Yusuf Islam

Yusuf Islam

Yusuf Islam collaborated with hundreds of his fans across the globe to record his new peace anthem.

The Muslim convert, who was formerly known as Cat Stevens, invited fans to send him samples of them singing the chorus of his new song, My People, via his Facebook page.

He then blended the voices into one big anthem, which is now available as a free download from his official website.

Speaking to Spinner.com, he said: "Most of the things in my career have happened spontaneously, and this is just another one of those things."

The musician revealed that the recent uprising in Egypt, which led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, inspired his latest recording.

He said: "I had no big plans, but as we were all watching what was going on in Egypt there was this fantastic feeling of support and so we wanted to stretch out a hand to these people who were peacefully asking for change.

"I was on the guitar and then suddenly this song came out and My People had arrived. The mood was simply one of intense admiration for the people who were standing up peacefully."

The folk music legend left the music industry in for 28 years in 1978, shortly after converting to Islam.

He returned to pop music in 2006 with the album An Other Cup.


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