A music legend has postponed his upcoming U.S. tour dates due to visa issues.
Yusuf / Cat Stevens announced Monday that his “Cat on the Road to Findout” book tour will not go on as scheduled in October, including stops in the U.S. and Canada.
“Waiting months for visa approvals, we held out as long as we could. However, at this point, the production logistics necessary for my show cannot be arranged in time,” he wrote on Facebook. “I am really upset! Not least for my fans who have bought tickets and made travel plans to see me perform. ”
Yusuf, who changed his name from Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam in 1978 after converting to the Muslim religion, said North American audiences may still get a chance to see him in person if visa approvals eventually come through. However, there is currently no timetable for rescheduling his book tour.
His new autobiography, “Cat on the Road to Findout,” is still scheduled to be released Oct. 2 in the UK and Oct. 7 in the U.S. “Books don’t need visas!” he joked.
Yusuf did not specify why he was unable to obtain a visa. Variety noted that he may have trouble visiting the U.S. in the “current climate” because of past statements, including publicly supporting Ayatollah Khomeini’s calls for the death of author Salman Rushdie in 1989 for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his “Satanic Verses” book. Yusuf later said his statements were misconstrued.
Yusuf, 77, is a British singer-songwriter best known for his work as Cat Stevens in the 1960s and ‘70s, including the “Harold and Maude” soundtrack and songs like “Peace Train,” “Father and Son,” “Wild World” and “The First Cut is the Deepest.” The folk musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
He released several religious-themed albums in the ‘90s and 2000s as Yusuf Islam, then returned to secular/pop music as Yusuf in 2006. He now typically goes by Yusuf / Cat Stevens, most recently releasing the album “King of a Land” in 2023.
It’s unclear if he planned to perform any music during his book tour.