BBC London UK- In an extremely rare interview to be shown later this week on BBC2, Cat Stevens now known as Yusuf Islam, talked frankly about his past, his present, his future and his faith.
During the late 60’s and 70’s, Cat Stevens was a highly successful singer/songwriter who penned such radio-friendly hits like "Wild World," "Oh! Very Young," and "Peace Train." His albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his album Catch Bull at Four, sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone.
But then, at the very pinnacle of his career he shocked his fans by announcing that he had converted to the Islamic faith, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and would be giving up the music business entirely.
Over the last three decades, Stevens has become an elusive and private figure, however he did sing a duet with Boyzone's Ronan Keating back in December 2008. When they re-released their version of Yusuf’s hit song “Father and Son.” All this said, he rarely gives interviews and tries his best to stay out of the public eye.
"I'm sure there are many people who just don't understand the choice that I made," says Yusuf in the interview. "I'm perfectly fine with that. I could never expect everyone to understand why I did what I did."
Perhaps most surprising, however, was the reason Yusuf gave as to why he made the decision to join the Islamic faith.
"People have always speculated as to my motive for becoming a Muslim. Most people think it's because I believe strongly in the faith, or because I thought it would be the best way to stay off of the radar. None of that is true. My real reason for doing this was simply that I wanted to get amongst the seventy-seven virgins when I die."
Yusuf Islam goes on to say that he has always had a thing for virgins and that is probably the one thing he misses about the fame of the of music business.
"Listen man I was getting laid almost every night back in the early seventies and most of the girls were virgins. Some were fifteen or sixteen. Those were the days," says Islam.
"Unfortunately, it gets to a point where you get so incredibly old and suddenly you just can't shack up with virgins anymore. So I found myself in a crisis. Really, becoming a Muslim was the only choice for me."
The_Walrus
Pro 
He's going to be so hacked off when he finds out it was raisins, not virgins.