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This interesting piece of memorabilia was distributed only to fans with in Australia who attended the 1972 Cat Stevens concerts. You can see from reading their greeting to Cat that they were quite excited to have Cat in Australia.  This rare piece of memorabilia comes courtesy of Bruce Lawrie.

 

The Australian Cat Stevens 1972 Concert Programme

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Festival Records PTY, Limited
The Australian Company

CAT STEVENS

The Story of CAT STEVENS meteoric rise in Australia did not happen overnight and his success is related to a series of exciting events - each one an explosive boost to his popularity with music fans in Australia. The only glimpses they gained of his unique personality and the message he tells to music were from short film clips shown on T.V. pop shows and of course spins on all radio of most of the tracks on his three great Island albums.

October 1970 saw the first release in Australia on Island records of the sounds which after a quiet beginning became so popular that they were to earn Gold Awards the day of release to the fans. The "Mona Bone Jakon" album was released early October, 1970 along with the single "lady D’Arbanville" and it was hard work to establish this unique artist and his songs on Top 40 Radio. The album stayed on the dealers shelves and the single crept into the Top 40 charts. next came "Tea for the Tillerman" and the single "Father & Son" and this album was the start of something big. Suddenly album sales soared and "Tea for the Tillerman" became No. 1 album throughout the country - current total 10 Gold Album Awards and more to come. By now the fans had discovered "Mona Bone Jakon" and the dealers sold out their stocks and ordered more! more! - Yet another Gold to the collection.

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welcoming Cat to Australia

In November last year CAT STEVENS released an album "Teaser & The Firecat" from which the single "Peace Train" was taken. Both the album and the single roared their way up the charts. The album has now passed its 11th Gold Award - never before has a single artist achieved such a measure of success or so many accolades for his albums as his music.

We at Festival Records are proud to be associated with both the artist and Island Records of England and along with millions of Australians say welcome to Australia CAT STEVENS. The opening of his hit single "Peace Train" expresses our feelings beautifully "I’ve been thinking lately of all the good times to come". It will be a tremendous thrill to see and hear this artist perform in Australia his own special music and interpretations that we have enjoyed so much on record. Allan Hely

Festival House Telephone xxx-xxxx (9 Lines)
xx-xx Miller Street, Py????t, xxxx Telegraphic Address "Festival", Sydney
New South Wales, Australia P.O. Box xx, Py?????t, N.S.W. Australia xxxx

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Singer, musician and songwriter. As such, in the opinion of many, Cat Stevens is one of the most brilliant and worthwhile talents to have emerged in the music scene in Britain in recent years.

He has been described as . . ‘One of the biggest and most genuine writing and performing talents of our time.’ ‘One of the most important artists of the 20th Century.’ And ‘One of the few people in the world capable of creating a total new world in which you an believe.’

Not only has Cat Stevens numerous singles and 3 albums behind him, he has already finished the music score for the movie production of ‘Deep End’ starring Jane Asher, and his musical fantasia ‘Revolussia’ is near completion.

Cat Stevens was born Steven Georgiou in July 1948 in the Hammersmith area of London. The second son of a Greek-born father and a Swedish-born mother, he grew up in the hectic atmosphere of central London where his parents still own and run a bustling cafe, the Moulin Rouge.

The complete 20th Century child, he attended school in London’s West End and grew to accept the sight of strippers running from one club engagement to another, to ceaseless traffic, to air pollution, to miles of glaring neon, and the complete lack of wide-open spaces, trees and running streams.

On the completion of his basic schooling, Cat was accepted as a student at the Hammersmith College of Art to study his first love -- Art.

During his one year stay at the Art College he began writing his own songs. He played these compositions to friends who listened with appreciation, and then, as fate would have it, he was discovered.

His patron was a businessman, complete with long cigar and the age-old cliche, ‘I’m gonna make you a star’.

The initial intention was that the 17-year-old artist would work in the movies, but a series of events changed all that. Mike Hurst, former member of the Springfields, and then producer at Decca Records, heard a tape of Cat Stevens doing his own songs. Impressed with what he heard, Hurst set up an elaborate demonstration session, and the results were presented to Dick Rowe, head of Decca’s A-and-R department.

Rowe raved over the results and before you could say sign on the dotted line, Cat Stevens had signed and was launched on Decca’s new Dream label.

Pretty soon that original star-making cliche became a reality -- Cat Stevens WAS a star and only the backing had changed. The cigar-smoking businessman disappeared into oblivion as a big and heavy Agency moved in behind Cat.

Cat became the focal point of their operation. Everything was done for him -- clothes, presentation, manner, the lot -- the machine took over -- he was now a product and had no personal control over the situation. Consequently, despite a number of big hits including ‘Matthew and Son’ and ‘I Love My Dog’, Cat Stevens started to fret.

Desperately unhappy and disillusioned as all his own wishes were either ignored or thrown out, and because is agency demanded that he do constant tours and make appearances on television shows one after another, he drove himself into the ground and a state of serious physical health.

So sick in fact that he went to the doctor for a check-up and was told that one of his lungs had collapsed and the other was in real danger of doing the same.

