP named Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for "The First Cut Is the Deepest" 8 June 2006, listed as #49 in ''Paste'' magazine's "100 Best Living Songwriters" 11 October 2006, awarded Songwriter of the Year for the second year running, for the same song "The First Cut Is the Deepest" 25 March 2007, received the German ECHO "special award for life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures", Europe's Grammy, in Berlin 2008 Nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Discography

:''(includes Yusuf discography)''

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of converts to Islam

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Notes and references

Further reading

#''Cat Stevens Complete Illustrated Biography & Discography'' by George Brown, 2006 (finalist for the award for "Best Research in Recorded Rock Music" from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections). #''My Journey From Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam'' By Yusuf Islam (Mountain of Light, 2001 Autobiographical account published by Mountain of Light in 2001. #''Cat Stevens biography'' by Chris Charlesworth (Proteus, 1985) #''Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam'', (a German language biography) by Albert Eigner Hannibal Verlag GmbH, 2006) #Cat Stevens Breaks His Silence ''Rolling Stone'' article, 14 June 2000 #Billboard Q&A; with Yusuf Islam November 2006 #New York Times Magazine Q&A; with Yusuf Islam January 2007 #Roadsinger album demo

External links

Yusuf Islam's official website

Small Kindness, Yusuf Islam's charity

Mountain of Light, Yusuf Islam's spiritual website

Category:1948 births Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:British Muslims Category:Converts to Islam Category:Decca Records artists Category:English expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Category:English folk singers Category:English humanitarians Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English Muslims Category:English people of Cypriot descent Category:English people of Swedish descent Category:English pop singers Category:English rock guitarists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:English spoken word artists Category:English vegetarians Category:Island Records artists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from London Category:People deported from the United States Category:People from Soho Category:People from Marylebone Category:Performers of Islamic music Category:European Muslims

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