- New Musical Express
- August 19, 1967
- Courtesy of Linda Crafar
Why Cat Is Sad
By Norrie
Drummond
It was a rather
disheartened Cat Stevens I met this week. He was sad for a number of reasons. The stage
musical he has been working on has been turned down by most theatre managements in the
West End. His latest single, "A Bad Night," hasn't come up to his expectations
(though it’s No. 21 this week) and Cat now feels it’s time to extend his career
into other spheres of show business.
I’m at the crossroads
now," he told me in a pub next door to his parents’ restaurant. "I
don’t know how long I can continue as a pop singer. ‘Bad Night’ was an
experiment. I’m not sure if it has worked out. I’m a little disappointed that
it’s not doing better but I’m glad I took the chance."
Since he first appeared on
the pop scene just ten months ago, Cat has had four hit records and an LP in the best
sellers. He was one of the stars in a West End Christmas show and also appeared on a major
concert tour.
"Everything happened
at once for us," said Cat, sipping vodka-and-lime. "I didn’t have enough
time to sit down and ask myself 'What next?’ I was just being carried along by it
all, but now I must decide. I’m not going to do very much in the next month or so,
except perhaps recording and writing. I also want to concentrate on record production
which has been taking up a lot of time recently.’’
Cat has been producing the
first record by one of his closest friends, Peter James. "He writes brilliant
songs," Cat enthused. "I’ve just to do the mixing and we’ll issue the
record as soon as possible."
But just what is Cat
himself going to do next?
"I honestly don’t
know," he replied despondently. " The next obvious step is films. I’ve had
a few offers but the parts just weren’t me. Naturally I’d love to make a movie
and
I’d also love a TV
series. These are the important things that really establish an artist,"
I asked Cat how things were
progressing on his musical ‘Mexican Flower.' A pained look crossed his face.
"The musical is okay
but no theatre management is interested. I have a lot of faith in 'Mexican Flower’
and if I have to, I’ll raise the money myself somehow. There are so many things I
want to do though," he added. "You’ve got to keep going forward all the
time and I must decide what to concentrate on before long."
Whichever road Cat Stevens
decides to take he should be successful. With his talents and drive it would be difficult
to fail |