The case was stated simply -- go into the hospital now for a lengthy curative rest or face the possibility of dying within a couple of years. Cat Stevens had contracted tuberculosis. So in 1968 he disappeared from the scene for 2 years. He spent some time at a sanatorium in the country studying yoga and generally getting into metaphysics.

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He did a great deal of introspective thinking and wrote new songs, reflecting his true feelings at this time. His illness is widely supposed to have been the stem of his present music. Many of the songs he wrote at this time ultimately became tracks on his first album ‘Mona Bone Jakon’.

On his release from the hospital Cat made some rough versions of his own songs on a home tape machine and played them to several people including Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records. Blackwell, in turn, offered him a chance to record them whenever and with whoever he liked, and more importantly to Cat, however he liked.

So Cat signed with Island and completed writing the material for ‘Mona Bone Jakon’.

With a few hand-picked musicians and producer Paul Samwell-Smith, he gradually recorded the album, finally released it in the early months of 1970. The sound Cat wanted was captured perfectly on the record with the help of Samwell-Smith who became an integral part of the Stevens ‘team’. The music is pure, uncluttered, centered around the haunting rhythms of Europe and coming across with such an honesty that is both startling and razor sharp.

The album was an outstanding success, both artistically and financially. A single from the album, ‘Lady D’Arbanville’, made the top ten charts in Britain, France, Holland, Sweden, Italy and Germany and the album itself made No. 1 in France, got very high in Holland and Germany, and concerts he gave in those countries were sold out weeks in advance.

As a result of the response to ‘Mona Bone Jakon’, Cat Stevens flew to Paris where he was presented in a solo concert in a 35-minute television special, networked nationwide.

Playing a few selected clubs and concert dates Cat soon established himself as a much-in-demand live performer in Britain. The climax came when he blew all the other name acts off the stage at the Saturday afternoon concert of the 1970 Plumpton Jazz Festival.

The Cat was well and truly back -- at the top.

Following the success of ‘Jakon’ and the restoring of his confidence, Cat began working again with Paul Samwell-Smith -- the outcome being his second album ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ which was released in Britain and Europe in October 1970, and the United States shortly afterwards. A fortnight after its release ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ rocketed to No. 23 in the British album charts, sold twice as well as ‘Jakon’ and followed its predecessor up the European chart listings.

Reviews for ‘Tillerman’ were every bit as good as those for ‘Jakon’, if anything, better. Numerous people who gave cursory attention to the album because of the past history of the artist as a young man, suddenly became aware of his amazing talents.

After completing a number of British concerts Cat embarked on his first trip to the U.S.A. He stepped for the first time on to an American concert platform to face one of the toughest audiences in the world -- that of a packed house who had come to see, not him, but the headliners, Traffic.

But the tables were turned and at the end of his performance Cat Stevens received a standing ovation and was brought back for three encores.

Back in Britain Cat began work on his latest album ‘Teaser And The Firecat’ which again proved an outstanding success.

‘Teaser And The Firecat’ follows his first two albums not just as another step in the passage of time but as evidence of the inexorable linking of a man’s life with his work. ‘Jakon’ told the story of Cat’s early rise to success, the effects of this, his illness and the beginning of his comeback.

‘Tillerman’ consisted of a series of tracks that reflected his state of mind, his opinions and his life as he then found it.

‘Firecat’ takes this relationship between the man and his life another step forward. It is a beautiful album reflecting the happiness of the artist who has found truth in his work. Cat Stevens wants to communicate his feeling of happiness, peace and optimism by singing out to the world as he does in the track ‘Peace Train’ . . .

‘Now I’ve been happy lately
Thinking about the good things to come . . .
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again . . .’
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Centerfold poster

MANAGEMENT

for THE PAUL DAINTY CORPORATION (AUST.) PTY. LIMITED

 

TOUR DIRECTOR     RON BLACKMORE
ROAD MANAGER NICKY CAMPBELL
Secretary To Mr. Dainty Vivienne Horne
Secretary to Mr. Blackmore Lenie Harrison
Press representative U.K Michelle O’Driscoll
 

for CAT STEVENS

TOUR MANAGER KARL MILLER
AUDIO ENGINEER JOHN THOMPSOM
STAGE MANAGER DICKIE BELL
LIGHTING ENGINEER   ERIC BARRETT

Sound by WEM SOUND SYSTEMS

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of countless people throughout Australia
in the organizing of "Zimmering", and a special thank you to:

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PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS INC.
ANSETT AIRLINES OF AUSTRALIA
COCA COLA BOTTLERS THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA.
2 S.M. SYDNEY 3 X.Y. MELBOURNE
5 K.A. ADELAIDE 4 I.P. BRISBANE

6 P.M. PERTH

THE CHANNEL 7 NETWORK, MELBOURNE,
SYDNEY, BRISBANE, ADELAIDE
and CHANNEL 9 PERTH.
 
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Advertisement for Cat's 1st book 'Teaser and  the Firecat'

 
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Special Thanks To:   Jill Mallow, *Keith Balaam, George Brown, Linda Crafar, Bruce Lawrie, DJ Illingworth, Gerardo Roman, Chris & Annie Abrams, Patricia Squillari, Harry Schmieder, Sue Vukson and all who have contributed either with material or support to help make Majicat magical.
* This site is dedicated in the memory of Keith Balaam. ---<----<----@