Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens) Jeered and Heckled at comeback gig

Carter Jolly Jaguar wrote: »

[whisper mode]its FlutterinBantam ya muppet [/whisper mode]

/I'm not really calling you a muppet!.

Sorry I mistakenly thought a smidden of common decency and respect still existed in the man. Obviously not.

<LI class=titles>14:31 A Stormy Start to the Tour

<LI class=imgCont>Strange how God’s nature has a way of telling you the way things are going to go. Perhaps, if I had understood the message hidden in the stormy weather forecast on Saturday evening, I might have been better prepared for what happened the next night at Dublin’s O2.
It was uncanny in more ways than one – not least given that the leading figure of the Moonshadow part of Sunday’s show (which caused most of the controversy for a small section of the audience) was also called Stormy!
I must admit, it was something I’d never experienced for most of my musical career – apart from Greece perhaps, where I stormed off stage because of the half empty halls back at the end of the 1976 Majikat Tour. They had a right to complain, those fans who had taken the trouble to come undeterred by the football match (against England) that day, or the looming exams which they were about to face.
The fact that another major tournament coincided this time (Ireland vs. Australia rugby match) – and the tendency of some to drown away the blues of a hapless draw with a few more gallons of Guinness – obviously didn’t help either.
But the good thing was that this time, the Hall wasn’t half full – it was full; brimming with excited fans and music lovers from all over the world. In fact, for me that was the most positive aspect of the whole climactic event; the real message was that they missed me being on stage! Well that’s much easier to take than not buying tickets or booing me off.
So I took the complaints overall as a compliment, albeit an unnerving one especially for the cast and creative team who had put their entire bodies and souls into the Moonshadow section, so I can only feel sorry for them. They did a great job and 90% of the audience that night (and some major reviews) recognised that.
Philosophically and educationally I have gained something from the experience, so has the public generally and we can now move on to the next gig a bit more prepared. One thing is clear: many of the fans didn’t know much about the Moonshadow section – and some thought I wasn’t coming back on stage. That can easily be fixed with a free program for the night and me personally informing the audience of what’s going to happen.
Perhaps a shorter segment of the Musical will also help tighten things up, and we’re already working on that.
Nevertheless, for those who believe that 33 years away from stage spotlights doesn’t change anything, it must be a wake up call. I didn’t go through my life, altering my pattern of behaviour, building my faith and getting close to Divine consciousness without making serious changes to the way I do things.
My voice doesn’t seem to have altered, which for many fans is already a Godsend. But to not expect me to sing my favourite new songs, from two carefully and thoughtfully created albums, and demand a ‘Beam me up Scotty’ return to the Cat Stevens persona of yesterday, is more than any amount of imagination can hope for. If the advertising was in anyway sending out a different message, then I can only apologise for that – but my name, ‘YUSUF’, can’t practically be printed any bigger.
Hey, I’m back. And as I said in Dublin, ‘I didn’t leave you.. so don’t leave me.’
Yusuf

thorbarry wrote: »

Really?? A standing ovation??

Well, people walking out waving their fists. Close.

Whoever said we're not a boisterous country when it comes to this kind of thing sounds right to me.

So I can only imagine that people were sorely tested. It's not like a load of (I assume) hardcore fans pay that amount of money just to go along and heckle.